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USS Arizona (BB-39)
Encyclopedia
USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy
in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's
recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned
in 1916, the ship remained stateside during World War I
. Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow Wilson
to the Paris Peace Conference
. The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet
and was assigned to it for the rest of her career.
Aside from a comprehensive modernization in 1929–31, the ship spent most of her time between the wars training, including participation in the annual Fleet Problem
s. Arizona was anchored nearby when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake
struck, and her crew aided the survivors. Two years later, the ship was featured in a Warner Brothers film about the romantic troubles of a sailor starring Jimmy Cagney
. In April 1940, she, and the rest of the Pacific Fleet, was transferred to their new base in Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, as a deterrent to the Japanese Empire.
Arizona is most widely known for her sinking during the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, with the loss of 1,177 lives. The attack provoked the United States into declaring war on Japan, thereby entering World War II
. Unlike many of the other ships sunk or damaged that day, Arizona could not be fully salvaged, though the navy removed parts of the ship for reuse. The wreck
still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial
, dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, straddles the ship's hull
.
of 97 feet (29.6 m) (at the waterline
), and a draft of 29 in 3 in (8.92 m) at deep load. This was 25 feet (7.6 m) longer than the older ships. She displaced 29158 long tons (29,626 MT) at standard
and 31917 long tons (32,429.3 MT) at deep load, over 4000 long tons (4,064.2 MT) more than the older ships. The ship had a metacentric height
of 7.82 feet (2.4 m) at deep load.
The ship had four direct-drive Parsons
steam turbine
sets, each of which drove a propeller 12 foot in diameter. They were powered by twelve Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boiler
s. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 31500 shp, but only achieved 29366 shp during Arizonas sea trial
s, when she slightly exceeded her designed speed of 21 knots (11.4 m/s). However, she did manage to reach 21.5 knots (11.7 m/s) during a full-power trial in September 1924. She was designed to normally carry 1548 long tons (1,573 t) of fuel oil
, but had a maximum capacity of 2305 long tons (2,342 t). At full capacity, the ship could steam at a speed of 12 knots for an estimated 7552 nautical mile with a clean bottom. She had four 300 kW turbo generator
s.
Arizona carried twelve 45-caliber
14-inch guns
in triple gun turret
s. The turrets were numbered from I to IV from front to rear. The guns could not elevate independently and were limited to a maximum elevation of +15° which gave them a maximum range of 21000 yards (19,202.4 m). The ship carried 100 shells for each gun. Defense against torpedo boat
s was provided by twenty-two 51-caliber five-inch guns mounted in individual casemate
s in the sides of the ship's hull. They proved to be very wet and could not be worked in heavy seas. At an elevation of 15°, they had a maximum range of 14050 yards (12,847.3 m). Each gun was provided with 230 rounds of ammunition. The ship mounted four 50-caliber three-inch guns for anti-aircraft
defense, although only two were fitted when completed. The other pair were added shortly afterward on top of Turret III. Arizona also mounted two 21 inches (53 cm) torpedo tube
s and carried 24 torpedo
es for them.
The Pennsylvania-class design continued the all-or-nothing principle of armoring only the only most important areas of the ship begun in the preceding Nevada class. The waterline
armor belt
of Krupp armor measured 13.5 inches (343 mm) thick and only covered the ship's machinery spaces and magazines
. It had a total height of 17 inch, of which 8 foot was below the waterline; beginning 2 inch below the waterline, the belt tapered to its minimum thickness of 8 inches (20 cm). The transverse bulkheads
at each end of the ship ranged from 13 to 8 inches in thickness. The faces of the gun turrets were 18 inches (46 cm) thick while the sides were 9–10 in (22.9–25.4 ) thick and the turret roofs were protected by 5 inches (13 cm) of armor. The armor of the barbette
s was 18 to 4.5 in (457.2 to 114.3 mm) thick. The conning tower
was protected by 16 inches (41 cm) of armor and had a roof eight inches thick.
The main armor deck was three plates thick with a total thickness of 3 inches (8 cm); over the steering gear the armor increased to 6.25 inches (16 cm) in two plates. Beneath it was the splinter deck that ranged from 1.5 to 2 in (38.1 to 50.8 mm) in thickness. The boiler uptakes were protected by a conical mantlet
that ranged from 9 to 15 in (22.9 to 38.1 ) in thickness. A three-inch torpedo bulkhead
was placed 9 inch inboard from the ship's side and the ship was provided with a complete double bottom
. Testing in mid-1914 revealed that this system could withstand 300 pounds (136.1 kg) of TNT.
of battleship number 39 was laid on the morning of 16 March 1914 with Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in attendance. The builders set a goal of a world-record ten months between the ship's keel-laying and launch, but the ship was a little over half complete in March 1915. It was only on 19 June 1915, fifteen months after the keel-laying, that the hull of the new super-dreadnought, named after the newest state in the union by Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels
, was launched into the East River
.
The New York Times estimated that 75,000 people attended the launch, including John Purroy Mitchel
, the Mayor of New York City, George W. P. Hunt, the governor of Arizona, and many high-ranking military officials. Several warships were also nearby, including many of the new dreadnoughts which had already entered service . Esther Ross, the daughter of an Arizona pioneer family, was given the honors of ship sponsor and christening
. Though this traditionally involved smashing a bottle of wine or champagne over the bow of the ship being launched, Arizona's state government had banned alcohol, so the state's governor decided that two bottles would be used: one full of champagne from Ohio, and another filled with water from the Roosevelt Dam. After the launch, Arizona was towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard
for fitting-out
.
Arizona was commissioned
into the navy on 17 October 1916 with John D. McDonald as captain. She departed New York on 10 November 1916 after the crew had cleaned the ship and the propulsion system had been tested at the dock. After acclimating the ship's magnetic compasses, the ship sailed south for her shakedown cruise
. She towed targets for Pennsylvania
while outside Hampton Roads
, then turned back north to take torpedo
es on board before reversing course for Guantanamo Bay
. A stripped turbine on 7 December forced the navy to order Arizona back to New York for repairs, although she was able to enter Chesapeake Bay
to test her main
and secondary gun batteries on 19–20 December. The turbine could not be fixed inside the ship, so the yard workers were forced to cut holes in the upper decks to lift the damaged casing out. The turbine was reinstalled after almost four months of repairs at the naval yard.
