USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was a Nevada-class battleship of the United States Navy, the second of two ships in her class. Commissioned in 1916, she served in both World War I and World War II, primarily on convoy and patrol duties. The ship is most remembered for her catastrophic loss during the Attack on Pearl Harbor, where she capsized after being struck by multiple torpedoes.

Design and description

The Oklahoma was a dreadnought battleship designed under the "all or nothing" armor scheme pioneered by American naval architect John H. G. Woodward. This concept concentrated heavy armor plate on vital areas like the citadel, magazines, and machinery spaces, while leaving less critical sections lightly protected. Her main battery consisted of ten 14-inch/45-caliber guns mounted in two triple and two twin gun turrets. Secondary armament included twenty-one 5-inch/51-caliber guns for defense against destroyers and torpedo boats. Propulsion was provided by twelve Babcock & Wilcox boilers powering two Curtis steam turbines, driving two shafts for a top speed of 20.5 knots. The ship's design was heavily influenced by lessons from the Battle of Jutland and advancements in naval artillery.

Construction and career

The contract for the vessel was awarded to the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, with her keel laid on 26 October 1912. She was launched on 23 March 1914, sponsored by Lorena J. Cruce, daughter of Oklahoma Governor Lee Cruce, and commissioned on 2 May 1916 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Following American entry into World War I, she was assigned to Battleship Division Six based in Bantry Bay, Ireland, tasked with protecting Allied convoys from threats like German U-boats. During the interwar period, she operated with both the Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet, participating in extensive fleet exercises and goodwill visits to ports like Valparaíso and Callao. In 1937, she aided in search efforts following the disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart.

Pearl Harbor and loss

On the morning of 7 December 1941, Oklahoma was moored outboard of USS Maryland (BB-46) on Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor. During the first wave of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, she was struck by as many as nine torpedoes launched by Nakajima B5N aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy carriers ''Akagi'' and ''Kaga''. The rapid succession of hits on her port side caused catastrophic flooding. Within approximately twelve minutes, the battleship lost stability, rolled over, and settled bottom-up, her masts touching the harbor bottom. The attack resulted in the deaths of 429 members of her crew, including many who were trapped inside the hull. Among the survivors was future Senator and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye.

Salvage and disposal

The monumental salvage operation, overseen by the United States Navy Salvage Service under Captain Wallace B. Phillips, began in March 1943. Contractors from the Pacific Bridge Company constructed a massive system of winches, pontoons, and anchors on Ford Island. Engineers cut away damaged superstructure and carefully patched hull openings before using twenty-one electric motor-powered winches to right the ship over a period of months. Once upright in late 1943, she was refloated and extensively stripped of useful equipment and armament at dry docks within Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Decommissioned in September 1944, the hulk was formally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in November. She was sold for scrap in 1946 to Moore Drydock Company of Oakland, California, but was lost under tow in a storm on 17 May 1947, approximately 540 miles from Pearl Harbor.

Legacy

The sacrifice of the Oklahoma and her crew is memorialized at the USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island, which lists the names of all 429 men lost. Many unidentified remains of her crew were interred as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl Crater). A Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency project initiated in 2015 has used DNA analysis to successfully identify hundreds of these sailors, returning them to their families for burial with full military honors. The ship's bell is preserved and displayed at the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, Oklahoma. Her story remains a central part of the historical narrative presented at the USS Arizona Memorial and the broader World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

Category:Nevada-class battleships Category:Ships sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor Category:World War I battleships of the United States Category:World War II battleships of the United States