U.S.S. Arizona

Stephanie RossSamantha Smeltzer

Construction On March 16, 1914 the New

York Navy Yard laid down the keel to begin construction of battleship number 39, which would later be named Arizona.

The ship was launched on June 19, 1915.

Miss Esther Ross christened the ship with a bottle of the first water to pass over the spillway of Roosevelt Dam.

Construction continued on the floating hull and the ship was finished on October 17, 1916.

During 1917 residents of Arizona organized a fund raising campaign to pay for the Arizona.

Arizona experienced considerable problems with the engine during trials, the blades were striped

from one the turbines, requiring months to replace. The work was finished in March 1917.

Arizona

Length: 608’Armament: Twelve 14"

guns; twenty-two 5" guns; four 3" guns; two 21" torpedo tubes

• Launched on November 16, 1916 from New York• Hull Number: BB-39

Service Service years: 1918-1941 November 1918 the Arizona sailed for Europe to join

Battleship Division Six serving with the British Grand Fleet During the years between the world wars, Arizona carried on

with the routine of a Navy ship in peace time, conducting training, gunnery practice, fleet exercises, cruises and routine shipyard maintenance.

In 1920 the Arizona began to carry airplanes on board for scouting and spotting the fall of shells from the ship's guns.

Arizona operated with the Battle Fleet. The Warner Brothers movie Here Comes the Navy used the

Arizona as one of it's locations during spring of 1934.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 Shortly before 8:00, Japanese aircrafts struck the Pacific

Fleet in Pearl Harbor Arizona’s alarm went off about 7:55. Arizona came under attack almost immediately, and at about

8:10 received a hit by a 800-kilogram bomb hitting the starboard side.

Within a few seconds the forward part of the ship exploded. Right away eight bomb hits; one hit on the forecastle. An explosion went through the forward part of the ship,

which caused fierce fires that burned for two days.

Attack on Pearl HarborMany of the survivors

showed courage in assisting their shipmates to safety.

The blast from Arizona blew men off the decks of surrounding ships and threw tons of debris, including parts of bodies, all over the harbor.

Arizona was hit by one or possibly two torpedoes

Effects of Pearl Harbor

The majority of the crew members were either killed by the explosion and fire or were trapped by the rapid sinking of the ship. 1,177 of her crew, a total loss.

The damage was so bad that very little of the superstructure lay above water.

There were many heroes on the Arizona: Lt. Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship's damage control officer, earned a medal of honor.

Losses2388 1998 109 233 48 1178 710 69 364 35

12 9

164 159

64

unknown

5

2974

Personnel Killed

Personnel Wounded

Ships

Aircraft

NavyMarine Corps

Army & Army Air Corps Civilian

NavyMarine Corps

Army & Army Air Corps

Sunk or Beached

Civilian

Damaged

Destroyed Damaged

U.S. Japan

Recovery

Efforts were made to recover the bodies of the crew and the ship's records

The bodies of at least 900 crewmen remained in the ship.

1942- salvage work to recover as much as possible began.

The masts and superstructure were removed for scrap The two turrets were salvaged for use at shore

batteries on Hawaii. The forward part of the ship had received the most

damage, and only the guns of turret two were removed while turret one was left in place.

Memorial 1950- the tradition of raising

and lowering the colors over the ship daily was started.

1958- legislation passed the authorization of the Navy to build a memorial.

1960- construction began and the memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1962.

1980- a visitor's center on shore was opened and the operation of the memorial was turned over to the National Park Service.

During the 1980's, the Park Service conducted a survey of Arizona.

Memorial

184-foot-long three main sections: the entry and assembly rooms; a

central area designed for ceremonies and general observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are

engraved on the marble wall.

Sources http://www.nps.gov/archive/usar/ExtendWeb1.html http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/ussarizona/history/history.html http://www.pastfoundation.org/Arizona/ArizonaHistory.htm http://www.ussarizona.org/history/index.html http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/battleships/arizona/bb39-ariz.html