, Arizona was only employed as a gunnery training ship for the navy crewmen who sailed on armed merchant vessels crossing the Atlantic in convoy
s. Shortly after the war began, eight of her 5-inch guns (the four guns furthest forward and the sternmost four guns) were removed to equip merchant ships. When the ship sailed near the old San Marcos
(ex-Texas), the wreck was sometimes used as a target for the 14-inch guns. She rarely ventured into the ocean for fear of U-boat
s, and when she did, it was only in the company of other battleships and escort ships. Four American dreadnoughts were eventually sent across the Atlantic in December 1917 as Battleship Division Nine
, but Arizona was not among them, as it was easier to supply coal than oil in the United Kingdom. Life for Arizonas crew was not all practice, though. In July 1918, the race-boat
team from Arizona was able to win the Battenberg Cup
by taking a three-length lead over their closest competitor, the team from Nevada, and holding it until the end of the three-mile race.
The war ended on 11 November with an armistice. A week later, the ship left the United States for the United Kingdom, arriving on 30 November. After two weeks berthed at Portland Harbor
, Arizona sailed for France. On 13 December, Arizona joined nine battleships and twenty-eight destroyers escorting President Woodrow Wilson
on the ocean liner into Brest
for one day on Wilson's journey to the Paris Peace Conference
. The ten battleships departed France the next day, taking less than two weeks to cross the Atlantic, and arrived in New York on 26 December to parades, celebrations, and a full naval review
by Secretary of the Navy Daniels. Arizona was the first in line and rendered a nineteen-gun salute to Daniels. Along with many of the other members of the recently returned fleet, she was anchored off New York City for the next several weeks and open to the public.
. In April, Arizonas crew won the Battenberg Cup rowing competition for the second straight year before the ship was deployed to France once again to escort President Wilson back to the United States. While the ship was awaiting Wilson's departure, she was redeployed to Smyrna (now Izmir
) in Turkey in response to tensions between Greece and Italy over the awarding of Smyrna to Greece in the Paris Peace Treaty. The Greek and Italian governments had each deployed a major warship to the area (Georgios Averof and Caio Duilio
, respectively) to enforce their interests. Soon after Arizona arrived, Greek ground forces arrived in transports and landed troops
. The resultant chaos in the city caused many American citizens in the area to seek shelter on board Arizona.
When the crisis abated, Arizona was ordered to Constantinople (now Istanbul
) before she sailed for home on 15 June. She put into the New York Navy Yard on 30 June for an overhaul, where six 5-inch guns were removed and the fire control system was modernized. Work was completed in January 1920 and the battleship sailed south to Guantanamo Bay for crew training. During this time, Arizona was fitted with a flying-off platform similar to the one given to Texas in March 1919. In April, Arizona lost the Battenberg Cup to Nevada, and in June she was present for the Naval Academy
's graduation ceremonies. In August she became the flagship of Battleship Division Seven, although it was only later in 1920 that the battleship was refitted to be an admiral's flagship.
In company with six battleships and eighteen destroyers, Arizona was sent south again to transit the Panama Canal
in January 1921. After meeting up with the Pacific Fleet, Arizona continued on to Peru for a week before the two fleets combined to practice battle maneuvers. After a short return to the Atlantic, which included an overhaul in New York, Arizona returned to Peru in the summer before she began operating from her new home port of San Pedro, California, where she was based until 1940.
_-_1924.jpg)
For the rest of the 1920s, Arizonas service consisted of routine training exercises. Naval historian Paul Stillwell remarked that "the Pacific years included a great deal of sameness and repetition", and his chronology of the ship's movements is filled with phrases like "torpedo-defense practice", "battle-practice rehearsal", "gunnery practice", "en route to ...", and "anchored at ...". A recurring theme in these years were the annual Fleet Problems, which began in 1923. The first two simulated an attack on the Panama Canal from the west, while in 1925 they attempted to defend the Hawaiian Islands. Other 1920s Fleet Problems included the Caribbean, near Central America, the West Indies, and Hawaii. A highlight of the years came on 27 July 1923, when she participated in President Warren G. Harding
's naval review
in Seattle. Harding died just one week later, and Arizona joined the Pacific Fleet to fire a salute in his honor on 3 August.
replaced the 3 inches (76.2 mm) guns with which she had been originally equipped. The ship's main gun turrets were modified to increased the maximum elevation of their guns to 30°. The compressed-air catapult on the quarterdeck was replaced by one that used black powder. Her deck armor was increased by the addition of a 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) thickness of STS
and the ship was bulged
to protect her from torpedoes. An additional bulkhead was added to the sides of the boiler rooms for the same purpose. Arizonas machinery was almost entirely replaced; her high-pressure turbines were replaced by more powerful geared turbines from the cancelled battleship and six new boilers replaced her originals. Their additional power offset the ship's increased displacement as demonstrated during her sea trials; Arizona made 20.7 knots (11.3 m/s) with 35081 shp at a displacement of 37654 lt.
_-_1930s.jpg)
On 19 March 1931, even before the ship ran her post-modernization sea trials, she hosted President Herbert Hoover
for a brief vacation in the Caribbean. The President visited Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands
. Returning on 29 March, Arizona then conducted her sea trials at Rockland, Maine
, and had another catapult fitted on the top of Turret III, before she was transferred to the West Coast
in August with her sister Pennsylvania. In February 1932, the ship participated in Fleet Problem XIII in which carrier aircraft successfully attacked Pearl Harbor
on Sunday morning, 7 February. After returning to the West Coast from Fleet Problem XIV in 1933, the ship was anchored in San Pedro when an earthquake struck nearby Long Beach, California
, on 10 March. Sailors from the ship joined the relief efforts, providing food, treating the injured and providing security from looters.
In early 1934, the ship and her crew were featured in a Jimmy Cagney film for Warner Brothers, Here Comes the Navy
, which made extensive use of exterior footage as well as on-board location shots. In the early morning of 26 July, Arizona collided with a fishing trawler, Umatilla, that was under tow by another trawler off Cape Flattery
. Two men aboard the Umatilla were killed in the collision and the Navy convened a Court of Inquiry to investigate the incident. The court recommended that the ship's captain, Captain
MacGillivray Milne
, be court-martialed. This took place at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
, Cuba
, while the ship was participating in that year's Fleet Problem off the East Coast
. Milne was judged guilty and replaced several months later by Captain George Baum after the ship returned to the West Coast. In the meantime, Rear Admiral
Samuel W. Bryant
assumed command of Battleship Division Two on 4 September, with Arizona as his flagship.
