At 'Em Arizona Fans!

[dsk]

Those who haven't yet bought a copy of Resurrection: Salvaging the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor really should do so. It talks about a subject that was never really explained in detail anywhere else. It's interesting how the Arizona was regarded as a total loss almost immediately, with no serious thought given to raising and repairing her. Numerous ideas were considered regarding how to get rid of the wreck and free up the berth, but in the end it was decided it wasn't worth the cost and effort except to salvage what they could above the waterline. As for the fate of the Arizona's crew, it's sad yet interesting to note that badly decomposed remains were found on the California and West Virginia once they were raised a few months later, but by the time the Oklahoma was righted and refloated a year afterwards there was nothing left of her 400+ casualties except for some bone and clothing fragments here and there. With that knowledge it's a pretty safe bet that nothing remains of the Arizona's crew today, but she remains a gravesite just the same.

[Tracy White]

I'll second DSK's recommendation for Resurrection. Also, when I was in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard files last month, I ran into a friend who was researching for a grad student who needed some information as to what the Navy had tried to do to mitigate the environmental impact of Arizona's oil. She was going through daily logs of salvage, and you see a lot of things for all of the other ships; things like "removed bunker oil from California," but you never saw anything like that for Arizona.

[Jon C Ryckert]

dsk, I also have that book. I bought mine three years ago and I've read it three or four times again since then. Great book!

[Guest]

Hi JohnD. That's really nightmare, a worst nightmare for me after I used 2 bottles/cans. It cost and waste money and time for me. I might ask some extra hand the next time.

[JohnD]

Hi guys!
Here are a few more books you might be interested in:
Trapped At Pearl Harbor by Stephen Bower Young. This book is about Mr Young and his crewmates rescue from the upturned USS Oklahoma. A good read!
Pearl Harbor. The Day Of Infamy-An Illustrated History. Dan Van Der Vat. Many great photos, personal stories. Some beautiful artwork by Tom Freeman, showing "BLUE" battleships.
Our Call To Arms. The Attack On Pearl Harbor. This is a LIFE book, many photos. Some new, some we have seen before. Covers the Pearl Harbor movies as well.
East Wind Rain. By Stan Cohen. Many of the usual photos but quite a few from the Japanese attack force.
Pearl Harbor by Ernest Arroyo. Many of the same photos but some new as well. Large format, well printed.
There are many other books out there, with great information. Although the book that answers the 5-S/5-D question, has yet to be written!
John

[mark_sch]

Hello John,
Sounds like a very good book. Thanks for the heads up.
Mark

[Tracy White]

East Wind Rain. By Stan Cohen.

This was the first issue of that book; it was later revised, expanded, and re-issued with the title "Attack on Pearl Harbor: A Pictorial History."

[JohnD]

Hi Tracy, glad to hear that it is still in print. Here are two more must haves:
The USS ARIZONA by Joy Waldron Jasper/James P Delgado/Jim Adams. This is the story of the Arizona before, during and after the attack, with interviews with surviving crewmen.
Dec.7 1941 by Gordon W. Prange with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. This is a great book, it is a moment by moment account of the attack. Superb!

[stef76]

hello some photos of my arizona.the paint is not finish







bye
stef

[JohnD]

Hi Stef
Your model is looking good, what paints did you use? The model looks great on the base you made for it. Well done!

[stef76]

thanks john d
i paint with tamiya colors
xf9 hull red and for the the blue two part of xf18 medium blue and one part of xf-54 dark sea grey
bye
stef

[dsk]

Lookin' good, Stef.

Now, to bring up another contested debate. Should it be two anchors or three for a late '41 Arizona?

[Atma]

This was discussed earlier and is covered by photos of the time clearly.
3 anchors for a late '41 USS Arizona, 2 port side - 1 starboard side.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Makes you wonder where that third anchor is.

[ArizonaBB39]

Hi all. Heres a drawing I made of a "what if" rebuilt Arizona at the end of the war. (This is not the full quality drawing) USS Arizona 1945

[BCBilly]

Hi all. Heres a drawing I made of a "what if" rebuilt Arizona at the end of the war. (This is not the full quality drawing) USS Arizona 1945

Could you do it in a zig zag scheme. I don't know the exact measure number.

[dsk]

Hi all. Heres a drawing I made of a "what if" rebuilt Arizona at the end of the war. (This is not the full quality drawing) USS Arizona 1945

Great line drawing. However I personally have my doubts that this is how she would have looked. Her hull was a much older design than the later battleship classes so it was less practical to totally modernize her. The newer ships (especially those most badly damaged and needing a top-to-bottom rebuild) underwent a total metamorphisis and received the "South Dakota" style superstructure, but the older hulls such as Pennsylvania and Nevada merely received simplified superstructures and more AA armamanent. I think if you want to see what the Arizona would've looked like you only need to imagine another ship just like the late-war Pennsylvania. Had the Arizona survived Pearl but with major damage (like the West Virginia) then it may have been more likely that she'd have received a more comprehensive rebuild than Pennsy did, but I believe she still would've been no more modernized than the Nevada was. Just my .02 cents.

[dsk]

Makes you wonder where that third anchor is.

Just a thought here, but perhaps it was the anchor she was using on Dec 7th and the wreck is lying on it?

[Jon C Ryckert]

I imagine that it is a possibility. I'll have to look through my books again as I don't recall any of the BB's using anchors when tied up to quays. Myself, being a dogface army guy, I don't know squat about the proper way to moor a ship.

[dsk]

Neither do I, which is why it was a wild-arsed guess. However it's this landlubber's assumption that redundancy would've been a good thing if you're trying to keep floating ships from bumping into one another.