Between pictures 46 and 208 the development of a jet of black smoke from ARIZONA'S stack can be noted. The attack started at 0755 with dive bombers over the Naval Air Station on Ford Island. The USS Arizona was a 950-ton iron-hulled, side-wheel steamer built in 1858. The references comprise the majority of important information accumulated regarding the loss of ARIZONA. Almost simultaneously a torpedo attack on battleship row occurred. A-704, stbd side, and proceeded to hook it up at 3 turret amidship. document.write("whitet"); On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, I was aboard the USS Arizona, being attached to the "V" Division on the ship, When the attack started I was in the aviation workshop which is located fwd of the quarterdeck, stbd side, Fr. It is a possibility that one of the modified 16-Inch A.P. The explosion and then the fires completely demolished the bow section at one-third of her length, from frame 10 to 70. The only people up there were the Capt., the quartermaster and myself. There are five such hatches in the vicinity of barbettes 1 and 2, one of which is almost directly above the black powder magazine. Their sacrifice, and that of the other men lost at Pearl Harbor, is now permanently memorialized by the USS Arizona Memorial, erected over her sunken hull in the berth it has occupied since shortly after 8 AM on 7 December 1941. It is estimated that picture 46 was taken within 0.5 sec. about the bombing and straffing, standing on the quarterdeck. The ARIZONA (BB 39), a Pennsylvania-class battleship designed for operation in the Pacific, was launched in June 1915. Colloquium on Contemporary History 1989-1998, DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Needs and Opportunities in the Modern History of the U.S. Navy, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. The Pennsylvania-class ships were significantly larger than their predecessors, the Nevada class. 8. Today, the USS Arizona Memorial lies overtop of the wreck of the USS Arizona and was dedicated on Memorial Day 1962 after receiving … It can be seen from the above that the ignition of black powder will almost inevitably result in an explosion. I said to Mr. Fuqua, when the valve was opened, "There is no water pressure on". When confined or in large quantities, the rate of burning increases with the temperature and pressure. U.S. Navy veteran Donald Stratton was station aboard the U.S.S. Just before all this shaking the quartermaster reported that a bomb struck #2 turret. CO. ARIZONA ltr. Picture 208 occurred approximately 7 seconds (24 frames per second) after the detonation shown in picture 46. One of the most famous ships attacked at Pearl Harbor was the USS Arizona. 10 to about Fr. This tipped her foremast forward, giving the wreck its distinctive appearance. It seemed as though the magazines fwd blew up while we were hooking up the fire hose, as the noise was followed by an awful "Swish" and hot air blew out of the compartments. Some of these caused damage to her after and midships areas, but their effects were minor compared with what resulted from one that penetrated beside her forward turrets. She was seized by the Confederates in 1862 only to be captured as a blockade runner by the Union navy later that year. It has four red dots on it and three red lines running through it to show it was seriously damaged. Just had the most amazing and emotional Memorial Day experience ever. All other structure above the top edge of the side armor between frames 10 and 70 was completely demolished - in faet, most of it was missing. A bomb detonation within the smokeless powder magazines presumably could cause a detonation, although smokeless powder as such is not an unusually severe hazard. C-L11-1/BB, NYIO, Serial Y-02149, of 7 October, 1943 (War Damage Report). 3. projectiles, which the Japanese used for bombs, might have penetrated the 4-1/4-Inch STS armored deck and initiated a fire followed by a detonation of the smokeless powder magazines. Lt. Comdr. (c) It appears that the explosion in the forward magazines was vented through the sides of the ship from about Fr. The resultant explosion caused the ship to sink, and cost the lives of 1177 officers and crewmen. Following this attack the dive bombing attack on the battleship started. ", "There is, however, incontrovertible evidence that explosions of nitrocellulose powders up to large sizes are capable of being propagated from box to box when they are initiated by detonation of high explosive charges. It will be recalled that NEVADA was hit by a torpedo between 0800 and 0810. and that WEST VIRGINIA was torpedoed at about the same time. As the pictures proceed, the fire gets worse, finally engulfing the entire ship forward of the mainmast. These bombs unquestionably damaged the air intakes to the steaming fireroom (not identified, although some evidence indicates that No. There is no evidence that the camera was stopped at any time between pictures 46 and 208. Suddently the whole bridge shook like it was an earthquake, flame came through the bridge windows which had been broken by gunfire. The massive explosion that followed has never been fully explained, since the bomb apparently did not pierce Arizona's armored deck, which protected her magazines. The above evidence leads to the conclusion that there was a bomb detonation on or about the forecastle, which caused a bad fire - involving in some manner oil from tanks forward of amidships. 10 and 70, it is difficult to determine the exact magazines in which high order detonation took place, although the more severe damage is between about Frs, 10 and 33. This bomb, and possibly others, caused an intense fire which shortly covered the entire forecastle. There were lots of men coming out on the quarterdeck with every stitch of clothing and shoes blown off, painfully burned and shocked. The stem at the hull bottom (forefoot) extends forward of the deck line, creating a bulbous bow form that is covered by silt and not visible to divers. Fuqua and Ensign J. D. Miller installed confidence in the crew surviving. Burning oil on the surface of the water was ignited. 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