Rear Admiral George Pettengill relieved Bryant on 4 March 1935 and the ship participated in Fleet Problem XVI two months later. Arizona made a port visit to Balboa, Panama
, in May 1936 during Fleet Problem XVII. On 8 June, Captain George A. Alexander
relieved Baum as captain, and, 15 days later, Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch
relived Pettengill. During gunnery practice on 24 July, the combustion gases from one gun of Turret II entered the gun turret, burning one crewman. The turret's sprinkling system was turned on to prevent any powder explosion, but the water leaked into the turret's electrical switchboard and started a small fire that was easily put out. During this time, the ship was more often anchored than at sea to save fuel. In Fiscal Year 1936–37, the ship was anchored for 267 days; the following year it was in port for 255 days. The ship spent the rest of her career based in the West Coast or in Hawaii.
On 2 January 1937, Rear Admiral John Greenslade
assumed command of Battleship Division Two from Bloch and transferred his flag to the battleship on 13 April. Rear Admiral Manley Simons, commander of Battleship Division One, transferred his flag to Arizona on 7 August. He was relieved by Rear Admiral Adolphus Wilson on 8 November. Captain Alfred Winsor Brown
relieved Baum on 11 December. The ship participated in Fleet Problem XIX off Hawaii in April–May 1938. Captain Brown died in his sleep on 7 September and Captain Isaac C. Kidd
assumed command of the ship on 17 September 1938. That same day, Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz
assumed command of Battleship Division One. Nimitz was relieved on 27 May 1939 by Rear Admiral Russell Willson
.
Arizonas last fleet problem was off Hawaii in April–May 1940. At its conclusion, the United States Fleet
was retained in Hawaiian waters, based at Pearl Harbor, to deter the Japanese. She was overhauled at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington
, from October 1940 to January 1941. During this refit, her anti-aircraft armament was increased to twelve 5-inch guns, the foundation for a search radar
was added atop her foremast, her anti-aircraft directors were upgraded and a platform for four water-cooled 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) caliber M2 Browning machine gun
s was installed at the very top of the mainmast. Her last flag change-of-command occurred on 23 January 1941, when Willson was relieved by Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd. Captain Harry C. Train assumed command of the ship on 3 February.
Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh
relieved Train on 3 February 1941. The battleship's last training exercise was night-firing in company with the battleships and , on the night of 4 December. All three ships moored at quays along Ford Island
on the following day. On 6 December, the repair ship came alongside to assist the ship's crew with minor repairs.
ese aircraft from six aircraft carrier
s struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor, and—in the ensuing two attack waves—wrought devastation on the battle line and on air and military facilities defending Pearl Harbor. On board Arizona, the ship's air raid alarm went off about 07:55, and the ship went to general quarters
soon thereafter. Shortly after 08:00, the ship was attacked by 10 Nakajima B5N
"Kate" torpedo bomber
s, five each from the carriers and . All of the B5Ns were carrying 410 millimetres (16.1 in) armor-piercing
shells modified into 797 kilograms (1,757.1 lb) aircraft bombs. Flying at an estimated altitude of 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft), Kagas aircraft bombed from amidships to the ship's stern and were followed shortly afterward by Hiryus bombers which bombed the bow area.
The bombers scored four hits and three near misses on and around Arizona. The near miss off the port bow is believed to have caused observers to believe that the ship had been torpedoed, although no torpedo damage has been found. The sternmost bomb ricocheted off the face of Turret IV and penetrated the deck to detonate in the captain's pantry, causing a small fire. The next forwardmost hit was near the port edge of the ship, abreast the mainmast, probably detonating in the area of the anti-torpedo bulkhead. The next bomb struck near the port rear 5-inch AA gun.
located in the forward section of the ship. While not enough of the ship is intact to judge the exact location, its effects are indisputable. About seven seconds after the hit, the forward magazines detonated in a cataclysmic explosion, mostly venting through the sides of the ship and destroying much of the interior structure of the forward part of the ship. This caused the forward turrets and conning tower to collapse downward some 25–30 ft (7.6–9.1 ) and the foremast and funnel to collapse forward. The explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,400 crewmen on board at the time, almost half of the lives lost during the attack. It touched off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. Ironically, the blast from this explosion also put out fires on the repair ship Vestal, which was moored alongside.
Two competing theories have arisen about the cause of the explosion. The first is that that the bomb detonated in or near the black powder magazine used for the ship's saluting guns and catapult charges. This would have detonated first and then ignited the smokeless powder magazine which was used for the ship's main armament. A 1944 Navy Bureau of Ships
report suggests that a hatch leading to the black powder magazine was left open, possibly with inflammable materials stocked nearby. The Naval History & Heritage Command explained that black powder might have been stockpiled outside of the armored magazine. This theory is plausible because black powder is easy to ignite and the relatively small amount of explosive filler in the bomb could have easily done so. The alternative explanation is that the bomb penetrated the armored decks and detonated directly inside one of the starboard magazines for the main armament; however, smokeless powder is relatively insensitive to fire and the 14-inch powder bags actually required a black powder pad to ignite the powder. It seems unlikely that a definitive answer to this question will ever be found, however, as the surviving physical evidence is insufficient to determine the cause of the magazine explosion.
Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship's damage control officer, earned the Medal of Honor
for his cool-headedness while quelling fires and getting survivors off the ship. Posthumous awards of the Medal of Honor also went to Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd
, the first flag officer killed in the Pacific war, and to Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh
, who reached the bridge and was attempting to defend his ship when the bomb that hit the ammunition magazines destroyed her.
Arizona was awarded one battle star for her service in World War II
.
on 1 December 1942. Her surviving superstructure was scrapped
in 1942, and her main armament was salvaged
over the next year and a half. The aft main gun turrets were removed and reinstalled as United States Army
Coast Artillery Corps Battery Arizona at Kahe Point on the west coast of Oahu
and Battery Pennsylvania on the Mokapu Peninsula, covering Kaneohe Bay. The latter battery fired its guns for the first and last time in August 1945, while Battery Arizona was never completed. Both forward turrets were left in place, although the guns from Turret II were salvaged and later installed on the battleship in the fall of 1944 after having been straightened and relined. Nevada later fired these same guns against the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima
.
