USS Arizona (BB – 39)
Launched June 15, 1915 she was turned over to the Navy
October 17, 1916. At 608’ long she was
25 feet longer than previous battleships of the U S Navy. Her major armament was four turrets each with
triple 14” guns. She left New York City
November 10, 1916 for a shakedown cruise.
It may have been a premonition of an event 25 years in her future that
on December 7, 1916 off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba a stripped turbine forced the
super dreadnaught back to New York for a major repair lasting 4 months.
On the 8th of February of 1920 she was once more
back at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for fleet training. January 1921 she transited the Panama Canal
to join the Pacific Fleet. In 1929 the
14-year-old ship underwent a complete modernization at Norfolk, Virginia
lasting until March 1931. During 1934
she returned to the West Coast where she remained for the rest of her career.
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On December 7, 1941 she was hit with four major bombs in the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This ended the career of USS Arizona as she
sank to the bottom of the harbor with the loss of 1177 crew members.
The first photo is the Arizona in the waters off Guantanamo Bay, Cub.
The second photo depicts the Arizona after it had been sunk in Pearl Harbor.
The third photo is the Arizona memorial as it is today.
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