100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #1 Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) USS Arizona (BB-39) was a battleship built for and by the US Navy in the mid-1910s. Arizona was named in honor of the 48th state, Arizona. Arizona was the second and last ship of the Pennsylvania - class battleships. Arizona was ordered on March 4, 1913 and laid down on March 16, 1914. Arizona was launched on June 19, 1915 and commissioned on October 17, 1916. However, Arizona did not serve overseas during World War I. After the end of the war, Arizona was but one of several ships that escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. In 1919, Arizona was sent to Turkey at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent American interests for several months. During the 1920s and 1930s, Arizona was regularly involved in training exercises, including the annual Fleet Problems. Arizona was modernized from 1929 to 1931 and in 1933, her crew helped provide aid to survivors after an earthquake struck Long Beach, California. Arizona appeared in a 1934 film, Here Comes the Navy which made use extensive use of exterior footage as well as on-board location shots. For the rest of her career, Arizona would be based on the West Coast or in Hawaii. The last training exercise Arizona participated in was night-firing in company with the battleships Nevada and Oklahoma on December 4, 1941. Arizona was moored along Ford Island in Pearl Harbor along with Nevada, Oklahoma, Maryland, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in "Battleship Row". On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Arizona was attacked by 10 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers, 5 each from the carriers Kaga and Hiryu. All of the B5Ns were carrying 410 mm (16.1 in) armor-piercing shells modified into 797-kilogram (1,760 lb) aircraft bombs. The bombers managed to score 4 hits and 3 near-misses on and around Arizona. The last bomb penetrated the deck in the vicinity of Turret II at 8:06, near the ammunition magazines in the forward section of the ship. A few seconds after the hit, the forward magazines exploded and destroyed much of the interior structure of the forward part of the ship. The explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen, including the commander of Arizona, Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, and Rear-Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, the commander of Battleship Division One. There were many acts of heroism performed by Arizona's officers and men during the attack. Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship's damage control officer, would earn the Medal of Honor for helping to quell fires and getting survivors off the ship. Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh had reached the Arizona's bridge and was attempting to defend his ship when the magazines exploded, he would receive the Medal of Honor posthumously. Rear-Admiral Isaac C. Kidd was also awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. Arizona herself received one battle star for her service in World War II. Unlike most of the ships damaged during the Pearl Harbor attack, which would later be salvaged and repaired, Arizona was a total loss. The Navy decided that even if they could salvage Arizona, the damage from the magazine explosion was so severe that Arizona was thought to be not fit for service. The surviving superstructure of Arizona was scrapped in 1942. Arizona was decommissioned on December 29, 1941 and struck from the Naval Ship Register on December 1, 1942. Today, the wreck of Arizona still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, and the USS Arizona Memorial, dedicated on May 30, 1962, straddles Arizona's hull. USS Arizona (BB-39), 1920s Career Name: USS Arizona Namesake: Arizona Ordered: March 4, 1913 Laid Down: March 16, 1914 Launched: June 19, 1915 Commissioned: October 17, 1916 Decommissioned: December 29, 1941 Struck: December 1, 1942 Identification: Hull number BB-39 Fate: Sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 General characteristics (as completed) Class and type: Pennsylvania - class battleship Displacement: 29,158 long tons (29,626 t) standard 31,917 long tons (32,429 t) full load Length: 608 ft (185.3 m) Beam: 97 ft (29.6 m) Draft: 29 ft 3 in (8.9 m) (full load) Installed power and propulsion: Arizona had 4 shafts, 4 sets of Parsons steam turbines, and 12 Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers which provided 29,366 shp (21,898 kW) Speed and range: Arizona could reach a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h, 24 mph) and had a range of 8,000 nmi (15,000 km, 9,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h, 12 mph) Complement: 55 officers and 860 men Armament: 4 x 3 - 14-inch/45 caliber guns 22 x 1 - 5-inch/51 caliber guns 4 x 1 - 3-inch/50 caliber AA guns 2 x 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes Armor: Belt: 13.5-8 in (343-203 mm) Bulkheads: 13-8 in (330-203 mm) Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm) Turrets: 18 in (457 mm) Decks: 5 in (127 mm) Conning tower: 16-14 in (406-356 mm) Sources used: Wikipedia Edited February 26, 2013 by Robert9670 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #2 Posted February 21, 2013 Arizona's launch, June 19, 1915 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #3 Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Arizona on the East River, New York City in 1916 Arizona at the New York City naval review, leading ten dreadnoughts that paraded past Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels Arizona with ship's complement in 1924 Edited March 9, 2013 by Robert9670 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #4 Posted February 21, 2013 Arizona after her modernization during the 1930s Arizona in 1931 after her modernization Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #5 Posted February 21, 2013 Arizona burning after the attack on Pearl Harbor Arizona's forward magazines explode in a still from a film made during the attack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2 anonym_s4TCbLNuhWyC Members 731 posts Report post #6 Posted February 21, 2013 I would really love this ship still exist :C preserved...Damn u Planes! :Smile_izmena: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #7 Posted February 21, 2013 The visible superstructure of Arizona after her sinking Aerial view of the USS Arizona Memorial, showing the wreck and oil seepage from the ship's bunkers 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1,154 Windhover118 Alpha Tester 4,720 posts 12 battles Report post #8 Posted February 21, 2013 tankwarhammer9000, on 21 February 2013 - 03:47 AM, said: I would really love this ship still exist :C preserved...Damn u Planes! :Smile_izmena: As sad as it is to say,she probably would have been scrapped along with most of the US battleships after the war. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #9 Posted February 21, 2013 Windhover118, on 21 February 2013 - 04:01 AM, said: As sad as it is to say,she probably would have been scrapped along with most of the US battleships after the war. Arizona would probably have looked a lot like how Pennsylvania appeared after being modernized had Arizona survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1,154 Windhover118 Alpha Tester 4,720 posts 12 battles Report post #10 Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Robert9670, on 21 February 2013 - 04:05 AM, said: Arizona would probably have looked a lot like how Pennsylvania appeared after being modernized had Arizona survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most likely. After Pearl Harbor, the surviving ships underwent extensive refits and modernizations. Its interesting though because unlike the other ships, Pennsylvania retained her tripod masts. Even so, had she survived the war Arizona would have expected a similar fate as the rest of the ships that survived Pearl Harbor. Bikini atoll test and/or scrapped. Edited February 21, 2013 by Windhover118 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Yeremenko Members 3 posts 387 battles Report post #11 Posted February 21, 2013 I have seen the memorial in Hawaii, and it's a sight to see. If you do go there in person, go the Oklahoma memorial as well, it's right next to the Missouri. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
902 Jracule Alpha Tester 1,376 posts 1,233 battles Report post #12 Posted February 21, 2013 Windhover118, on 21 February 2013 - 04:01 AM, said: As sad as it is to say,she probably would have been scrapped along with most of the US battleships after the war. Well, had Arizona not blown up in harbor and fought throughout World War 2, she would have lost her impact on history. People would not have cared to scrap her then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3 HaradaTaro Members 81 posts Report post #13 Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Quote Arizona herself received one battle star for her service in World War II. One battle star? For what? Having performed a nice firework? Well at least it was a good cookie pan and the Emperor's pilots could that day raise a finger with a big 'screw you USN.' Nevertheless revenge was quickn to come and the IJN got more than screwed in the following years...By the way very nice article and lovely photos. I've always enjoyed the American BB look once they got their ugly caged mast replaced by tripods one. but to me the best overhaul goes to...the New mexico and its wonderful clipper bow. Edited February 21, 2013 by HaradaTaro 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
92 Wunderwaffen1945 Members 1,000 posts Report post #14 Posted February 21, 2013 Damn planes.......big amount of ships would now be in museum, if there's no them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #15 Posted February 21, 2013 Well I did see a thread about the Pennsylvania - class battleships that was already made, but I didn't see a thread dedicated either to Pennsylvania or Arizona themselves. So I decided to make one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
10 Courier90 Members 68 posts 1,460 battles Report post #16 Posted February 21, 2013 Nice article +1 from me Windhover118, on 21 February 2013 - 04:15 AM, said: Most likely. After Pearl Harbor, the surviving ships underwent extensive refits and modernizations. Its interesting though because unlike the other ships, Pennsylvania retained her tripod masts. Even so, had she survived the war Arizona would have expected a similar fate as the rest of the ships that survived Pearl Harbor. Bikini atoll test and/or scrapped. Jracule, on 21 February 2013 - 07:06 AM, said: Well, had Arizona not blown up in harbor and fought throughout World War 2, she would have lost her impact on history. People would not have cared to scrap her then. I think these two things best describe the case of what would have happened had the Arizona made it out of Pearl Harbor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
18 Shermanm1a1 Members 167 posts 191 battles Report post #17 Posted February 21, 2013 Yea what Jracule said was true, her sinking was one of the leading factors as to why she was so famous. Although the Arizona could have also been in some battle and gotten the glory there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #18 Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) Sinking of the USS Arizona (BB-39) as seen in Tora Tora Tora! (1970) (watch on Youtube) Edited February 24, 2013 by Robert9670 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
18 Shermanm1a1 Members 167 posts 191 battles Report post #19 Posted February 22, 2013 You know you could post all of those photos in the main thread and maybe need them in the first post. Just clutters everything up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #20 Posted February 23, 2013 Shermanm1a1, on 22 February 2013 - 05:32 PM, said: You know you could post all of those photos in the main thread and maybe need them in the first post. Just clutters everything up. I could have, but I didn't want to make an overly long post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #21 Posted February 23, 2013 Here's some videos of the life of the USS Arizona in pictures 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3 doggywarning Members 2 posts 23 battles Report post #22 Posted February 24, 2013 Is this ship class gonna be in game????????? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #23 Posted February 24, 2013 doggywarning, on 24 February 2013 - 05:31 PM, said: Is this ship class gonna be in game????????? The Pennsylvania - class battleship, of which Arizona was a part of this class, should definitely be in the game. I might even have to play the Pennsylvania - class. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #24 Posted February 25, 2013 http://www.shipbucke...izona 1930s.png http://www.shipbucke...izona 1941s.png Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
100 Robert9670 Beta Testers 389 posts 1,007 battles Report post #25 Posted February 26, 2013 Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, Arizona's last commanding officer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