It is commonly—but incorrectly—believed that Arizona remains perpetually in commission, like the . Arizona is under the control of the National Park Service
, but the US Navy still retains the title. Arizona retains the right, in perpetuity, to fly the United States flag as if she were an active, commissioned naval vessel.
The wreck of Arizona remains at Pearl Harbor, a memorial to the men of her crew lost that December morning in 1941. On 7 March 1950, Admiral
Arthur W. Radford
, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet at that time, instituted the raising of colors over her remains. Legislation during the administrations of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower
and John F. Kennedy
resulted in the designation of the wreck as a national shrine in 1962. A memorial was built across the ship's sunken remains, including a shrine room listing the names of the lost crew members on a marble wall. The national memorial
was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on 15 October 1966. The ship herself was designated a National Historic Landmark
on 5 May 1989.
While the superstructure and two of the four main gun turrets were removed, the barbette of one of the turrets remains visible above the water. , 70 years after the explosion that destroyed Arizona, oil leaks from the hull still rise to the surface of the water. Arizona continues to leak about a quart (0.95 L) of oil per day into the harbor. Upon their death, survivors of the attack may have their ashes placed within the ship, among their fallen comrades. Veterans who served aboard the ship at other times may have the ashes scattered in the water above the ship. The Navy, in conjunction with the National Park Service, has recently overseen a comprehensive computerized mapping of the hull, being careful to honor its role as a war grave
. The Navy is considering non-intrusive means of abating the continued leakage of oil to avoid the further environmental degradation of the harbor.
One of the original Arizona bells now hangs in the University of Arizona
Student Union Memorial Center bell tower. The bell is rung after every home football
victory. A mast and anchor from Arizona are in Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza
just east of the Arizona
state capitol
complex in downtown Phoenix, Arizona
. Other artifacts from the ship, such as items from the ship's silver service
, are on permanent exhibit in the Arizona State Capitol Museum.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
in 1916, the ship remained stateside during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
to the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
. The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
and was assigned to it for the rest of her career.
Aside from a comprehensive modernization in 1929–31, the ship spent most of her time between the wars training, including participation in the annual Fleet Problem
Fleet problem
Fleet problem was the term used by the United States Navy to describe each of 21 large-scale naval exercises conducted between 1923 and 1940. They are labeled with roman numerals, from Fleet Problem I through Fleet Problem XXI. A 22nd Fleet Problem exercise, scheduled for 1941, was canceled because...
s. Arizona was anchored nearby when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake
1933 Long Beach earthquake
The Long Beach earthquake of 1933 took place on March 10, 1933 at 17:55 PST , with a magnitude of 6.4, causing widespread damage to buildings throughout Southern California. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach on the Newport-Inglewood Fault. An estimated fifty million dollars worth...
struck, and her crew aided the survivors. Two years later, the ship was featured in a Warner Brothers film about the romantic troubles of a sailor starring Jimmy Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
. In April 1940, she, and the rest of the Pacific Fleet, was transferred to their new base in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, as a deterrent to the Japanese Empire.
Arizona is most widely known for her sinking during the Japanese attack
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, with the loss of 1,177 lives. The attack provoked the United States into declaring war on Japan, thereby entering World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Unlike many of the other ships sunk or damaged that day, Arizona could not be fully salvaged, though the navy removed parts of the ship for reuse. The wreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial
USS Arizona Memorial
The USS Arizona Memorial, located at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors killed on the USS Arizona during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 by Japanese imperial forces and commemorates the events of that day...
, dedicated on 30 May 1962 to all those who died during the attack, straddles the ship's hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
.
Description
The Pennsylvania-class ships were significantly larger than their predecessors of the . Arizona had an overall length of 608 feet (185.3 m), a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 97 feet (29.6 m) (at the waterline
Waterline
The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
), and a draft of 29 in 3 in (8.92 m) at deep load. This was 25 feet (7.6 m) longer than the older ships. She displaced 29158 long tons (29,626 MT) at standard
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
and 31917 long tons (32,429.3 MT) at deep load, over 4000 long tons (4,064.2 MT) more than the older ships. The ship had a metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
of 7.82 feet (2.4 m) at deep load.
The ship had four direct-drive Parsons
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
sets, each of which drove a propeller 12 foot in diameter. They were powered by twelve Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 31500 shp, but only achieved 29366 shp during Arizonas sea trial
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s, when she slightly exceeded her designed speed of 21 knots (11.4 m/s). However, she did manage to reach 21.5 knots (11.7 m/s) during a full-power trial in September 1924. She was designed to normally carry 1548 long tons (1,573 t) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
, but had a maximum capacity of 2305 long tons (2,342 t). At full capacity, the ship could steam at a speed of 12 knots for an estimated 7552 nautical mile with a clean bottom. She had four 300 kW turbo generator
Turbo generator
A turbo generator is a turbine directly connected to an electric generator for the generation of electric power. Large steam powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used by steam powered turbo-electric ships.Smaller turbo-generators with gas turbines...
s.
Arizona carried twelve 45-caliber
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
14-inch guns
14"/45 caliber gun
The 14"/45 caliber gun, known initially as the Mark 1, 2, 3, and 5, and later as the Mark 8, 9, 10, and 12, were the first 14-inch guns to be employed with the United States Navy. They were installed aboard the United States Navy's New York, Nevada, and Pennsylvania-class battleships as the primary...
in triple gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s. The turrets were numbered from I to IV from front to rear. The guns could not elevate independently and were limited to a maximum elevation of +15° which gave them a maximum range of 21000 yards (19,202.4 m). The ship carried 100 shells for each gun. Defense against torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s was provided by twenty-two 51-caliber five-inch guns mounted in individual casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s in the sides of the ship's hull. They proved to be very wet and could not be worked in heavy seas. At an elevation of 15°, they had a maximum range of 14050 yards (12,847.3 m). Each gun was provided with 230 rounds of ammunition. The ship mounted four 50-caliber three-inch guns for anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
defense, although only two were fitted when completed. The other pair were added shortly afterward on top of Turret III. Arizona also mounted two 21 inches (53 cm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s and carried 24 torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es for them.
