World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUSS Arizona entered service in 1916. Her shakedown cruise took her to waters off Virginia and Rhode Island in the United States, as well as a trip to Guantánamo Bay Naval Base on the island of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea, and finally wrapped up with gunnery and torpedo defense exercises in Tangier Sound off Virginia. Upon completion of post-shakedown overhaul, she joined US Navy Battleship Division 8 at Norfolk, Virginia. During WW1, she remained in American territorial waters largely due to the scarcity of fuel oil in Britain, joining fellow battleships in British waters only after the war as she acted as one of the many escorting ships for US President Woodrow Wilson as he traveled to Paris, France for the Peace Conference. As she departed from Brest on the following day, she embarked 238 American servicemen who were returning home to the US. In mid-1919, she spent about a month in Izmir, Turkey to protect American interests as the local population bitterly resisted post-WW1 Greek occupation, returning to New York City, New York, United States on 30 Jun 1919. In early 1920, she went on a cruise, visiting Barbados and Panama. She was named the flagship of Battleship Division 7's Rear Admiral Edward Eberle on 23 Aug 1920. Between 19 and 20 Jan 1921, she passed through the Panama Canal for the first time. Between 9 Jul and 10 Aug 1921, she was the flagship of Vice Admiral John McDonald of the Battle Force of the Atlantic Fleet; McDonald had been her first commanding officer almost five years prior. Between 1921 and 1935, she served as the flagship of Battleship Divisions 2, 3, and 4, serving on both coasts of the United States. In 1929, she was modernized at Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia, United States, receiving new masts, additional anti-aircraft weaponry, additional armor, new boilers, and new turbines; her appearance changed drastically as the result of this modernization. In 1931, she carried US President Herbert Hoover for a trip to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. On 17 Sep 1938, she served as Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz's flagship for Battleship Division 1; she served in the same capacity under the direction of Rear Admiral Russell Wilson, Nimitz's successor. In late 1940, at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States, she underwent overhaul and received additional anti-aircraft weapons. On 23 Jan 1941, she became the flagship of Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, who succeeded Wilson. She returned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States on 3 Feb 1941 and entered a period of training.

ww2dbaseAt about 0755 hours on 7 Dec 1941, while moored at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USS Arizona's crew sounded the air raid alarm as Japanese aircraft began their attack. At about 0800 hours, a B5N bomber from Japanese carrier Kaga hit the side of her No. 4 turret with a bomb, causing minor damage and starting a small fire. At 0806 hours, another B5N bomber, this one from carrier Hiryu, hit her between No. 1 and No. 2 turrets with a bomb, which led to the detonation of the nearby forward ammunition magazine. As she sank, 1,177 of the about 1,400 aboard perished, including Rear Admiral Kidd. Japanese Navy Petty Officer Noburu Kanai, bombardier for pilot Tadashi Kusumi, was generally regarded as the man who scored the fatal hit that detonated Arizona's magazine. Fire aboard the partially-sunken Arizona burned for two days before becoming fully extinguished. After the sinking, Rear Admiral Kidd, commanding officer Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, and damage control officer Lieutenant Commander Samuel Fuqua were awarded the Medal of Honor; Kidd and Valkenburgh were awarded posthumously.

ww2dbaseAfter her sinking, most of Arizona's exposed superstructure was salvaged. Her No. 3 and No. 4 turrets were removed and reinstalled at Battery Arizona and Battery Pennsylvania on the island of Oahu, Hawaii to serve as coastal defense guns. The guns from her No. 2 turret were mounted aboard battleship USS Nevada in the fall of 1944.

ww2dbaseToday USS Arizona is not considered a commissioned warship, although she remained under US Navy ownership, thus retaining the USS prefix. The US National Parks Service operates the USS Arizona Memorial and museum that overlooked the amidships section of her wreckage. She continues to leak about a quart of oil per day into Pearl Harbor.

Battleship Arizona (BB-39) Interactive Map

Photographs

Arizona Operational Timeline

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