USS Arizona (BB-39)

USS Arizona (BB-39)
Photographer: Unknown Retouched by: Mmxx · Public domain · source
Ship name	USS Arizona (BB-39)
Ship type	Battleship
Ship class	Pennsylvania-class battleship
Ship displacement	31,400 long tons (standard)
Ship length	608 ft 3 in (185.4 m)
Ship beam	97 ft 3 in (29.6 m)
Ship draught	28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Ship power	Steam turbines, 28,900 shp
Ship speed	21 knots
Ship complement	~1,512 officers and enlisted
Ship armament	14 × 14 in (356 mm) guns; 12 × 5 in (127 mm) guns; AA guns
Ship armor	Belt: 12 in; Deck: 2.5–3.5 in
Ship builder	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Ship laid down	16 March 1914
Ship launched	19 June 1915
Ship commissioned	17 October 1916
Ship decommissioned	1941 (sunk)
Ship fate	Sunk during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941; preserved as memorial

USS Arizona (BB-39) USS Arizona (BB-39) was a Pennsylvania-class battleship of the United States Navy commissioned in 1916. She served through World War I peacetime operations and interwar fleet activities before being sunk during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. The wreck lies in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, and serves as a national memorial and symbol of American entry into World War II (1939–1945).

Design and Construction

Arizona was designed under the U.S. Navy's dreadnought era programs, laid down at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and launched during the naval expansion that followed the Tirpitz-era global arms race. Her main battery comprised four twin 14-inch/45 caliber guns in two forward and two aft turrets, reflecting design trends from earlier classes such as New York-class battleship and Nevada-class battleship. Armor profile and underwater protection were influenced by analyses from the Office of Naval Intelligence and lessons from the Battle of Jutland, with a 12-inch belt and armored citadel to protect magazines and machinery. Propulsion was by steam turbines and oil-fired boilers, a shift from coal-fired designs seen in the Spanish–American War era ships like USS Maine (though Maine predates Arizona). Throughout her early career Arizona received refits consistent with the Washington Naval Treaty limitations and interwar modernization programs executed at yards including Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Pre‑War Service

After commissioning in 1916 Arizona joined the Pacific Fleet and operated along the West Coast of the United States and in the Philippine Islands during peacetime cruises and fleet problems. In the post‑World War I period she participated in naval exercises with units from the Asiatic Fleet and fleet concentrations such as Fleet Problem I through Fleet Problem XIX, working alongside battleships like USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and carriers including USS Lexington (CV-2). Arizona hosted dignitaries and conducted goodwill visits to ports including San Francisco, Honolulu, and Manila, while training sailors who later served in World War II (1939–1945). Interwar upgrades increased anti‑aircraft armament, improved fire control with equipment from companies tied to naval ordnance programs, and modified superstructure elements following peacetime assessments by the Bureau of Construction and Repair.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

On 7 December 1941 Arizona was moored in Ford Island's Battleship Row when aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service initiated a surprise strike during the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Bombs from Nakajima B5N and Aichi D3A dive bombers struck Arizona's deck near her forward ammunition magazines, triggering a catastrophic explosion that broke the ship's back and ignited burning oil. The blast and subsequent fires killed 1,177 officers and enlisted, including members associated with Battleship Division 1 and other units, making Arizona's loss among the deadliest for a U.S. warship in a single event. Surviving crew were rescued by ships such as USS Vestal (AR-4) and local craft from Pearl Harbor installations. The attack precipitated United States declaration of war on Japan and direct U.S. entry into World War II (1939–1945), propelling campaigns across the Pacific Theater including Battle of Midway and island-hopping operations.

Wreck, Memorialization, and Salvage

Arizona's wreck settled into the harbor mud where the forward magazines detonated; large sections of hull and superstructure remain visible at low tide and from the USS Arizona Memorial structure that spans the ship's remains. The memorial, constructed by the National Park Service and dedicated in 1962, sits between Ford Island and the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, enabling visitors to view the wreck and pay respects to the names etched on the memorial wall. Salvage operations during and after the war, led by private firms under U.S. Navy supervision, removed recoverable armament and fittings from other sunken capital ships in Battleship Row while Arizona's remains were largely preserved as a maritime grave. Environmental and engineering studies by entities such as the Naval Facilities Engineering Command and academic researchers have monitored ongoing oil leaks—nicknamed "black tears"—and corrosion, prompting mitigation through restricted access, pollution assessments, and artifact conservation managed by the National Park Service and partners including the Smithsonian Institution.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Arizona became a potent symbol in American memory, invoked in contemporary wartime propaganda and postwar commemoration by Presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and later ceremonies attended by figures including Dwight D. Eisenhower and Barack Obama. The ship's loss influenced naval design, readiness doctrine, and carrier‑centric strategy debates among analysts from institutions like the Naval War College and the Office of Naval Intelligence. Arizona appears in literature, film, and music addressing the Attack on Pearl Harbor and American mobilization—represented in documentaries by organizations like the United States Information Agency and dramatized in films referencing Pearl Harbor (film). Annual observances on 7 December at the memorial draw veterans, descendants, and foreign dignitaries, including delegations from Japan participating in reconciliation efforts exemplified by exchanges tied to postwar diplomatic treaties such as the Treaty of San Francisco (1951). The wreck's designation as a national shrine and its inclusion within Pearl Harbor National Memorial ensure Arizona's continued role in education, scholarship, and public remembrance.

Category:Battleships of the United States Navy Category:Pennsylvania-class battleships Category:Pearl Harbor National Memorial