USS Arizona BB-39

The USS Arizona BB-39 was a Pennsylvania-class Battleship that was officially launched on June 19th, 1915 from the Brooklyn Naval Yard in New York and had been sponsored by Miss Esther Ross who was the daughter of a powerful Arizona pioneer, Mr. W.W. Ross of Prescott, Arizona. Throughout the 1910’s, the USS Arizona played a role in a number of symbolic peace-keeping missions due to the fact that it was the newest and most powerful of the American Dreadnaughts. On the 12th of December 1918 she rendezvoused and became an addition to the prestigious escort convoy along with the transport ship George Washington that was carrying President Woodrow Wilson to Brest, France for the Paris Peace Conference scheduled for the following day.

On July 17th, 1920 the USS Arizona was given the alphanumeric hull classification symbol BB-39, and on August 23rd while stationed at the New York Naval Yard, was officially appointed as the flagship for Commander Battleship Division 7. She served alternately as flagship for Battleship Divisions 2, 3, and 4 during the next 14 years as well. In 1935, Warner Brothers Studios used the USS Arizona BB-39 and her crew in a James Cagney film called Here Comes the Navy. While based at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, the Arizona experienced its final change-of-command on January 23rd, 1941 with the replacement of Rear Admiral Wilson by Battleship Division 1 commander Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd.

The USS Arizona returned to Pearl Harbor on October 27th and participated in various training exercises including its last in cooperation with division mates USS Nevada and USS Oklahoma underwent a night firing exercise on the 4th of December. While receiving repairs at Pearl Harbor, the Rear Admiral Kidd and the battleship’s captain, Captain Franklin van Valkenburgh was all aboard on the morning of December 7th, 1941. The attack on Pearl harbor was one of the most horrific battles in United States history and many acts of heroism such as Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua, the ship’s damage control officer, whose quick actions of putting out the fires and getting his crew off the ship earned him a Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor was also awarded to Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was the first flag officer to be killed in the Pacific war, as well as the Captain of the USS Arizona Captain Franklin van Valkenburgh who was on the bridge attempting to defend his ship when the bomb that sank her hit. 1,177 out of the 1,400 men on board lost their lives, over half of the casualties of the entire fleet. The ship’s wreckage was not salvaged, and remains on the sea floor where it was sank. Many national memorials have been raised in its honor and on May 5th, 1989 it became a National Historic Landmark.

The USS Arizona BB-39 and her crew faced an onslaught of dangerous perils, but not only from the threatening weather concerns or from the risk of attack by its enemies. Asbestos-laden fibers were used on most ships during that time period and submarines as well, and crew in service of those fleets were always at risk of inhaling dangerous, airborne asbestos materials. Asbestos was widely used within the ship's insulation, and more specifically with the insulation surrounding piping. Crewmembers who may be concerned at all that they may have been exposed to asbestos aboard the USS Arizona BB-39 should monitor their respiratory health, as asbestos is linked to development of deadly mesothelioma, also known as asbestos cancer.

Last modified: December 09 2009.