Chapter II: Historical Record
(continued)

The USS ARIZONA

Operational History

The construction of the USS ARIZONA (BB39), named for the 48th state in the Union, began on March 16, 1914, when the keel was laid. After a year of intense labor, it was launched on June 19, 1915, as the second and last of the PENNSYLVANIA class battleship. The word Arizona comes from the Spanish-Indian term "Arizonac" meaning "few springs."

The launching was a grand affair, and Esther Ross, daughter of an influential pioneer citizen in Prescott, Arizona, was selected to christen the ship. The battleship's commissioning took place on October 16, 1916, under the command of Captain John D. McDonald.

Figure 2.15. Launching of the USS ARIZONA from Brooklyn Yard. (NPS: USAR Collection)

The dimensions of the ship were quite impressive for the time. Its overall length was 608 feet (two American football fields long) with a beam of 97 feet 1 inch. It displaced 31,400 tons with a mean draft of 28 feet 10 inches. The ARIZONA's four shafts were driven by four paired Parsons turbines and 12 Babcock and Wilcox boilers that developed 33,375 horsepower, enabling a top speed of 21 knots. The designed complement was 55 officers and 860 men. The ARIZONA was well-armed for ships of its period. The original armament consisted of 12 14-inch 45-caliber guns; 22 5-inch 51-caliber guns; four 3-inch 50-caliber guns; and two 21-inch submerged torpedo tubes. It was protected by 18 inches of armor at its maximum thickness. The ARIZONA and its sister ship PENNSYLVANIA represented a modest improvement of the previous NEVADA-class battleships: "length and displacement were somewhat increased and two additional 14-inch guns were shipped, the main armament now being arranged in four triple turrets . . . " (Stern 1980:30). The significant change was concentrated in the firepower of the vessel: The ARIZONA's four turrets (labeled No. 1, 2, 3 and 4) each mounted three 14-inch naval guns.

On Nov. 16, 1916, the ARIZONA departed on its shakedown cruise and training off the Virginia Capes, Newport and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Two months later it returned to Norfolk, Virginia to conduct test-firing of its guns and torpedo-defense exercises. On December 24 it entered the New York Naval Shipyard for a post shakedown overhaul, completed by April 3, 1917.

Figure 2.16. Tugs control the ARIZONA after sliding off the ways. (NPS: USAR Collection)

While in New York, the ARIZONA received orders to join Battleship Division 8 at Norfolk, which was to be its home port through World War I while it served as a gunnery training vessel. Due to the scarcity of fuel oil in the European theater, the ARIZONA (an oil burner) was deployed in American home waters to patrol the East Coast. When the Armistice was signed, it sailed for Portsmouth, England to operate with the British Grand Fleet.

A month later the new battleship was ordered to rendezvous with the transport GEORGE WASHINGTON that was carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. President Wilson carried a bold proposal intended to ensure a lasting world peace. In his outline for world cooperation, Wilson proposed 14 points to act as guidelines for a peace without victory and a new world body called the League of Nations. The ARIZONA would act as honor escort for the voyage to Brest, France. The President and his plan arrived in good order on December 13, 1918, but the failure of nations to grasp Wilson's ideals lead to World War II -- and the violent destruction of the honor escort USS ARIZONA -- 23 years later.

Figure 2.17. The USS ARIZONA heads down the East River on its way to sea trials (1918). (NPS: USAR Collection)

Later that month the ARIZONA returned to the United States carrying 238 doughboys home for Christmas. Celebrating the war's end, the ship passed in review in New York Harbor before Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. After the parties and parades had faded, the ship continued to its home port of Norfolk.

In May 1919 a crisis arose that threatened American lives and property in Smyrna, Asia Minor. Having been placed on duty station in April at Brest, France, the ARIZONA was dispatched to respond to the grave situation. The ship disembarked Marines and sailors to protect the American consulate and bring aboard American citizens. When tensions eased, the ARIZONA was ordered home.

In June 1919 the ARIZONA entered New York Naval Shipyard for maintenance and remained there until January 1920, when it departed for fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean. That summer the ARIZONA became the flagship for Battleship Division 7, commanded by Rear Admiral Eberle, the future chief of naval operations.

The ARIZONA continued operations in the Caribbean Sea throughout the winter, and during that period made its first passage through the Panama Canal. The ship returned to Norfolk from Cuba on April 27, 1921 and was overhauled in the New York Navy Yard. That summer the ARIZONA participated in experimental bombing exercises of Navy seaplanes on a captured German U-boat, the first in a series of joint Army-Navy experiments conducted during June and July of 1921 to measure the effectiveness of air attack.