The Pennsylvania-class design continued the all-or-nothing principle of armoring only the only most important areas of the ship begun in the preceding Nevada class. The waterline
Waterline
The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
armor belt
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
of Krupp armor measured 13.5 inches (343 mm) thick and only covered the ship's machinery spaces and magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
. It had a total height of 17 inch, of which 8 foot was below the waterline; beginning 2 inch below the waterline, the belt tapered to its minimum thickness of 8 inches (20 cm). The transverse bulkheads
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
at each end of the ship ranged from 13 to 8 inches in thickness. The faces of the gun turrets were 18 inches (46 cm) thick while the sides were 9–10 in (22.9–25.4 ) thick and the turret roofs were protected by 5 inches (13 cm) of armor. The armor of the barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s was 18 to 4.5 in (457.2 to 114.3 mm) thick. The conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
was protected by 16 inches (41 cm) of armor and had a roof eight inches thick.
The main armor deck was three plates thick with a total thickness of 3 inches (8 cm); over the steering gear the armor increased to 6.25 inches (16 cm) in two plates. Beneath it was the splinter deck that ranged from 1.5 to 2 in (38.1 to 50.8 mm) in thickness. The boiler uptakes were protected by a conical mantlet
Mantlet
A mantlet was a large shield or portable shelter used for stopping arrows or bullets, in medieval warfare. A mantlet could be mounted on a wheeled carriage, and protected one or several soldiers....
that ranged from 9 to 15 in (22.9 to 38.1 ) in thickness. A three-inch torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
was placed 9 inch inboard from the ship's side and the ship was provided with a complete double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
. Testing in mid-1914 revealed that this system could withstand 300 pounds (136.1 kg) of TNT.
Construction and trials
The keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
of battleship number 39 was laid on the morning of 16 March 1914 with Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy....
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in attendance. The builders set a goal of a world-record ten months between the ship's keel-laying and launch, but the ship was a little over half complete in March 1915. It was only on 19 June 1915, fifteen months after the keel-laying, that the hull of the new super-dreadnought, named after the newest state in the union by Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor and publisher from North Carolina who was appointed by United States President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I...
, was launched into the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
.
The New York Times estimated that 75,000 people attended the launch, including John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel
John Purroy Mitchel was the mayor of New York from 1914 to 1917. At age 34 he was the second-youngest ever; he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mayor Mitchel is remembered for his short career as leader of Reform politics in New York, as well as for his early death as an...
, the Mayor of New York City, George W. P. Hunt, the governor of Arizona, and many high-ranking military officials. Several warships were also nearby, including many of the new dreadnoughts which had already entered service . Esther Ross, the daughter of an Arizona pioneer family, was given the honors of ship sponsor and christening
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
. Though this traditionally involved smashing a bottle of wine or champagne over the bow of the ship being launched, Arizona's state government had banned alcohol, so the state's governor decided that two bottles would be used: one full of champagne from Ohio, and another filled with water from the Roosevelt Dam. After the launch, Arizona was towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
for fitting-out
Fitting-out
Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...
.
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
into the navy on 17 October 1916 with John D. McDonald as captain. She departed New York on 10 November 1916 after the crew had cleaned the ship and the propulsion system had been tested at the dock. After acclimating the ship's magnetic compasses, the ship sailed south for her shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
. She towed targets for Pennsylvania
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
USS Pennsylvania was a United States Navy super-dreadnought battleship. She was the third Navy ship named for the state of Pennsylvania....
while outside Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, then turned back north to take torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es on board before reversing course for Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
. A stripped turbine on 7 December forced the navy to order Arizona back to New York for repairs, although she was able to enter Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
to test her main
Main battery
Generally used only in the terms of naval warfare, the main battery is the primary weapon around which a ship was designed. "Battery" is in itself a common term in the military science of artillery. For example, the United States Navy battleship USS Washington had a main battery of nine guns...
and secondary gun batteries on 19–20 December. The turbine could not be fixed inside the ship, so the yard workers were forced to cut holes in the upper decks to lift the damaged casing out. The turbine was reinstalled after almost four months of repairs at the naval yard.
World War I
Arizona left the yard on 3 April 1917, and three days later, the United States declared war on Germany. Assigned to Battleship Division 8 operating out of the York RiverYork River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
, Arizona was only employed as a gunnery training ship for the navy crewmen who sailed on armed merchant vessels crossing the Atlantic in convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s. Shortly after the war began, eight of her 5-inch guns (the four guns furthest forward and the sternmost four guns) were removed to equip merchant ships. When the ship sailed near the old San Marcos
USS Texas (1892)
USS Texas was a second-class pre-dreadnought battleship built by the United States in the early 1890s. She was the first American battleship and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas to be built by the United States...
(ex-Texas), the wreck was sometimes used as a target for the 14-inch guns. She rarely ventured into the ocean for fear of U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s, and when she did, it was only in the company of other battleships and escort ships. Four American dreadnoughts were eventually sent across the Atlantic in December 1917 as Battleship Division Nine
United States Battleship Division Nine (World War I)
United States Battleship Division Nine was a division of four, later five, dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet that constituted the American contribution to the British Grand Fleet during World War I. Although the U.S. entered the war on 6 April 1917, hesitation among...
, but Arizona was not among them, as it was easier to supply coal than oil in the United Kingdom. Life for Arizonas crew was not all practice, though. In July 1918, the race-boat
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
team from Arizona was able to win the Battenberg Cup
Battenberg Cup
The Battenberg Cup is an award given annually as a symbol of operational excellence to the best ship or submarine in the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet. The cup was originally awarded as a trophy to the winner of cutter or longboat rowing competitions between crews of American and British naval...
by taking a three-length lead over their closest competitor, the team from Nevada, and holding it until the end of the three-mile race.
The war ended on 11 November with an armistice. A week later, the ship left the United States for the United Kingdom, arriving on 30 November. After two weeks berthed at Portland Harbor
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is one of the largest man-made harbours in the world. Grid reference: .-History:...
, Arizona sailed for France. On 13 December, Arizona joined nine battleships and twenty-eight destroyers escorting President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
on the ocean liner into Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
for one day on Wilson's journey to the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
. The ten battleships departed France the next day, taking less than two weeks to cross the Atlantic, and arrived in New York on 26 December to parades, celebrations, and a full naval review
Naval Review
A Naval Review is an event, where the whole of the US Navy is paraded to be reviewed by the president or the Secretary of the Navy. It often includes delegates from other national navies. It is more regular and frequent than its British equivalent, the Fleet Review, and often occurs on a Navy...
by Secretary of the Navy Daniels. Arizona was the first in line and rendered a nineteen-gun salute to Daniels. Along with many of the other members of the recently returned fleet, she was anchored off New York City for the next several weeks and open to the public.
