The Colorado class proved to be the culmination of the standard-type battleship series built for the United States Navy in the 1910s and 1920s; the ships were essentially repeats of the earlier Tennessee design, but with a significantly more powerful main battery of eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns in twin-gun turrets.

The ship spent the 1920s and 1930s conducting routine training exercises, including the typically annual Fleet Problems, which provided invaluable experience for the coming war in the Pacific.

West Virginia was moored on Battleship Row on the morning of 7 December 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II.

Following the surrender of Japan, West Virginia took part in the initial occupation and thereafter participated in Operation Magic Carpet, carrying soldiers and sailors from Hawaii to the mainland United States before being deactivated in 1946.

She underwent an overhaul there to correct the problem and she got underway again on 16 June 1924; while cruising through Lynnhaven Channel at 10:10, the telegraphs for the engine room and steering compartment lost power, rendering the ship unmaneuverable.

Later in 1925, the fleet conducted joint Army-Navy maneuvers in Hawaii to test the defenses of the islands before embarking on a major cruise to visit Australia and New Zealand.

[7] Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Admiral Ernest King led a board to evaluate anti-aircraft defenses of the fleet's ships, and it recommended adding blisters to restore freeboard, the adoption of 5 in /38 cal.

The Chief of Naval Operations decided that, as a result of the likelihood of war, only the bulges would be fitted, and West Virginia was slated to undergo the work from 10 May to 8 August 1941, though the modification was not carried out.

The fleet spent 1941 occupied with extensive training to prepare for the anticipated war with Japan, even after the diplomatic situation increasingly worsened in the final months of the year.

Captain Mervyn S. Bennion was mortally wounded by bomb fragments from a hit on Tennessee; for remaining aboard the ship and assisting in its defense until he died, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

[14] Among them were three sailors (Ronald Endicott, Clifford Olds and Louis Costin), who survived in an airtight storeroom until 23 December, according to a calendar found by salvage crews on which sixteen days had been crossed off in red pencil.

[4][17] Almost immediately after the attack, the navy began considering the extent to which the old battleships should be modernized, with proposals to replace the lattice masts with other structures that could accommodate the heavier radar equipment being fitted to the fleet's ships.

Since West Virginia and California had been badly damaged in the Pearl Harbor attack and thus could not be quickly returned to service like the other battleships, they would have the bulges that had been planned before the war installed, which would offset the loss of freeboard incurred by the addition of 1,400 long tons (1,400 t) of deck armor.

After arriving there on 23 September, she joined Battleship Division 4 (BatDiv 4) and the carrier Hancock, all of which sailed on to Manus in the Admiralty Islands to begin preparations for the upcoming operations in the Philippines.

The ships arrived in Seeadler Harbor on 5 October and the following day, West Virginia became the flagship of Rear Admiral Theodore D. Ruddock, the commander of BatDiv 4.

West Virginia was assigned to Task Group (TG) 77.2, the shore bombardment force for the operation that was commanded by Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf.

The invasion fleet arrived in San Pedro Bay early on 19 October and at 07:00, West Virginia and the rest of TG 77.2 moved into their bombardment positions.

Observers aboard Tennessee spotted the flashes in the distance as the light American craft attacked Nishimura's force, and at 03:02, her search radar picked up the enemy ships at a range of 44,000 yd (40,000 m).

[4] The fleet passed through Leyte Gulf on 12 December, turning south through Surigao Strait the next day and entering the Sulu Sea for the assault on Mindoro in company with TG 78.3, the invasion transport force.

After entering Leyte Gulf on 3 January, the ships steamed into the Sulu Sea, where they came under heavy Japanese air attack the next day; the escort carrier Ommaney Bay was badly damaged by kamikazes and was then scuttled; nearby destroyers took off the crew, some of whom were then transferred to West Virginia.

On 21 January, the ship departed at 07:07 to support ground forces fighting in the towns of Rosario and Santo Tomas to the north of Lingayen Gulf, opening fire at 08:15.

She refueled and replenished supplies for the upcoming operation and was ready to depart at 04:00 the next morning; the ship got underway three and a half hours later, escorted by the destroyers Izard and McCall.

Before the attack began, the ship withdrew to replenish ammunition at Kerama Retto, which had been seized at the start of the campaign to provide an advance base for the invasion fleet.

[4][28] The ship returned to the island early on 1 April to support the landings; while approaching Okinawa at 04:45, she had to reverse her engines to avoid colliding with a destroyer that inadvertently crossed her bow in the darkness.

[4] West Virginia nevertheless remained off the island through the night, firing star shells to illuminate marine positions to help repel Japanese infiltration attacks.

She remained on station until 20 April, when she got underway for Ulithi; she did not reach her destination, however, as she was quickly recalled to replace her sister Colorado after the latter suffered an accidental explosion while replenishing ammunition.

West Virginia, the destroyer Putnam, and a Landing Craft, Infantry attempted to suppress the Japanese defenses in the area so ground forces could break through and rescue the downed air crew, but the effort failed and the men were killed.

West Virginia remained in Tokyo for the next two weeks to assist with the initial occupation effort, and on 14 September she took on a group of 270 passengers to be carried back to the United States.

Three days later, she departed for Pearl Harbor to begin her role in Operation Magic Carpet, the repatriation effort to return American servicemen from the Pacific.

West Virginia remained in the navy's inventory until 1 March 1959, when she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and placed for sale; she was sold on 24 August to the Union Minerals & Alloys Corp.[4] and towed to Todd-Pacific Shipyard in Seattle on 3 January 1961 to be broken up.