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The USS Oklahoma
The USS Oklahoma at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Career (US)United States Navy ensign
Laid down:26 October 1912
Launched:23 March 1914
Commissioned:2 May 1916
Decommissioned:1 September 1944
Fate:fatally damaged in Attack on Pearl Harbor, sold for scrap but sunk during transport
General characteristics
Class and type:Nevada-class battleship
Displacement:27,500 t
Length:583 ft (178 m)
Beam:95. Guantánamo Bay ( Spanish Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the south-eastern end of Cuba The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by Design The Nevada class marked "another graduated step in the rapidly evolving American battleship" A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were 3 ft (29. 0 m)
Draft:28. 5 ft (8. 7 m)
Speed:20. 5 knots
Complement:864 officers and men
Armament:10 × 14 in (356 mm) guns,
20 × 5 in (127 mm) guns,[1]
4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Oklahoma (BB-37), a Nevada-class battleship was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 46th state. 5"/51 caliber guns (spoken "five-inch-fifty-one-caliber" formed the secondary batteries of United States Navy Battleships built from 1907 through the Design The Nevada class marked "another graduated step in the rapidly evolving American battleship" A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Her keel was laid down on 26 October 1912 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey. In boats and ships keel can refer to either of two parts a structural element or a hydrodynamic element Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900 The City of Camden is the County seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. She was launched on 23 March 1914 sponsored by Miss Lorena J. The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Cruce, and commissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 2 May 1916 with Captain Roger Welles in command. Commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year She was the last ship of the U. S. Navy to be installed with vertical triple expansion (VTE) reciprocating machinery instead of steam turbines; she had a vibration problem throughout her lifetime as a result. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid. A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts Thermal energy from pressurized Steam, and converts it into useful mechanical work

Contents

Early duty assignments

Presidential escort

Oklahoma joined the Atlantic Fleet and was homeported at Norfolk, Virginia. The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFLTFORCOM of the United States Navy is the part of the Navy responsible for operations in and around the Atlantic Ocean. Norfolk is an Independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States She trained on the eastern seaboard until 13 August 1918, when she joined sister ship Nevada in the task of protecting Allied convoys in European waters. Events 3114 BC - According to the Lounsbury correlation the start of the Maya calendar. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A sister ship is a Ship of the same class as or of virtually identical design to another ship Design The Nevada class marked "another graduated step in the rapidly evolving American battleship" A convoy is a group of Vehicles (of any type but usually motor vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support In December she was among the ships that escorted President Woodrow Wilson to France, departing December 14 for New York City and winter fleet exercises in Cuban waters. Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28 1856—February 3 1924 was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people She returned to Brest on 15 June 1919 to escort President Wilson in George Washington home from his second visit to France, returning to New York on 8 July. Brest (bʁɛst in French, in Breton) is a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000

Overhauled and re-assigned

A part of the Atlantic Fleet for the next two years, Oklahoma was overhauled and her crew trained. The secondary battery was reduced from twenty to twelve 5"/51 caliber guns in 1918. 5"/51 caliber guns (spoken "five-inch-fifty-one-caliber" formed the secondary batteries of United States Navy Battleships built from 1907 through the [1] Early in 1921 she voyaged to South America's west coast for combined exercises with the Pacific Fleet, and returned later that year for the Peruvian Centennial. A military exercise (also called war game in American English) is the employment of military resources in training for Military operations either exploring The United States Pacific Fleet ( USPACFLT) is a Pacific Ocean Navy theater-level component command of the United States Navy, under the operational control She then joined the Pacific Fleet for six years, highlighted by the cruise of the Battle Fleet to Australia and New Zealand in 1925. Joining the Scouting Fleet in early 1927, Oklahoma continued intensive exercises during that summer's Midshipmen Cruise, voyaging to the East Coast to embark midshipmen, carrying them through the Panama Canal to San Francisco, and returning by the way of Cuba and Haiti. For the fish called midshipman see Midshipman fish. The rank of midshipman is one of the oldest ranks still in existence The Panama Canal is a man-made Canal in Panama which joins the The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Haiti ( English: ˈheɪ·tiː or haɪ·ˈjiː·tiː French Haïti a·i·ti Haitian Creole:

