USS Arizona (BB-39)

USS Arizona (BB-39) was a Pennsylvania-class battleship of the United States Navy. The vessel was the first to be named "Arizona" specifically in honor of the 48th state. She was commissioned in 1916 and served stateside during World War I. Arizona is best known for her cataclysmic and dramatic sinking, with the loss of 1,177 lives, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the event that brought about US involvement in World War II. The wreck was not salvaged, and continues to lie at the floor of the harbor. It is the site of a memorial to those who perished on that day.

On 4 March 1913, Congress authorized the construction of Arizona, the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Her keel was laid at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 16 March 1914. She was launched on 19 June 1915, sponsored by Miss Esther Ross—daughter of a prominent Arizona pioneer, Mr. W.W. Ross of Prescott, Arizona. Her remaining machinery was installed, which included new Parson turbines,[1] and she was then commissioned at her builder's yard on 17 October 1916, Captain John D. McDonald in command. (Wikipedia)





As of 2009, 67 years after the explosion that destroyed Arizona, oil leaks from the hull still rise to the surface of the water. Arizona continues to leak about a quart (0.95 L) of oil per day into the harbor. Survivors from the crew say that the oil will continue to leak until the last survivor dies. Many of the survivors have arranged for their ashes to be placed in the ship, among their fallen comrades, upon their death and cremation. The Navy, in conjunction with the National Park Service, has recently overseen a comprehensive computerized mapping of the hull, being careful to honor its role as a war grave. The Navy is considering non-intrusive means of abating the continued leakage of oil to avoid the further environmental degradation of the harbor. (Wikipedia)