USS Arizona (BB-39)

Type

Battleship

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Arizona (BB-39) was the second and last of the Pennsylvania-class super-dreadnought battleships built for the U.S. Navy. She is world-famous as the ship whose catastrophic loss during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, symbolized America's entry into World War II, and her wreck remains a war grave beneath the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. Specifications: Arizona had an overall length of 608 feet (185.3 m), a beam of 97 feet (29.6 m), and a draft of about 29 feet 3 inches (8.9 m) at deep load, displacing roughly 29,000 long tons. Her main armament comprised 4 triple 14-inch (356 mm) gun turrets, supplemented by numerous 5-inch secondary guns, 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, and torpedo tubes, with armor belts up to 13.5 inches thick. Service History: Built at the Brooklyn (New York) Navy Yard, she was laid down in 1914, launched in 1915, and commissioned in October 1916. She served stateside during WWI as a gunnery training ship, escorted President Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference in 1918, was modernized at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1929-31, and was later based in the Pacific, ultimately moored at Pearl Harbor's "Battleship Row" when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Notable Facts: During the attack, Arizona was struck by several bombs, one of which detonated her forward ammunition magazines, wrecking the ship's forward hull and collapsing her forward superstructure, killing 1,177 of her crew. Unlike most other vessels damaged that day, Arizona could not be salvaged; her hull still rests on the harbor floor and the USS Arizona Memorial, dedicated in 1962, straddles the wreck. Various salvaged artifacts, including guns and fittings, are displayed at sites across the United States, offering additional reference detail for modelers.