The Naval Disaster of the USS Arizona (BB-39)
The Naval Disaster of the USS Arizona (BB-39)
Never in known history has a ship taken so many of her crew down with her. Thus is the story of the USS Arizona (BB-39).
The Arizona was built as part of America’s pre-World War I modernization of the U.S. Navy. She was also built in the U.S. Navy’s response to the naval arms race that had begun in 1906 when the Royal Navy completed the HMS Dreadnought. She was not a large battleship by today’s standards, but before World War II, it was considered very reliable if war was a threat to the United States. She belonged to the Pennsylvania battleship class (which consisted of the Arizona and Pennsylvania).
The construction of Battleship number 39 began on March 16, 1914, in the New York Navy Yard. It was later to be known as the Arizona. Original speculation was that the ship would be named North Carolina, the home state of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. (dizzy. library.arizona.edu)
She was launched and christened on June 19, 1915 by Miss Esther Ross of Prescott, along with traditional champagne. Construction on the floating hull continued, and the ship was commissioned on October 17, 1916. Her cost for hull and machinery was $7,425,000 and her total cost was $712,993,579.
She experienced considerable problems with her engines during her trials, to the extent, that her blades were striped from one of her turbines, requiring months in dry dock to replace. (dizzy.library.arizona.edu)
After the work was finished, World War I kicked in; the Arizona served with the Atlantic Fleet as a gunnery training ship during the war. Since goal was more plentiful than oil in Great Britain during the war, the Arizona had modern oil fired boilers, prevented her from joining other U.S. battleships serving the British Grand Fleet. She later served as the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet and of various battleship divisions in the Pacific.
In November 1918 the Arizona sailed for Europe to join the Battleship Division Six serving with the British Grand Fleet, one week after signing the armistice. On December 12, she put out to sea with the rest of her division, to join with the transport George Washington, which was carrying President Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. She was part of the honor escort that arrived at Brest, France on the 13th. On...