History of USS Arizona (Part 2)

Arizona continued operations in the Caribbean Sea throughout the winter, and during that period made its first passage through the Panama Canal. The ship returned to Norfolk from Cuba on April 27, 1921 and was overhauled in the New York Navy Yard. That summer Arizona participated in experimental bombing exercises of Navy seaplanes on a captured German U-boat, the first in a series of joint Army-Navy experiments conducted during June and July of 1921 to measure the effectiveness of air attack.

On July 1, 1921 Arizona was honored as the flagship for three-star Vice Admiral John D. McDonald. McDonald had served as Arizona's first commander.  With the flag came the title of flagship of the Battle Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. In August the flag was transferred to USS Wyoming and Arizona received a new admiral, John S. McKean, commander of Battleship Division 7.

In September of 1921 Arizona was transferred to Pacific waters. At San Pedro, California it underwent another change of command, when Rear Admiral Charles Hughes became the new commander of Battleship Division 7.

For the next decade Arizona served as flagship for Battleship Divisions 2, 3 and 4. A number of distinguished officers served aboard the vessel, particularly Rear Admirals William V. Pratt and Claude Block. During this period the ship sailed twice to Hawaii to participate in fleet maneuvers and practice amphibious landings of Marines.

The crew of USS Arizona, 1924. U.S. Naval Historical Center photo NH86101.

In February 1929 Arizona passed through the Panama Canal for fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean. On May 1 the battleship returned to Norfolk in preparation for a modernization overhaul. On May 4, 1929 it entered the yard at Norfolk for that purpose and was placed in reduced commission. During this modernization Arizona received a massive facelift. First to go were the traditional cage masts that were replaced fore and aft by tripod types. New 5-inch antiaircraft guns replaced the outdated 3-inch mounts. New armor was added below the upper decks to guard against the fall of shot by high-angle gunfire and bombs dropped by aircraft. Extra compartments called "blisters" were added to the outer hull to increase the ship's protection against torpedo attack. In an effort to offset the additional weight, a brand-new power plant consisting of modern boilers and turbines was installed to allow it to maintain normal fleet speed. The engines were upgraded with new geared units, and the original boilers were replaced with six Bureau Express three-drum boilers. Arizona's fuel capacity was increased from 2,332 to 4,630 tons of oil. On March 1, 1931 modernization was completed, and Arizona was placed in full commission once again.

One of the more significant events in the ship's history took place on March 19, 1931 when Arizona embarked President Herbert Hoover and his party for a 10-day inspection cruise to Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, then transported the President to Hampton Roads at the end of the month. Arizona left Norfolk for the last time on August 1, 1931 and remained in the Pacific for the rest of its operational life.

USS Arizona in heavy seas in the 1930s. American battleships of its generation were notoriously "wet" ships,
much to the discomfort of their crews. U.S. Naval Historical Center photo G463589.

Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz hoisted his flag as commander of Battleship Division 1 on September 17, 1938, with Arizona serving as his flagship until May 1939. His successor, Rear Admiral Russell Willson, assumed command in San Pedro, California. As tensions grew in the Pacific, so did fleet responsibilities. On April 2, 1940 Arizona moved into Hawaiian waters and was ordered up the coast to be overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington. The work was completed by January 23, 1941. At that time Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd relieved Rear Admiral Willson and took command of Battleship Division 1.

	May 26, 1939: Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz (right) is relieved as Commander of Battleship Division 1 by Rear Admiral Russell Willson aboard USS Arizona. U.S. Naval Historical Center photo NH62013

Arizona returned to Hawaii in February 1941 and trained in those waters for four months. The last voyage to the West Coast occurred in June, and in early July the battleship returned to Pearl Harbor. For several months prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War, Arizona's crew underwent intensive battle-readiness drills that often included mock air attacks from the carrier Enterprise. The battleship entered Drydock No. 1 on October 27, 1941 for minor adjustments and repairs.

Soon after, Arizona rejoined the fleet. The ship's exact movements for the month before the Pearl Harbor attack are not clear, as the ship's log was lost in the sinking. Arizona entered Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941 and moored on the east side of Ford Island. Later that day USS Vestal pulled alongside to ready the vessel for repair work scheduled for the following Monday. At 10:00 that morning, Admiral Kidd came aboard Vestal for a 15-minute official call. Later the captain of the repair ship, Cassin Young, boarded Arizona to discuss the ship's pending repairs with the battleship's chief engineer.

Many of the ship's crew had liberty that Saturday. Some of the married men had wives on the island and received weekend passes. Nearly 50 crew members were on shore at the time of the attack. However, a majority of the men had returned to the ship by midnight. Eight hours later Arizona would be lying on the bottom of Pearl Harbor with the bodies of most of those men.

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