1920s
Arizona sailed from New York for Hampton Roads, where she arrived on 22 January, and she continued south to Guantanamo Bay not long after, arriving on 8 February. The time in Caribbean waters was mostly used in training for battles and fleet maneuvering, although it was interspersed with a liberty visit to Port of SpainPort of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
. In April, Arizonas crew won the Battenberg Cup rowing competition for the second straight year before the ship was deployed to France once again to escort President Wilson back to the United States. While the ship was awaiting Wilson's departure, she was redeployed to Smyrna (now Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
) in Turkey in response to tensions between Greece and Italy over the awarding of Smyrna to Greece in the Paris Peace Treaty. The Greek and Italian governments had each deployed a major warship to the area (Georgios Averof and Caio Duilio
Italian battleship Caio Duilio
Caio Duilio was an Italian that served in the Regia Marina during World War I and World War II. She was named after the Roman fleet commander Gaius Duilius. Caio Duilio was laid down on 24 February 1912 and after a year and two months of construction, she was launched on 24 April 1913...
, respectively) to enforce their interests. Soon after Arizona arrived, Greek ground forces arrived in transports and landed troops
Greek landing at Smyrna
The Greek landing at Smyrna, also known as the Greek invasion of Smyrna and the Greek invasion of Izmir was event early in the Greco-Turkish War that led to a Greek occupation of the area....
. The resultant chaos in the city caused many American citizens in the area to seek shelter on board Arizona.
When the crisis abated, Arizona was ordered to Constantinople (now Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
) before she sailed for home on 15 June. She put into the New York Navy Yard on 30 June for an overhaul, where six 5-inch guns were removed and the fire control system was modernized. Work was completed in January 1920 and the battleship sailed south to Guantanamo Bay for crew training. During this time, Arizona was fitted with a flying-off platform similar to the one given to Texas in March 1919. In April, Arizona lost the Battenberg Cup to Nevada, and in June she was present for the Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
's graduation ceremonies. In August she became the flagship of Battleship Division Seven, although it was only later in 1920 that the battleship was refitted to be an admiral's flagship.
In company with six battleships and eighteen destroyers, Arizona was sent south again to transit the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
in January 1921. After meeting up with the Pacific Fleet, Arizona continued on to Peru for a week before the two fleets combined to practice battle maneuvers. After a short return to the Atlantic, which included an overhaul in New York, Arizona returned to Peru in the summer before she began operating from her new home port of San Pedro, California, where she was based until 1940.
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
's naval review
Naval Review
A Naval Review is an event, where the whole of the US Navy is paraded to be reviewed by the president or the Secretary of the Navy. It often includes delegates from other national navies. It is more regular and frequent than its British equivalent, the Fleet Review, and often occurs on a Navy...
in Seattle. Harding died just one week later, and Arizona joined the Pacific Fleet to fire a salute in his honor on 3 August.
Modernization
Four months after Fleet Problem IX in January 1929, Arizona was modernized at the Norfolk Navy Yard. New tripod masts, surmounted by three-tiered fire-control directors for the main and secondary armament, replaced the old hyperboloid cage masts; the number of 5 inches (127 mm) guns was reduced to 12 and re-positioned one deck higher, and eight 25-caliber 5-inch anti-aircraft gunsAnti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
replaced the 3 inches (76.2 mm) guns with which she had been originally equipped. The ship's main gun turrets were modified to increased the maximum elevation of their guns to 30°. The compressed-air catapult on the quarterdeck was replaced by one that used black powder. Her deck armor was increased by the addition of a 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) thickness of STS
Special treatment steel
Special Treatment Steel , also known as Protective Deck Plate. Originally developed by Carnegie Steel around 1910, it became the U.S. Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair standard form of high-percentage nickel steel used on all portions of a warship needing homogeneous direct impact protection...
and the ship was bulged
Anti-torpedo bulge
The anti-torpedo bulge is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars.-Theory and form:...
to protect her from torpedoes. An additional bulkhead was added to the sides of the boiler rooms for the same purpose. Arizonas machinery was almost entirely replaced; her high-pressure turbines were replaced by more powerful geared turbines from the cancelled battleship and six new boilers replaced her originals. Their additional power offset the ship's increased displacement as demonstrated during her sea trials; Arizona made 20.7 knots (11.3 m/s) with 35081 shp at a displacement of 37654 lt.
1930s
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
for a brief vacation in the Caribbean. The President visited Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
. Returning on 29 March, Arizona then conducted her sea trials at Rockland, Maine
Rockland, Maine
Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...
, and had another catapult fitted on the top of Turret III, before she was transferred to the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
in August with her sister Pennsylvania. In February 1932, the ship participated in Fleet Problem XIII in which carrier aircraft successfully attacked Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on Sunday morning, 7 February. After returning to the West Coast from Fleet Problem XIV in 1933, the ship was anchored in San Pedro when an earthquake struck nearby Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, on 10 March. Sailors from the ship joined the relief efforts, providing food, treating the injured and providing security from looters.
In early 1934, the ship and her crew were featured in a Jimmy Cagney film for Warner Brothers, Here Comes the Navy
Here Comes the Navy
Here Comes the Navy is a 1934 American romantic comedy film starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart, and Frank McHugh. The movie was written by Earl Baldwin and Ben Markson, and directed by Lloyd Bacon....
, which made extensive use of exterior footage as well as on-board location shots. In the early morning of 26 July, Arizona collided with a fishing trawler, Umatilla, that was under tow by another trawler off Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery may refer to:* Cape Flattery * Cape Flattery , between North Direction Island, South Direction Island and Three Islands...
. Two men aboard the Umatilla were killed in the collision and the Navy convened a Court of Inquiry to investigate the incident. The court recommended that the ship's captain, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
MacGillivray Milne
MacGillivray Milne
MacGillivray Milne was a United States Navy Captain, and the 27th Governor of American Samoa from January 20, 1936, to June 3, 1938. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, Milne served many posts in the Navy, including heading the Department of Modern Languages at the Naval Academy...
