Arizona (BB-39)

Arizona (BB-39)
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Ship name	USS Arizona (BB-39)
Ship caption	USS Arizona circa 1916
Ship country	United States
Ship flag	Flag of the United States
Ship builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Ship laid down	16 March 1913
Ship launched	19 June 1915
Ship commissioned	17 October 1916
Ship decommissioned	14 November 1920
Ship recommissioned	1 May 1931
Ship struck	1 December 1941
Ship fate	Sunk during the Attack on Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941); wreck designated USS Arizona Memorial and National Historic Landmark
Ship class	Pennsylvania-class battleship
Ship displacement	31,400 long tons (standard)
Ship length	608 ft 8 in
Ship beam	97 ft 3 in
Ship propulsion	Steam turbines
Ship speed	21 knots
Ship armor	Belt 11 in
Ship armament	12 × 14 in/45 caliber guns; secondary and anti-aircraft batteries
Ship complement	~1,500 officers and enlisted

Arizona (BB-39) was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class battleship commissioned in 1916 that served through interwar operations and was catastrophically destroyed during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, producing one of the deadliest single-ship losses in United States naval history and becoming an enduring World War II symbol and memorial. Built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and named for the State of Arizona, she participated in peacetime fleet exercises, diplomatic visits, and wartime stationing at Pearl Harbor and her remains now lie as the focal point of the USS Arizona Memorial and World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

Design and Construction

Arizona was one of the Pennsylvania-class battleships conceived under the Naval Act of 1916 era naval expansion and reflected contemporaneous developments from HMS Dreadnought, Jacky Fisher-era doctrines and lessons from the Battle of Jutland. Laid down at Camden, New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, her design incorporated twelve 14-inch/45 caliber guns in four triple turrets, armor schemes influenced by the Washington Naval Treaty discussions, and propulsion derived from steam turbine advances used by USS New York (BB-34) and USS Delaware (BB-28). Construction milestones included launch ceremonies attended by politicians from the United States Congress and dignitaries from the Navy Department, and post-commissioning work at Philadelphia Navy Yard and trials off Atlantic Ocean coasts. Refit programs during the 1920s and 1930s drew on naval architects linked to Bureau of Construction and Repair and responded to developments seen on Imperial Japanese Navy capital ships and Royal Navy modernization trends.

Service History

Arizona’s early service involved shakedown cruises, training exercises with Fleet Problem I participants, goodwill visits to South America and West Coast United States ports, and presence missions involving the Asiatic Fleet and Pacific Fleet. During the Washington Naval Conference era Arizona operated under personnel drawn from United States Naval Academy graduates and sailors trained at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, making port calls to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Recommissioned during the 1930s amid rising tensions involving Empire of Japan activities in East Asia and the Second Sino-Japanese War, she took part in fleet maneuvers, gunnery practice at Pearl Harbor ranges, and diplomatic escort duties with carriers such as USS Lexington (CV-2) and USS Saratoga (CV-3). In late 1941 Arizona was moored alongside other battleships including USS West Virginia (BB-48), USS Oklahoma (BB-37), and USS California (BB-44) as part of Battleship Row.

Pearl Harbor and Sinking

On 7 December 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy launched coordinated carrier-based air strikes from Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu that attacked Pearl Harbor, targeting battleships moored at Ford Island and facilities across Oahu. Arizona was struck by multiple aerial bombs, most devastatingly by a bomb that penetrated to her forward magazines, triggering a massive explosion and fire that broke her keel and sank her alongside Battleship Row. The blast and subsequent conflagration killed over a thousand crewmen, including officers and enlisted personnel trained at United States Naval Academy and decorated veterans of peacetime service; many victims remain entombed within the hull. Arizona’s sinking immediately influenced United States declarations of war, directly contributing to the United States declaration of war on Japan and subsequent Declaration of war by the United States Congress against Axis powers adversaries.

Salvage, Memorialization, and Remains

After 7 December 1941 salvage efforts led by the Bureau of Ships and contractors salvaged neighboring vessels such as USS West Virginia (BB-48) and USS California (BB-44), while Arizona’s superstructure and forward turrets were removed and her stern used for armament salvage; however, the decision was made to leave the hull largely undisturbed as a war grave. The wreck was designated a National Historic Landmark and became the site of the USS Arizona Memorial, conceived by architects and overseen by the National Park Service and advocacy from Survivors and Families of Pearl Harbor groups. The memorial straddles the wreck and is visited by millions via ferry from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, featuring exhibits concerning the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Pacific War, and artifacts conserved by the National Park Service and Smithsonian Institution collaborations. Oil that continues to seep from the hull, often called "the black tears" or "black oil", remains visible on the harbor surface and is monitored by environmental scientists associated with University of Hawaii researchers and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration programs.

Legacy and Cultural Depictions

Arizona’s sinking shaped American public opinion and mobilization, memorial culture, and representations in film, literature, and art. The ship appears in documentaries produced by United States Navy archives, in wartime newsreels by RKO Pictures and Warner Bros., and in historical works by authors connected to Naval History and Heritage Command and historians at Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration. Artistic and musical responses include compositions performed at Carnegie Hall tributes and visual art exhibited at the Hawaii State Art Museum. Arizona figures in novels and nonfiction by writers associated with World War II historiography, appears in feature films about Pearl Harbor and in video games depicting Pacific Theater engagements. Commemorations occur annually on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and involve participation by United States Presidents, Members of Congress, veterans' organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and educational programs from institutions like the United States Naval Academy and University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Category:Battleships of the United States Navy Category:World War II memorials in the United States Category:National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii