USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
Unknown USN photographer · Public domain · source
Ship name	USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
Ship caption	Oklahoma off San Francisco, 1921
Ship type	Battleship
Ship class	Nevada class
Ship displacement	27,500 long tons (standard)
Ship length	583 ft 6 in
Ship beam	95 ft
Ship propulsion	Steam turbines, coal-fired and oil-fired boilers
Ship speed	20.5 kn
Ship armament	10 × 14 in (356 mm) guns; secondary and AA batteries
Ship armor	Belt 13.5 in
Ship launched	1906
Ship commissioned	1916
Ship fate	Capsized at Pearl Harbor 1941; declared constructive total loss; scrapped 1947–1949

USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was a Nevada-class dreadnought battleship commissioned into the United States Navy in 1916. She served in the Atlantic Fleet, participated in peacetime operations and training cruises, and was present at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. The ship capsized after multiple torpedo hits, became a symbol of the early World War II Pacific War shock to the United States, and was later salvaged for scrap with many crewmen recovered and commemorated.

Design and construction

Oklahoma was laid down at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, part of the Nevada class (battleship) modernization program responding to naval developments embodied by HMS Dreadnought, Imperial Japanese Navy expansions, and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance era arms races. The design emphasized an "all-or-nothing" armor scheme later refined in the Nevada (BB-36) lead ship, heavy 14-inch/45 caliber gun main batteries influenced by lessons from the Russo-Japanese War and the Washington Naval Conference discussions. Contractors included Cramp Shipbuilding Company, Bethlehem Steel, and multiple boiler and turbine suppliers; naval architects consulted precedents such as William H. Hand-era designs. Oklahoma's construction used riveted hull techniques and mixed coal-and-oil-fired boilers during a period of transition toward oil fueling advocated by figures like Admiral William S. Sims and industrialists including Henry Ford in broader petroleum policy debates.

Pre-World War II service

After commissioning, Oklahoma operated with the Atlantic Fleet and made training cruises to Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, joining fleet problems alongside battleships such as USS Nevada (BB-36), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), and USS Arizona (BB-39). She transferred to the Pacific Fleet in the 1920s, visiting San Diego, San Francisco, Honolulu, and participating in fleet exercises related to strategic concerns about the Empire of Japan and the Philippine Islands. Oklahoma underwent several modernizations in the interwar period in navy yards like Puget Sound Navy Yard and Mare Island Naval Shipyard, gaining improved fire control systems from firms associated with Ford Instrument Company and anti-aircraft batteries reflecting lessons from the Spanish Civil War and technological trends paralleling developments at RMS Titanic-era shipyards. Her peacetime duties included goodwill visits with delegations from the Panama Canal Zone and training reservists connected to the Naval Reserve.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

On 7 December 1941 Oklahoma was moored in Battleship Row at Ford Island alongside USS West Virginia (BB-48), USS Tennessee (BB-43), and others during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Struck by multiple Type 91 aerial torpedoes launched by planes of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from units such as Kido Butai, Oklahoma sustained catastrophic flooding in port and starboard torpedo bulkheads. Rapid lists caused by progressive flooding and progressive flooding control failures—despite damage control efforts led by officers trained under doctrines associated with Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd and Captain Mervyn S. Bennion—led the ship to capsize within approximately 12 to 20 minutes. Salvage and rescue attempts involved personnel from USS Vestal (AR-4), USS Birmingham (CL-2), and USS Cushing (DD-376), while survivors were treated at Tripler Army Medical Center and aboard hospital ships like USS Solace (AH-5). Many crewmen were listed among the World War II casualties of the United States; notable POWs and casualties were associated with families in places such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Salvage, loss, and disposition

Following initial wartime stabilization efforts, the United States Navy declared Oklahoma a constructive total loss. Salvage operations in 1943–1944, led by civilian firms including the Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corporation and coordinated with navy yards such as Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, raised Oklahoma using parbuckling methods reminiscent of later projects like the Costa Concordia salvage. Divers and engineers worked with barge systems, chains, and winches partly designed by contractors linked to Bethlehem Steel. The ship was righted, refloated, and towed to Mare Island Naval Shipyard where inspections determined extensive structural damage and hull deformation. Declared beyond economical repair, Oklahoma was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and sold to scrappers including companies operating under War Shipping Administration contracts. During scrapping between 1947 and 1949, many recovered remains of crew were identified through records associated with the American Battle Monuments Commission and efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's precursors; unidentified remains were interred at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and other cemeteries including Punchbowl.

Legacy and memorials

Oklahoma's loss influenced United States Navy doctrine on torpedo defense, compartmentalization, and damage control, informing postwar designs up to the Iowa-class battleship program and naval policy debates in forums like the Congressional hearings on naval affairs. Memorials include the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, where plaques, lists of the dead, and artifacts are curated by the National Park Service. Survivors and descendants have organized commemorations linked to organizations such as the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, the United States Submarine Veterans of World War II, and veterans' groups in Norman, Oklahoma and Enid, Oklahoma. Oklahoma's story appears in museums and scholarship at institutions including the Naval History and Heritage Command, the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, and university archives like University of Oklahoma collections. The ship's bell, artifacts, and recovered personal effects are displayed in memorials and exhibit spaces across Oahu, Washington, D.C., and Norman, Oklahoma, serving as focal points for remembrance on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and in educational programs tied to World War II centennial commemorations.

Category:Battleships of the United States Navy Category:Ships sunk at Pearl Harbor Category:Nevada-class battleships