USS Oklahoma BB 37
The USS Oklahoma BB 37 was a Nevada-class battleship that launched from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey on March 23rd, 1914. The ship was commissioned in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 23rd, 1914 under the command of Captain Roger Welles. On August 13th, 1918 she joined the Atlantic Fleet and was stationed at her new home base of Norfolk, Virginia where she trained along the eastern seaboard until being given her first orders to join with her sister ship, the Nevada to protect Allied convoys in European waters. She was among the ships that escorted President Woodrow Wilson to France, departing on December 14th for New York City and afterwards she participates in winter fleet exercises in Cuban waters. She returned to Brest on June 15th, 1919 to escort President Wilson in George Washington home from his second visit to France, returning to New York.
The USS Oklahoma took part in the Peruvian centennial celebration before officially being appointed to the Pacific Fleet where she remained for 6 years and at one point assisting the Battle Fleet with a good-will voyage to Australia and New Zealand in 1925. On July 24th, 1936 civil war broke out in Spain and the Oklahoma was called to action at Bilbao to rescue American citizens and refugees whom she then transported to Gibraltar and French ports. She finally returned to the west coast on October 24th where she operated along with the Pacific Fleet for the next 4 years training reservists in joint operations with the Army. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 6th, 1940 where she trained and ran numerous exercises.
On December 7th, 1941 she was moored along Battleship Row, when the Japanese attacked. Almost immediately after the first bombs fell, she was hit with three enemy torpedoes and as the Oklahoma began to capsize the ship was hit with two more torpedoes, the crew frantically abandoned ship. Within 12 minutes of the beginning of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she was upside down with her masts touching the sea floor, but her crew remained to fight aboard the Maryland. After the battle ceased, 429 officers and enlisted men had been killed or were missing. One of those killed, Father Aloysius Schmitt, was the first American chaplain of any faith to die in World War II. The USS Oklahoma BB 37 received one battle star for World War I service and was decommissioned on September 1st, 1944.
The USS Oklahoma BB 37 and her crew were faced with many dangers during their tours of duty. Although, the threats from violent weather or enemy attacks weren’t the only dangers they dealt with every day. Asbestos materials were commonly used within ships and submarines during that time, mainly inside the insulation piping of the ship. Airborne asbestos fibers are deadly if inhaled and if any crewmembers were exposed to this material, they should monitor their respiratory health closely. Mesothelioma, also referred to as asbestos cancer, has been directly linked to previous asbestos exposure.
Last modified: December 28, 2010.
