USS Indiana, First Tour of Duty by Anthony Saunders [Original Painting]

To increase the strength of the US fleet in the Pacific during the critical early months of the war, USS Indiana went through the Panama Canal. On the 28th of November 1942 USS Indiana joined Rear Admiral Lee's aircraft carrier screening force. For the next 11 months, USS Indiana helped protect USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga, which had been supporting the US invasion on the Solomon Islands. On the 21st of October 1943 USS Indiana went to Pearl Harbor, but after only a couple of weeks left to support forces designated for the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. The battleship protected the carriers which supported the Marines during the bloody fight for Tarawa atoll. Then, in late January 1944, she bombarded Kwajalein for eight days prior to the Marshall Island landings on 1st February 1944. USS Indiana collided with the battleship USS Washington while refuelling destroyers, killing several men. Temporary repairs to her starboard side were made at Majuro and USS Indiana returned to Pearl Harbor on 13th February 1944 for additional repair work. The painting shows USS Indiana with one of the two carriers she protected.

Original painting by Anthony Saunders.

Image size 30 inches x 20 inches (76cm x 51cm)