"Indiana"s keel was laid on 20 September 1939 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 21 November 1941; during the fitting out process, the former battleship , which had been rebuilt as a crane ship, lowered the 16-inch guns into their turret mountings. "Indiana" was commissioned into the fleet on 30 April 1942. After shakedown operations, she was sent directly to the Solomon Islands; "Indiana" arrived off Guadalcanal on 9 November 1942 and replaced her sister "South Dakota", which was in need of repairs. "Indiana"s operations off Guadalcanal consisted primarily of shore bombardment in support of the Marines fighting on the island.