In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 19th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S.sailors who died defending their county:
"When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."
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Size | Image Description | Contributed By And/Or Copyright |
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 | 242k | A New Mexico (BB-40 / 42) class battleship in the van with other battleships of the Pacific Fleet with its air arm over head. This photo dates from no earlier than 25 June 1937, when Douglas began delivery of 114 TBD-1s (the only mono-planes in this picture) and between 20 May 1941 when the New Mexico's were transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. "The Navy uses enormous amounts of rubber. At least seventy-five tons of rubber, enough to makes 17,000 tires, are used in the construction of each of these battleships. Tons more are needed for the naval planes that are making history over the world. Medical and communication requirements--and countless other needs of the Navy--are met." |
Photograph # LC-USE64 - DC-000944 & partial text courtesy of memory.loc.gov. | |
 | 1.1m | Arizona (BB-39) passing Alcatraz Island in the late 1930's flying the flag of a rear admiral as Flagship Battle Force. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 239k | Spotting planes were carried by all U.S. Battleships. These "eyes of the fleet" float planes greatly extended the effective range of the main battery. This rendering shows the Arizona's (BB-39) 3 SOC floatplanes circa 1938. They are units of VO (Observation Squadron) One. | Text & drawing by Alan E. Chesley, courtesy of Leeward Publications. | |
 | 46k | Colored photo of the Arizona (BB-39) leading the Nevada (BB-36), circa late 30's as it appearded in 'Fighting Fleets 'by R.S. Critchell and H.H. Rimington, copyright 1942. | USN photo contributed by Eric W. Dahlstrom. | |
 | 183k | Leading Nevada (BB-36), Arizona (BB-39) heads into a sea. Note the concentration dial above the rangefinder. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 53k | Arizona (BB-39) in rough seas. Photo stamped "received 14 Apr 1938"; the back caption orginally indicated the ship as Pennsylvania (BB-38), but her sistership had a distinctive taller conning tower. | USN / USNI photo. | |
 | 79k | The following 2 photographs appeared in this article. This story was in the Hawaii Navy News Online (Volume 27, Issue 24-June 21, 2002) "Spring cleaning reveals lost Arizona (BB-39) photos." BREMERTON, Wash. - You never know what will turn up during spring cleaning - a long-forgotten childhood toy, an old suit you wish you had forgotten or, as was the case at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, some old photographs that shed new light on a chapter from a part of naval history. Arizona was at Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1938 for overhaul, but early records are vague. Until now, the historical archives had no information on the specific work done on Arizona during its overhaul here. The photographs show a turret being lifted from the ship to a temporary foundation. A battleship pier was located directly under the hammerhead crane (built in 1932-33) with a lifting capacity of 250 tons. There are numerous photos in the shipyard photo archives that show the hammerhead crane lifting large armament from the capital ships, but this is the first time that photos have shown the lifting of turrets. This photo shows the bow view above deck portion of the turret and its 3 x 14"/45 guns. | USN photo contributed by Mike Green. | |
 | 108k | See above photo for source. This photo shows the bottom portion of the turret and its housing. | USN photo contributed by Mike Green. | |
 | 201k | Arizona (BB-39) at sea for gunnery practice, probably during the late 1930's. She still has her whaleboat and davits rigged on the side where her guns are trained, which suggests practice with subcaliber guns. | Text & photo courtesy of Leeward Publications. | |
 | 51k | On 17 September 1938, Arizona (BB-39) became the flagship for Battleship Division 1, when Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (later to become Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet) broke his flag on board. Detached 27 May 1939 to become Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Nimitz was relieved on that day by Rear Admiral Russell Willson. Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Rear Admiral Russell Willson, USN, are shown during the change of Command Ceremonies on Arizona, 26 May 1939. | USN / USNI photo. Text courtesy of DANFS. | |
 | 53k | Stern view of the Arizona (BB-39) with a lot of signal flags fluttering while maneuvering at sea 1939-40. Note the airplanes overheads and the range clock on her stern tripod. | USN / USNI photo. | |
 | 104k | Arizona (BB-39) at anchor with other ships of the Pacific Fleet during the later part of her career. | Photo contributed by Robert M. Cieri. | |
 | 30k | Curtiss SOC's on Arizona's(BB-39) fantail in the late 1930's. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 131k | Arizona (BB-39) at anchor with small boats coming along. In the background is the masthead & conning tower of another battleship. | Photo contributed by Robert M. Cieri. | |
 | 145k | One of Arizona's (BB-39) float planes flies past her after being launched from her fantail as another is being made ready on the turret catapault. | USN photo courtesy of David Buell. | |
 | 117k | Arizona (BB-39) inboard & Maryland (BB-46) at Puget Sound sometime circa late 1935, early 1936. The Arizona still has the searchlights on the funnel and the funnel is short. It was extended vertically in early 1936. | USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Text courtesy of Tracy White. Photo i.d. courtesy of Mike Green. | |