Rescuing Americans in Spain

After being modernized by addition of eight 5"/25 caliber guns[1] at Philadelphia between September 1927 and July 1929, Oklahoma rejoined the Scouting Fleet for exercises in the Caribbean Sea, and then returned to the west coast in June 1930 for fleet operations through spring 1936. The 5"/25 caliber gun (spoken "five-inch-twenty-five-caliber" was the standard Anti-aircraft gun for United States Washington Naval Treaty For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere That summer she carried midshipmen on a European training cruise, visiting northern ports. The cruise was interrupted with the outbreak of civil war in Spain, as Oklahoma sped to Bilbao, arriving on 24 July 1936 to rescue American citizens and other refugees whom she carried to Gibraltar and French ports. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of Bilbao, (also Bilbo) in the North of Spain, is the largest city in the Basque Country and the capital of the province of Biscay (Basque Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar She returned to Norfolk on 11 September, and to the West Coast 24 October. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat

The Pacific Fleet operations of the Oklahoma during the next four years included joint operations with the Army and the training of reservists.

Pearl Harbor assignment

Further information: Attack on Pearl Harbor
USS Oklahoma burns in foreground; December 7, 1941
USS Oklahoma burns in foreground; December 7, 1941

She was based at Pearl Harbor from 6 December 1940 for patrols and exercises, and was moored in Battleship Row on 7 December 1941, when the Japanese attacked. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pearl Harbor is a Harbor on the Island of O{{okina}}ahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Battleship Row was the grouping of nine Battleships in port at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese launched the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Outboard alongside USS Maryland, Oklahoma took three torpedo hits almost immediately after the first Japanese bombs fell. World War II Seaman Leslie Short addressing Christmas cards near his machine-gun brought the first of his ship's guns into play shooting down one of two torpedo planes As she began to capsize, two more torpedoes struck home, and her men were strafed as they abandoned ship. The common definition for capsized refers to when a Boat or Ship is tipped over until disabled Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft Within 12 minutes after the attack began, she had rolled over until halted by her masts touching bottom, her starboard side above water, and a part of her keel clear. The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical or near vertical Spar, or arrangement of Spars which supports the Sails Large ships have several masts The USS Utah turned upside down just like Oklahoma did. Construction Her keel was laid down on 9 March 1909 at Camden New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. Her sister, Nevada ,was making a run for it. Nevada was grounded and sank bow first but was salvaged. Many of her crew, however, remained in the fight, clambering aboard Maryland to help serve her anti-aircraft batteries. Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces In Military organizations an artillery battery is a unit of Guns mortars or Rockets so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield 429 officers and enlisted men were killed or missing. One of those killed—Father Aloysius Schmitt—was the first American chaplain of any faith to die in World War II. Father Aloysius H Schmitt ( December 4, 1909 – December 7, 1941) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Roman Catholic World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Thirty-two others were wounded, and many were trapped within the capsized hull, to be saved by heroic rescue efforts. Such an effort was that of Julio DeCastro, a civilian yard worker who organized the team which saved 32 Oklahoma sailors. Some of those who died later had ships named after them such as ENS John Charles England for whom USS England (DE-635) and USS England DLG-22/CG-22 are named. Ensign John Charles England (December 11 1920 &ndash December 7 1941 was an officer in the United States Navy. Anti-Submarine Record I-16 United States Pacific Fleet Military intelligence decoded a 13 May 1944 message from I-16 including

Salvaging the Oklahoma

The difficult salvage job was commenced on 15 July 1942 by Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard men under the immediate command of Captain F. Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship its cargo and sometimes the crew from peril Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. H. Whitaker, USN. Preparations for righting the overturned hull took 7¾ months. The actual righting took 3¼ months, between 8 March 1943 and 16 June, with Oklahoma being towed into dry dock on 28 December. Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Decommissioned 1 September 1944, Oklahoma was stripped of guns and superstructure, and sold on 5 December 1946 to Moore Drydock Company of Oakland, California. To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Oakland (ˈoʊklənd founded in 1852 is the eighth-largest city in the U Oklahoma sank on 17 May 1947, 540 miles out of Pearl Harbor, while being towed to San Francisco. Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city

Oklahoma received one battle star for her World War II service. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Breyer 1973 p. List of United States Navy and Coast Guard ships lost during World War II, from 7 December 1941 to 1 October 1945 210

References

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships ( DANFS for short is the primary reference work for the basic facts about every Ship ever used

Related works

See Daniel Madsen's Resurrection-Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor. U. S. Naval Institute Press. 2003, for a detailed account of her salvage.

External links

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