U.S. Navy After the War, Nuclear Testing-- Part 6: The Fates of Other Warships

In addition,  the USS Nevada (BB-36), the lead ship of a World War I-era  class of battleships and survivor of Pearl Harbor, had endured both tests and was later towed back to Pearl Harbor for examination. She was later used for gunnery practice and finally was sunk by an aerial torpedo.  Likewise, both the USS New York  (BB-34), the lead of her class, and super-dreadnaught battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) was also at Pearl Harbor and survived the tests and were used for structural testing before finally being sunk.

Most of the other warships used in the tests included many cruisers, including the German Navy's Prinz Eugen, and a destroyer failed to be sunk during the testing.  It became clear that  the atom bomb could level a city easily, but sinking a warship was another matter entirely.

Of course, the radiation would likely have killed the crew, yet contamination  remained a very serious concern.

In fact, a 2016 study found that even after si many years after the nuclear testing, radiation levels in some parts of the Bikini Atoll remain at least six times the maximum safety limit.

Peter Suciu