USS Arizona BB-39
History of the USS Arizona Battleship
The USS Arizona (BB-39) was ordered for the U.S. Navy on March 4, 1913. Her keel was laid down at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York on March 16, 1914. She was launched on June 19, 1915 and commissioned on October 17, 1916 with Captain John D. McDonald in command.
The USS Arizona joined Battleship Division 8 (BatDiv 8) on April 4, 1918 just before the United States entered World War I. She operated out of Norfolk, Virginia, patrolling the eastern seaboard and serving as a gunnery training ship. After the November 11, 1918 armistice, the battleship rendezvoused with the USS George Washington, which was carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference, to serve as part of the honor escort. She helped repatriate 238 veterans, arriving at Ambrose light station on Christmas Day 1918.
The USS Arizona sailed for Hampton Roads and returned to her base at Norfolk, Virginia in January 1919. On February 4, she sailed for Guantanamo Bay for battle practices and maneuvers before heading to Trinidad. Later, the battleship headed to Brest and then Smyrna to protect American lives during Greek occupation of the port. American citizens sheltered onboard until it was safe for them to return to shore.
Later that year, USS Arizona headed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York for upkeep and removal of six of its original 22 guns. She joined BatDiv 7 in January 1920 for winter and spring maneuvers in the Caribbean, operating out of Guantanamo Bay. The battleship spent the second half of 1920 operating out of New York. She was given the hull classification symbol BB-39 on July 17 and became the flagship for Commander Battleship Division 7 (ComBatDiv 7) on August 23 under the command of Rear Admiral Edward V. Eberle.
Between this time and the beginning of World War II, the USS Arizona served in a number of different locations. She served variously at Guantanamo Bay, the Panama Canal Zone, Peru, Balboa, New York, Cape Charles, San Diego, San Pedro, the West Indies, the waters between Hawaii and the West Coast, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the northern Alaskan waters. The battleship underwent modernization at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 1929 to 1930, upgrading armor, armament and other ship components.
After being overhauled at Puget Sound Navy Yard in Washington in late 1940, the USS Arizona returned to Pearl Harbor for intensive training with the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. She completed a night firing exercise with the USS Nevada and USS Oklahoma on December 4, 1941.
The USS Arizona’s air raid alarm went off around 0755 on the morning of December 7, 1941. Five minutes later, the Japanese dropped a bomb that hit the side of turret No. 4 and went off into the deck below. This started a small fire but caused only minimal damage. At 0806, another bomb hit between and to starboard of turrets No. 1 and No. 2, which detonated the ammunition magazine located in the armored section under the deck. The resulting explosion destroyed the forward part of the ship. It has been agreed upon that the black powder magazine went up first, which when ignited the smokeless powder magazine. The fires burned for two days, showering debris down on Ford Island and, ironically, putting out fires aboard the nearby repair ship USS Vestal.
Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua earned the Medal of Honor for his attempts to put out the fires and get survivors off the ship. The Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded to Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd and Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh for their bravery during the assault.
The blast destroyed the USS Arizona and sank her, killing 1,103 of the 1,400 crewmen who were on board—more than half of the casualties taken by the entire fleet during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
USS Arizona was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on December 1, 1942. The wreckage remains as part of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. The battleship was awarded one battle star, and she was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. She was designated a National Historical Landmark on May 5, 1989.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.
Sources include:
John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed, “Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences,” Ulster Med. J. 77(3):191-200 (Sep 2008)
Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships – USS Arizona