On July 1, 1921 the ARIZONA was honored as the flagship for three-star Vice Admiral John D. McDonald. With the flag came the title of flagship of the Battle Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. In August the flag was transferred to the USS WYOMING and the ARIZONA received a new admiral, John S. McKean, commander of Battleship Division 7.

In September of 1921 the ARIZONA was transferred to Pacific waters. At San Pedro, California it underwent another change of command, when Rear Admiral Charles Hughes became the new commander of Battleship Division 7.

For the next decade the ARIZONA served as flagship for Battleship Divisions 2, 3 and 4. A number of distinguished officers served aboard the vessel, particularly Rear Admirals William V. Pratt and Claude Block. During this period the ship sailed twice to Hawaii to participate in fleet maneuvers and practice amphibious landings of Marines.

In February 1929 the ARIZONA passed through the Panama Canal for fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean. On May 1 the battleship returned to Norfolk in preparation for modernization overhaul. On May 4, 1929 it entered the yard at Norfolk for that purpose and was placed in reduced commission until July 1929. During this modernization the ARIZONA received a massive facelift. First to go were the traditional cage masts that were replaced fore and aft by tripod types. New 5-inch antiaircraft guns replaced the outdated 3-inch mounts. New armor was added below the upper decks to guard against the fall of shot by high-angle gunfire and bombs dropped by aircraft. Extra compartments called "blisters" were added to the outer hull to increase the ship's protection against torpedo attack. In an effort to offset the additional weight, a brand-new power plant consisting of modern boilers and turbines was installed to allow it to maintain normal fleet speed. The engines were upgraded with new geared units, and the original boilers were replaced with six Bureau Express three-drum boilers. The ARIZONA's fuel capacity was increased from 2,332 to 4,630 tons of oil. On March 1, 1931 modernization was completed, and the ARIZONA was placed in full commission once again.

Figure 2.18. The USS ARIZONA after major modifications. (NPS: USAR Collection)

One of the more significant events in the ship's history took place on March 19, 1931 when the ARIZONA embarked President Herbert Hoover and his party for a 10-day inspection cruise to Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, then transported the President to Hampton Roads at the end of the month. The ARIZONA left Norfolk for the last time on August 1, 1931 and remained in the Pacific for the rest of its operational life.

Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz hoisted his flag as commander of Battleship Division 1 on September 17, 1938, with the ARIZONA serving as his flagship until May 1939. His successor, Rear Admiral Russell Willson, assumed command in San Pedro, California. As tensions grew in the Pacific, so did fleet responsibilities. On April 2, 1940 the ARIZONA moved into Hawaiian waters and was ordered up the coast to be overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington. The work was completed by January 23, 1941. At that time Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd relieved Rear Admiral Willson and took command of Battleship Division 1.

Figure 2.19. The USS ARIZONA before bird-cage masts were removed in modifications. (NPS: USAR Collection) Figure 2.20. The USS ARIZONA after major modifications. Note masts modernized and no torpedo tubes. (NPS: USAR Collection) Figure 2.21. The USS ARIZONA at Puget Sound Navy Yard in January 1941. This is the last known photograph before attack. (NPS: USAR Collection)

The ARIZONA returned to Hawaii in February 1941 and trained in those waters for four months. The last voyage to the West Coast occurred in June, and in early July the battleship returned to Pearl Harbor. For several months prior to the out break of the Pacific War, the ARIZONA's crew underwent intensive battle-readiness drills that often included mock air attacks from the carrier ENTERPRISE. The battleship entered drydock No. 1 on October 27, 1941 for minor adjustments and repairs.

Soon after the ARIZONA rejoined the fleet. The ship's exact movements for the month before the Pearl Harbor attack are not clear, as the ship's log was lost in the sinking. The ARIZONA entered Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941 and moored on the east side of Ford Island. Later that day the USS VESTAL (AR-15) pulled alongside to ready the vessel for repair work scheduled for the following Monday. At 10:00 that morning, Admiral Kidd came aboard the VESTAL for a 15-minute official call. Later the captain of the repair ship, Cassin Young, boarded the ARIZONA to discuss the ship's pending repairs with the battleship's chief engineer.

Many of the ship's crew had liberty that Saturday. Some of the married men had wives on the island and received weekend passes. Nearly 50 crew members were shoreside at the time of the attack. However, a majority of the men had returned to the ship by midnight. Eight hours later the ARIZONA would be lying on the bottom of Pearl Harbor with the bodies of most of those men.

<<< PREVIOUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTINUE >>>