 | 54k | Arizona (BB-39) & a New Mexico class (BB-40/42) battleship during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 496k | Arizona (BB-39) & a New Mexico class (BB-40/42) battleship during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 249k | A.A. Practice during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 43k | Commence Firing! probably during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 35k | Looking up at the mainmast probably during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 43k | Arizona's (BB-39) Maintop that housed the MK.20 Main Battery Director. The middle level was for Main battery Spotting and the lower Level housed the Secondary Battery Directors. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 1.0m | Arizona's (BB-39) Main Battery. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 658k | Arizona's (BB-39) Flag Hoist. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 1.8m | Arizona(BB-39) at Seattle in 1940. | USN photo courtesy Pieter Bakels. Photo added 05/01/08. | |
 | 367k | Column Right! Arizona (BB-39), New Mexico (BB-40) & West Virginia (BB-48) and other ships of the Pacific Fleet taken during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | Scanned from: "The Fleet Today" by Kendall Banning. Funk & Wagnalls Company, N.Y. and London, 1942. Submitted by Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 534k | The Army Air Corp flies above the Arizona (BB-39), New Mexico (BB-40) & West Virginia (BB-48) and the rest of the Pacific Fleet during Fleet Ops in October 1940. | Scanned from: "The Fleet Today" by Kendall Banning. Funk & Wagnalls Company, N.Y. and London, 1942. Submitted by Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 217k | Field Day aboard a Pacific Fleet Battlewagon. | Scanned from: "The Fleet Today" by Kendall Banning. Funk & Wagnalls Company, N.Y. and London, 1942. Submitted by Pieter Bakels. | |
 | 79k | Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, of Observation Squadron One (VO-1) on a seaplane mat towed by Arizona (BB-39), while being recovered after a flight in the Hawaiian Operating area on the morning of 6 September 1941. The plane flown by Ensign Lawrence A. Williams. Rear-seat man was Radioman 3rd Class G.H. Lane, who is preparing to hook up the aircraft to the ship's crane for recovery. Note the plane's side number "1-O-3", with the ship's name below it. | Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC # 80-G-66108, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. | |
 | 70k | Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, of Observation Squadron One (VO-1) Taxi's along side Arizona (BB-39), after a flight in the Hawaiian Operating area, 6 September 1941. Pilot is Lieutenant-Commander Welton D. Rowley, Commanding Officer of VO-1. Rear-seat man, Radioman 2nd Class E.L. Higley, is preparing to go out on the plane's wing to hook up the aircraft to the battleship's crane for recovery. The plane is numbered "1-O-1". | Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC # 80-G-66111, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. | |
 | 77k | Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, of Observation Squadron One (VO-1). Being recovered by Arizona (BB-39), after a flight in the Hawaiian Operating area on the morning of 6 September 1941. The pilot, Ensign Lawrence A. Williams, is holding the belt of his rear-seat man, Radioman 3rd Class G.H. Lane, who is hooking up the aircraft to the ship's crane for recovery. | Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC # 80-G-66109, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. | |
 | 87k | Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane is lowered onto the after catapult of Arizona (BB-39), in the Hawaiian Operating area, 6 September 1941. Note details of the plane's float, the catapult and crew uniforms. | Official U.S. Navy Photograph, USNHC # 80-G-66114, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. | |
 | 72k | Arizona (BB-39) inboard profile, 1941. | Photo and text courtesy of U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman. | |
 | 201k | Color print of the Arizona (BB-39) with PBY 5-A Catalinas flying overhead as the ship nears Diamond Head, Hawaii. | Photo contributed by Robert M. Cieri. | |
 | 98k | Oil on canvas painting by the artist Tom Freeman entitled "Arizona" showing the Arizona (BB-39) as she passes Diamond Head on 28 November 1941, with the Phelps (DD-360) in escort. | Photo and text courtesy of oldgloryprints.com |
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 | 86k | Oil on canvas painting by the artist Tom Freeman entitled "Daybreak of Destiny", showing the Arizona (BB-39) moored and the Vestal (AR-4) at Pearl Harbor, December 1941. Signed by artist Tom Freeman, Capt. Jim Miller (Arizona's most senior surviving officer), and Don Stratton (one of the few who escaped from the forward part of the ship). | Photo and text courtesy of
usni.org |
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 | 112k | Oil on canvas painting by the artist Tom Freeman entitled "Last Mooring", showing the Arizona (BB-39) moored in front of the Nevada (BB-36) and behind the Oklahoma (BB-37). | Photo and text courtesy of oldgloryprints.com |
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 | 135k | Oil on canvas painting by the artist Wayne Scarpaci entitled "Come Into Port Greatly", showing the Arizona (BB-39) coming into Pearl Harbor for the last time. | Photo and text courtesy of artbywayne.com |
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USS Arizona BB-39 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Contact Name: Ruth Campbell
Address: PO Box 14435 Tucson, AZ, 85732-4435
Phone: 520-529-7494
E-mail: rcmpbll@comcast.net
Note About Contacts.
The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.
Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway Battleship Pages By Andrew Toppan.
U.S.S. Arizona (BB-39) Web Site at the University Of Arizona
U.S.S. Arizona (BB-39)Facts by Lorraine E. Marks (Haislip)
Home of the Heros, U.S.S. Arizona
HyperWar Pacific Theater of Operations.
Pearl Harbor Attack: Commander Battle Force Action Report Naval Historical Center
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