The USS New York (BB-34) was the fifth U.S. warship to bear that name. Launched on 30 October 1912, the battleship was commissioned on 15 April 1914 with an armament of 1014-inch guns and 21 5-inch mounts.
Soon after her commissioning, the New York became a flagship for Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher, who was in charge of the blockade of Vera Cruz. When the U.S. entered WWI, the New York served as flagship with Battleship Division 9. She arrived at Scapa Flow in December 1917 to strengthen the British Grand Fleet. She encountered two enemy U-boats and was able to witness the surrender of the German fleet in November 1918.
The ship spent most of the years between the world wars in training exercises, with the exception of a 1937 trip carrying Admiral Hugh Rodman to the coronation of England's King George VI. The New York then took part in the Grand Naval Review of 20 May as the sole U.S. Navy representative.
Once WWII began, she assisted convoys to Iceland. During the invasion of North Africa in 1942, the New York provided invaluable gunfire support. Returning home for convoy duty after a brief escort mission to North Africa, she trained gunners in the Chesapeake Bay.
The New York sailed for the West Coast in November 1944. Despite screw damage, the New York took part in the pre-invasion bombardment of Iwo Jima on 16 February 1945, firing more rounds than any other warship at the scene. Her spectacular gunnery display included a direct hit on an enemy ammunition dump.
After repairing her damaged screw, the New York took part in operations against Okinawa for 76 consecutive days, including pre-invasion and diversionary bombardments, and close support for ground troops. On 14 April, the New York suffered a grazing hit by a kamikaze which destroyed her spotting plane.
At the end of the war, New York Governor George Dewey requested that the State legislature have an opportunity to vote to appropriate funds to make the battleship a state shrine. The Navy instead used the New York as a target ship in the 1946 Bikini atomic tests. She survived both the surface blast and the sub-surface detonation. The New York was decommissioned on 29 August 1946.
Two years later, after extensive radiological study, the New York was sunk as a target ship off Pearl Harbor on 8 July 1948.