Wreck of the U.S.S. Arizona
Archaeological survey of the submerged hulk of ARIZONA in 1983, 1984,
1986, and 1987 has determined that the battleship lies at a five to ten degree list to
port and, while intact, readily evidences the severity of her battle damage. The hull just
aft of the bow is distorted and cracked from gunwale to keel on the port side and nearly
so on the starboard side, indicating the bow was either nearly blown off or has since
settled and cracked. The armored deck forward was blown forward by the force of the
explosion that appears to have wrecked ARIZONA; torn and twisted portions of the deck have
folded together near the bow, with one large section of deck peeled back toward the port
bow and jutting over the side of the hull. Debris consisting of twisted and torn fragments
of steel and numerous mis- cellaneous fittings. litter the decks. Surprisingly, even in
this severely damaged area, the battleship's teak decks remain intact and undeteriorated
except for areas where silt does not protect the deck. The hull is covered with a thick
growth of barnacles, oysters, sponges, corals, grasses, and sea anemones, which has
retarded ongoing corrosion; nonetheless, the star- board side of the battleship evidences
a higher level of corrosion, with loose hull plates that flex and shift with current and
tidal flow. Perhaps the most striking hull feature are the rows of deadlights, blastcovers
still fixed, that line the hull. Some have air trapped between blast cover and glass of
the deadlight and provide an eerie reminder that ARIZONA is the watery grave of some 1,000
men.
Moving aft from the bow, the first major feature encountered is
turret 1. With its three 14-inch guns trained forward in a slightly depressed elevation,
this turret dropped intact with the deck when the latter col- lapsed. The guns and
machinery, as well as the top of turret 2 have been removed, but the armored sides and
back plate of the turret mark its posi- tion with the tops of the turret sides visible
just above the surface of the water at low tide. The bottom portion of the superstructure
remains intact; its formerly enclosed spaces are discernable through the stubs of
bulkheads and features such as the base of ARIZONA's stack, the blue and white checked
tiles of the galley, and the legs of the galley stoves and other kitchen equipment which
remain attached to the deck. A surprising array of small artifacts litter this area; among
them dishes and silver- ware. It is at this area that the ARIZONA Memorial spans the wreck
and the outline of the superstructure area forms the basic outline of the ship that
visitors see on one side of the Memorial.
Moving aft from the superstructure, the stub of the battleship's
main- mast rises toward the surface; welded to it is the steel flagstaff from which the
Memorial's flag flies. Aft of the mainmast is the barbette for turret 3, which rises above
the surface of the water. The round barbette is the most prominent above water feature of
the battleship. Attached on support to the port side of the turret 3 barbette and on the
port side of the former bridge area are the rusting remains of 1942 steel and concrete
quays which were constructed as a new battleship berth. Aft of turret 3 is the submerged
barbette of turret 4. This turret was hit a glancing blow by a bomb, and according to one
survivor who was standing on the turret when it was hit, "it scooped out the side of
the turret with a big mound of molten steel." Another feature aft is the mount for
the observation plane's catapult at the stern. the original casemates for the 5-inch/51-
caliber guns line the stern quarter; at the stern itself the raised letters forming
ARIZONA's name are present.
