USS Arizona, A Great Ship :: American History Pearl Harbor World War II WWII

On December 7th, 1941 tragedy struck when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. Many ships were sunk during the attack, but one of the most recognizable was the battleship the U.S.S. Arizona. This was one of the ships that was in line in the infamous battleship row. Because of where the U.S.S. Arizona was located it was a sitting duck to dive bombers and torpedo bombers of the Japanese. Once the ship was hit it went down in nine minutes. The sinking of the U.S.S. Arizona caused 1,177 service men to die while on board. The U.S.S. Arizona should also be known for all of its accomplishments during its tenure as a battleship. The Arizona had a very long and prestigious career before it was sunk. During the U.S.S. Arizona's life is served many important functions, from patrolling waters to escorting important people. The loss of the U.S.S. Arizona will forever be remembered as a tragic loss for the United States and its armed forces. The U.S.S. Arizona was in the United States Navy for a very long time before it was sunk. The reason why the U.S.S. Arizona was built was because it was part of America's pre-World War 1 modernization of the Navy. It was built in the Brooklyn Naval Yard with the other Pennsylvania class battleship. The builders of the U.S.S. Arizona started the layouts on March 16, 1914. It took a few years before the Arizona would finally be launched. The U.S.S. Arizona was put into commission on October 17, 1917. When it was built it was a very expensive ship. After all the construction was done the grand total for the ship was 12,993,579.23 dollars. When the Arizona was built it was considered to be a Pennsylvania class battle ship. This meant that it was an upgrade over the Nevada class battleship, which was the types they built before the Pennsylvania class. The main upgrades that they made was that they ships of the Pennsylvania class had two more main battery guns, a greater length and wate r displacement, and it had four propellers for a higher maximum speed. They also upgraded the size of the secondary battery guns. Because of this the U.S.S. Arizona carried a punch that no one would like to deal with. This consisted of four triple turrets for the main battery, and 22 single turret secondary battery. The Arizona also had many anti-aircraft guns for protection.