ARIZONA (BB-39), third ship of this name, was launched 19 June 1915 by New York Navy Yard; sponsored by Miss Esther Ross; and commissioned 17 October 1916, Captain J.D. McDonald in command.

     ARIZONA joined the Atlantic Fleet following her shakedown cruise. She spent World War I undergoing training in Chesapeake Bay. On 18 November 1918 she sailed from Hapton Roads, VA., to join the Naval Forces in British waters. On 12 December 1918 she departed Portsmouth, England, to assidt in escorting the U.S.S. George Washington, carrying President Woodrow Wilson, to Brest, France. Later in the month ARIZONA returned to the United States.

     Except for a voyage to the Mediterranean (April-July 1919), she cruised along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean with the Atlantic Fleet until 1929 when she reported to Norfolk Navy Yard for modernization. Following the completion of her modernization in 1931, ARIZONA carried President Herbert Hoover on a cruise to the West Indies and then rejoined the Pacific Fleet. She was attached to the Pacific Fleet throughout the remainder of her service. During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, ARIZONA took hits from eight bombs and reported one torpedo. (See Torpedo Theory). One of the bombs penetrated a powder magazine and the resultant explosion completely wrecked her. ARIZONA suffered the loss of 1104 personnel. The ship still remains submerged at Pearl Harbor; a memorial to the valiant dead still on board her.

     Rear Admiral I.C. Kidd and Captain F. Van Valkenburgh, respectively, were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for courageously discharging their duties while on board ARIZONA; and Lieutenant Commander S.G. Fugua, the senior surviving officer on board, was also a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

     ARIZONA received one battle star.

     STATISTICS: BB-39: dp. 32,6000; 1.608'0"; b. 106'3"; dro. 27'7"; s. 21k; cpl. 1358; a. 12 14", 20 5"; acft. 3; cl. PENNSYLVANIA.