, be court-martialed. This took place at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, while the ship was participating in that year's Fleet Problem off the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Milne was judged guilty and replaced several months later by Captain George Baum after the ship returned to the West Coast. In the meantime, Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Samuel W. Bryant
Samuel W. Bryant
Samuel Wood Bryant was an admiral in the United States Navy.-Biography:Bryant was born in Washington, Pennsylvania on May 24, 1877 and attended Bryant School and Pittsburgh Academy before receiving an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in May 1893...
assumed command of Battleship Division Two on 4 September, with Arizona as his flagship.
Rear Admiral George Pettengill relieved Bryant on 4 March 1935 and the ship participated in Fleet Problem XVI two months later. Arizona made a port visit to Balboa, Panama
Balboa, Panama
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...
, in May 1936 during Fleet Problem XVII. On 8 June, Captain George A. Alexander
George A. Alexander
George Andrew Alexander was a United States Navy Captain who served as the 35th Naval Governor of Guam. Prior to serving as governor, he commanded the USS Medusa. As Governor of Guam, he greatly changed the judicial system by purging the island of leftover Spainish laws and replacing them with the...
relieved Baum as captain, and, 15 days later, Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch
Claude C. Bloch
Admiral Claude Charles Bloch was a United States Navy admiral who served as Commander, Battle Force, U.S. Fleet from 1937–1938; and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet from 1938-1940.-Biography:...
relived Pettengill. During gunnery practice on 24 July, the combustion gases from one gun of Turret II entered the gun turret, burning one crewman. The turret's sprinkling system was turned on to prevent any powder explosion, but the water leaked into the turret's electrical switchboard and started a small fire that was easily put out. During this time, the ship was more often anchored than at sea to save fuel. In Fiscal Year 1936–37, the ship was anchored for 267 days; the following year it was in port for 255 days. The ship spent the rest of her career based in the West Coast or in Hawaii.
On 2 January 1937, Rear Admiral John Greenslade
John Greenslade
John Wills Greenslade was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy. Admiral Greenslade enjoyed a significant military career during World War II. From 1941-1944 Greenslade was Commandant, Twelfth Naval District, with additional duty as Commandant, Pacific Southern Naval Coastal Frontier...
assumed command of Battleship Division Two from Bloch and transferred his flag to the battleship on 13 April. Rear Admiral Manley Simons, commander of Battleship Division One, transferred his flag to Arizona on 7 August. He was relieved by Rear Admiral Adolphus Wilson on 8 November. Captain Alfred Winsor Brown
Alfred Winsor Brown
Alfred Winsor Brown was a United States Navy Captain who served as the 31st Naval Governor of Guam. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1907, serving aboard a number of ships in many different capacities soon after. He returned to the Academy on staff before serving as the first...
relieved Baum on 11 December. The ship participated in Fleet Problem XIX off Hawaii in April–May 1938. Captain Brown died in his sleep on 7 September and Captain Isaac C. Kidd
Isaac C. Kidd
Isaac Campbell Kidd was an American Rear Admiral in the United States Navy who was killed on the bridge of the during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the father of Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.. He was a posthumous recipient of his nation's highest military honor — the Medal of...
assumed command of the ship on 17 September 1938. That same day, Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
assumed command of Battleship Division One. Nimitz was relieved on 27 May 1939 by Rear Admiral Russell Willson
Russell Willson
Vice Admiral Russell Willson was a flag officer of the United States Navy and inventor of the Navy Cipher Box issued in 1917.The son of Sidney Louis Willson and Lucy Fenton Staats Willson, Russell Willson attended the Massachusetts Institute of...
.
Arizonas last fleet problem was off Hawaii in April–May 1940. At its conclusion, the United States Fleet
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...
was retained in Hawaiian waters, based at Pearl Harbor, to deter the Japanese. She was overhauled at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, from October 1940 to January 1941. During this refit, her anti-aircraft armament was increased to twelve 5-inch guns, the foundation for a search radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
was added atop her foremast, her anti-aircraft directors were upgraded and a platform for four water-cooled 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) caliber M2 Browning machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s was installed at the very top of the mainmast. Her last flag change-of-command occurred on 23 January 1941, when Willson was relieved by Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd. Captain Harry C. Train assumed command of the ship on 3 February.
Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh
Franklin Van Valkenburgh
Franklin Van Valkenburgh was the last captain of the . He was killed when the Arizona exploded and sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor.-Military service:...
relieved Train on 3 February 1941. The battleship's last training exercise was night-firing in company with the battleships and , on the night of 4 December. All three ships moored at quays along Ford Island
Ford Island
Ford Island is located in the middle of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is connected to the main island by the Ford Island Bridge. Before the bridge was built, Ford Island could only be reached by a ferry boat which ran at hourly intervals for cars and foot passengers. The island houses several naval...
on the following day. On 6 December, the repair ship came alongside to assist the ship's crew with minor repairs.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Shortly before 08:00, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese aircraft from six aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s struck the Pacific Fleet as it lay in port at Pearl Harbor, and—in the ensuing two attack waves—wrought devastation on the battle line and on air and military facilities defending Pearl Harbor. On board Arizona, the ship's air raid alarm went off about 07:55, and the ship went to general quarters
General quarters
General Quarters or Battle Stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the crew to prepare for battle or imminent damage....
soon thereafter. Shortly after 08:00, the ship was attacked by 10 Nakajima B5N
Nakajima B5N
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgwater, H.C. and Peter Scott. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7....
"Kate" torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
s, five each from the carriers and . All of the B5Ns were carrying 410 millimetres (16.1 in) armor-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
shells modified into 797 kilograms (1,757.1 lb) aircraft bombs. Flying at an estimated altitude of 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft), Kagas aircraft bombed from amidships to the ship's stern and were followed shortly afterward by Hiryus bombers which bombed the bow area.
The bombers scored four hits and three near misses on and around Arizona. The near miss off the port bow is believed to have caused observers to believe that the ship had been torpedoed, although no torpedo damage has been found. The sternmost bomb ricocheted off the face of Turret IV and penetrated the deck to detonate in the captain's pantry, causing a small fire. The next forwardmost hit was near the port edge of the ship, abreast the mainmast, probably detonating in the area of the anti-torpedo bulkhead. The next bomb struck near the port rear 5-inch AA gun.
Ammunition magazine explosion
The last bomb hit at 08:06 in the vicinity of Turret II, likely penetrating the armored deck near the ammunition magazinesMagazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
located in the forward section of the ship. While not enough of the ship is intact to judge the exact location, its effects are indisputable. About seven seconds after the hit, the forward magazines detonated in a cataclysmic explosion, mostly venting through the sides of the ship and destroying much of the interior structure of the forward part of the ship. This caused the forward turrets and conning tower to collapse downward some 25–30 ft (7.6–9.1 ) and the foremast and funnel to collapse forward. The explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,400 crewmen on board at the time, almost half of the lives lost during the attack. It touched off fierce fires that burned for two days; debris showered down on Ford Island in the vicinity. Ironically, the blast from this explosion also put out fires on the repair ship Vestal, which was moored alongside.
Two competing theories have arisen about the cause of the explosion. The first is that that the bomb detonated in or near the black powder magazine used for the ship's saluting guns and catapult charges. This would have detonated first and then ignited the smokeless powder magazine which was used for the ship's main armament. A 1944 Navy Bureau of Ships
Bureau of Ships
The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships was established by Congress on June 20, 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering. The new Bureau was to be headed by a Chief and Deputy-Chief, one selected from the engineering...
report suggests that a hatch leading to the black powder magazine was left open, possibly with inflammable materials stocked nearby. The Naval History & Heritage Command explained that black powder might have been stockpiled outside of the armored magazine. This theory is plausible because black powder is easy to ignite and the relatively small amount of explosive filler in the bomb could have easily done so. The alternative explanation is that the bomb penetrated the armored decks and detonated directly inside one of the starboard magazines for the main armament; however, smokeless powder is relatively insensitive to fire and the 14-inch powder bags actually required a black powder pad to ignite the powder. It seems unlikely that a definitive answer to this question will ever be found, however, as the surviving physical evidence is insufficient to determine the cause of the magazine explosion.
Awards and recognition
Acts of heroism on the part of Arizonas officers and men were many. Lieutenant CommanderLieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship's damage control officer, earned the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his cool-headedness while quelling fires and getting survivors off the ship. Posthumous awards of the Medal of Honor also went to Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd
Isaac C. Kidd
Isaac Campbell Kidd was an American Rear Admiral in the United States Navy who was killed on the bridge of the during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the father of Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.. He was a posthumous recipient of his nation's highest military honor — the Medal of...
, the first flag officer killed in the Pacific war, and to Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh
Franklin Van Valkenburgh
Franklin Van Valkenburgh was the last captain of the . He was killed when the Arizona exploded and sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor.-Military service:...
, who reached the bridge and was attempting to defend his ship when the bomb that hit the ammunition magazines destroyed her.
Arizona was awarded one battle star for her service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Ship preservation
Arizona was placed "in ordinary" (declared to be temporarily out of service) at Pearl Harbor on 29 December, and was struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 December 1942. Her surviving superstructure was scrapped
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1942, and her main armament was salvaged
Marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
over the next year and a half. The aft main gun turrets were removed and reinstalled as United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Coast Artillery Corps Battery Arizona at Kahe Point on the west coast of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
and Battery Pennsylvania on the Mokapu Peninsula, covering Kaneohe Bay. The latter battery fired its guns for the first and last time in August 1945, while Battery Arizona was never completed. Both forward turrets were left in place, although the guns from Turret II were salvaged and later installed on the battleship in the fall of 1944 after having been straightened and relined. Nevada later fired these same guns against the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
.
It is commonly—but incorrectly—believed that Arizona remains perpetually in commission, like the . Arizona is under the control of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, but the US Navy still retains the title. Arizona retains the right, in perpetuity, to fly the United States flag as if she were an active, commissioned naval vessel.
Memorial and honors
The wreck of Arizona remains at Pearl Harbor, a memorial to the men of her crew lost that December morning in 1941. On 7 March 1950, Admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
Arthur W. Radford
Arthur W. Radford
Arthur William Radford was a United States Navy Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Arthur Radford was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1896...
, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet at that time, instituted the raising of colors over her remains. Legislation during the administrations of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
resulted in the designation of the wreck as a national shrine in 1962. A memorial was built across the ship's sunken remains, including a shrine room listing the names of the lost crew members on a marble wall. The national memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on 15 October 1966. The ship herself was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on 5 May 1989.
While the superstructure and two of the four main gun turrets were removed, the barbette of one of the turrets remains visible above the water. , 70 years after the explosion that destroyed Arizona, oil leaks from the hull still rise to the surface of the water. Arizona continues to leak about a quart (0.95 L) of oil per day into the harbor. Upon their death, survivors of the attack may have their ashes placed within the ship, among their fallen comrades. Veterans who served aboard the ship at other times may have the ashes scattered in the water above the ship. The Navy, in conjunction with the National Park Service, has recently overseen a comprehensive computerized mapping of the hull, being careful to honor its role as a war grave
War grave
A war grave is a burial place for soldiers or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. The term does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be war graves, as are military aircraft that crash into water...
. The Navy is considering non-intrusive means of abating the continued leakage of oil to avoid the further environmental degradation of the harbor.
One of the original Arizona bells now hangs in the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
Student Union Memorial Center bell tower. The bell is rung after every home football
Arizona Wildcats football
The Arizona Wildcats football team is the football team of the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level.-Early years:...
victory. A mast and anchor from Arizona are in Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza
Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza
The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is an urban park and gathering place, located in front of the Arizona state capitol complex in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It serves as a home to a number of memorials honoring prominent figures in Arizona history as well as memorializing significant wars and other...
just east of the Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
state capitol
Arizona State Capitol
The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, formerly housed the Territorial and State Legislatures, as well as various executive offices...
complex in downtown Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. Other artifacts from the ship, such as items from the ship's silver service
Silver Service
The Silver Service is a brand currently applied by Amtrak to two of its East Coast long-distance passenger trains operating between New York City and Miami:*Silver Meteor*Silver Star...
, are on permanent exhibit in the Arizona State Capitol Museum.
External links
- USS Arizona details, position and chart on the wrecksite
- Interactive USS Arizona Memorial Search the memorial for names.
- Loss of the USS Arizona
- Maritimequest USS Arizona BB-39 photo gallery
- USS Arizona (BB-39), 1916–1941—Online Library of Selected Images (US Navy)
- USS Arizona, Naval Vessel Register
- USS Arizona Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)
- "Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan