The Wyoming class: Last USN 12-in battleships

The Wyoming and Arkansas were a gradual improvement of the 12-in gun battleship formula, cumulating three pairs of superfiring turrets, all along the central axis. They were completed before the Royal Navy revealed their first 13.5 in gun-armed battleships, which would mark the end of the US 12-in gunners. For their next class, the USN embarked on a 14-in or 340 mm gun design (New York class). Wyoming and Arkansas were also innovative in armour design, which was improved compared to the previous Florida class, and were substantially larger and heavier as well, jumping to 27,000 tonnes fully loaded versus 23,000. The "stopgap" USS Wyoming and USS Arkansas were completed in 1912 and served during both wars.

In 1942, they were the oldest American dreadnoughts to participate in operations with the exception of USS Utah, (previously converted into a target ship and sunk at Pearl Harbour). The two Wyomings were also the only battleships in service before the Great War to be operational in WW2. Their main artillery was obsolete in 1942, both in terms of range and hitting power. In fact, barely two years after, the Alaska class "battlecruisers" emerged with the same caliber.


USS Wyoming circa 1912, fresh from the yard.

Against even a relatively lightly-armed Scharnhorst-class which was much faster and equipped with advanced telemetric, fire control, ballistic computing, and Zeiss sights, the odds would have been heavily stacked against them despite their much superior armour and armament size. However, that twelve gun battery was not an argument to take lightly. Modified in 1927, receiving dual 5-in guns and light 3-in AA guns, new superstructures with tripods in 1938, the old veterans were still relevant.

Wyoming was a training ship but Arkansas remained frontline in the Atlantic fleet and refitted later in New York with a modern AA, she took part in Normandy (Overlord) Provence (Anvil), and in the Pacific at Iwo Jima and Okinawa but before being used in Operation Crossroads after the war.


USS Wyoming in the east river, 1912

Development and design of the Wyoming class

Authorized in early 1909 and built between 1910 and 1912, the Wyoming class were the last 12-in gun-armed battleships of the US Navy, with a twist: They were also better armed than the former Florida class, having six instead of five turrets. At the same time, the British were building their first super-dreadnoughts, the Orion class, featuring five turrets with 13.5 inches (340 mm) main guns. It was expected that to match this, the Wyoming class would be fitted with bored out 12 in guns to try to negate the instant advantage the British had three years prior to the war.

However, it was not meant to be so. With Theodore Roosevelt ordering, he planned a series of 355 mm guns-armed battleships back in 1908, when the Dreadnought concept was not even two years old. On 22 July 1908, the Newport Conference was held with the General Board, Naval War College, and headed by President Theodore Roosevelt to decide on the next design:
-Design 601: A ship armed with twelve 12-in ('12-12') guns
-Design 404: Eight 14-in guns (probably 2x2)
-Design 502: Ten 14-in guns (5x2).

The Ordnance wants compromises

At the time, the Bureau of Ordnance estimated infrastructures were just not yet fit to handle larger calibers and the development of a 14-in gun would take two years. Another argument was that armor-piercing 12-in calibers were still efficient at 8,000 to 8,500 yd (7,300 to 7,800 m) against the current armour thickness in service. In the end, the views of the Bureau of Ordnance were adopted, against the President's wish, notably to avoid delays. Despite this, the new displacement and size of the ships made it so that only Pearl Harbor and Puget Sound could take them in for repairs.


Armour scheme of the Wyoming class

Wet secondary battery and stability issue

Provisionally, it was decided to go for the '601' design, a new arrangement of 12-in guns. As a result, both units were given one extra turret. For the first time also the designers tried a "flush-deck" concept, in order for the ship to be able to deal with the North Atlantic heavy weather in winter. Also evoked in discussions were the wet casemates on the main deck, as shown by the cruise of the great white fleet. However, replacing them in the superstructure would have caused concerns for the stability of the ship due to the excessive top weight. The 5-in guns the navy used were quite heavy indeed and simply could not be placed higher in the ship. So the casemates were kept, but the designers chose a flush-deck hull which made a rise of 4 ft (1.2 m) of the casemates without compromising too much stability.

Innovations in armour

On the armour side, improvements were also on the menu: The belt and barbette armor was increased by an inch (2.5 cm). The bases of the funnels were also reinforced, due to damage reports by the Russians at the Battle of Tsushima about the fragility of their own funnels, highlighting the high risk of a destroyed exhaust system. The need for improved underwater protection was also put on the table, and for the first time in a US battleship, the Wyoming class incorporated a torpedo bulkhead.

Armament

Main battery of USS Arkansas firing

Main battery

The twelve 12-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 Mod 0 guns were the real novelty of this class. They were placed in six Mark 9 twin-gun turrets, as always, on the centerline. Two were placed in a superfiring pair forward while the other four were also on lowered pairs aft of the superstructure, intertwined with the rear mast and superstructure. They fired an 870 lb (395 kg) shell with a 353 lb (160 kg) propellant charge. Muzzle velocity was 2,900 ft/s (880 m/s). This model was the last 12-in in service and USS Wyoming and Arkansas were the last and only ships using this ordnance. The 12-in guns in previous classes were the lower-velocity 12-inch/45-caliber Mark 5 gun.


Top and side view of the Wyoming class, as built (the blueprints)

The Mark 7 heavy gun had increased armor penetration figures due to its better muzzle velocity, notably at 12,000 yd (11,000 m) where it could pierce through 12.3 in (310 mm) of face-hardened armor with the previous models' figure being 10.8 in (270 mm). They were mounted in Mark IX gun turrets complete with their cradle mounts which allowed a 15 degrees elevation and −5 degrees depression. These new turrets had also a previous advantage compared to previous models, they did not require the guns to return to 0 degrees to reload.

Secondary battery

It consisted of twenty-one 5-inch/51 caliber guns (127 mm) in single mounts, in casemates along the hull. As previously stated, the new flush deck design allowed the guns to be higher up and therefore not wet. These guns fired a 50 lb (23 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s). Parts of the telemeters were installed on the two lattice masts.

Tertiary armament

The Wyoming class BBs did not possess any light gun, either anti-torpedo or AA (aviation was not taken seriously at that time anyway). Like other battleships, however, they carried a pair of submerged 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes in the hull, broadside. This was linked to a large belief that firing torpedos in a battleline, against another battleline, could result in random kills. The tactic was used at Tsushima without success, and at Jutland again with the same result. In practice, the distance and other variables were too great and the concept was later dropped. These torpedoes used the Mark III Bliss-Leavitt design, carrying a 218 lb (99 kg) warhead, with a range was 4,000 yd (3,700 m). They could reach 26.5 kn (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph).

Protection

The main belt was 8 ft (2.4 m) high overall, 11 in (280 mm) thick over the citadel, protecting the ammunition magazines and boilers rooms. It was reduced to 5 in (130 mm) near the stern and on the bottom edge down to 9 in (230 mm). The forward end met an 11 in thick transverse bulkhead. It was in front of the main battery barbette, while the rear of the citadel was protected by a 9 in bulkhead. The main armored deck was 2.5 in (64 mm) thick. This was special treatment steel, down to 1.5 in (38 mm) in less important spaces. The conning tower had 11.5 in (292 mm) thick walls, and its roof was 3 in (76 mm) in thickness.

The gun turrets were protected by the same equivalent of caliber, 12 in (305 mm) on their faces and sides, down to 3 inch thick roofs (76 mm). The barbettes rings were 11 inches thick on the exposed part above the citadel. The armoured deck was at parts 4.5 in (110 mm) deep. The lower half of the casemate was 11 in thick (280 mm), upper half 6.5 in (170 mm). It was enclosed by longitudinal bulkheads also protecting the funnel's uptakes as learnt during the Russo-Japanese War. Smoke proved a liability in battle, and the extra armour attempted to fix the problem of the drafts of the funnels collapsing after being hit. The other innovation, certainly more important, was that for the first time the adoption of a comprehensive ASW compartmentation and torpedo bulkhead was added to the class. The brand new feature was repeated on all subsequent USN Battleships designs.


USS Wyoming at sea (wow)

Propulsion

The Wyoming class were propelled by four Parsons steam turbines, rated for a total of 28,000 shp (21,000 kW). They were fed by twelve mixed oil/coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers which were truncated into two spaced funnels. Their top speed as designed was 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph). But on trials, USS Arkansas reached 21.22 knots (39.30 km/h; 24.42 mph) with a total output of 25,546 shp (19,050 kW). Both battleships carried 1,667 long tons (1,694 t) of coal, 266 long tons (270 t) of oil, enough to reach 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), down to 2,655 nmi (4,917 km) at 20 knots. The ships were moderately agile, with a single rudder for steering. The flush-deck option proved its worth in service as their secondary battery was less wet than other battleships at the time.

Construction

Congress approved two new battleships, BB-32 and BB-33, on 3 March 1909. Design 502 was also used, with few modifications, on the next New York class. USS Wyoming (BB-32) was started at William Cramp & Sons NyD on 9 February 1910 and launched on 25 May 1911. She was completed on 25 September 1912. Her sister ship USS Arkansas (BB-33) was laid down at New York Shipbuilding Corporation on 25 January 1910, before the Wyoming, and launched on 14 January 1911, to be completed on 17 September 1912. This is why the class is often referred to the Arkansas class as well. Both were among the most powerful battleships afloat at that date, with an unmatched axial battery that favoured broadside engagements. The design was repeated on the New York and influenced the Argentine Rivadvia class greatly.

For more, see the detailed plans of the Wyoming there.

Interwar modifications

Evolution of USS Wyoming, various modernizations as a battleship in 1912, training ship in 1937 and AA training ship ACG-17 in 1944 (bottom)


Details of the bridge and forward section (wow)





Both battleships received modifications during and shortly after the great war: Their horizontal armor was improved and the roof of the conning tower was thickened as well as those of the main gun turrets. Deck armor was also increased to 3.5 in (89 mm). Armament-wise, eight 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber AA guns were installed, the only light artillery on board. After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, the modernization process fell under tight treaty controls, which included restrictions on armor and armament. Displacement could be increased by 3,000 long tons (3,000 t), with a provision for whatever was needed, but the main battery guns and their mounts were forbidden to receive any improvements. Protection-wise, improvements were concentrated on aerial and underwater threats, and the propulsion systems were upgraded as well.

This work was undergone in the 1920s, first off in drydock, where they received oil-fired boilers from the canceled South Dakota-class battleships. Exhaust was truncated into a new single funnel. These new boilers allowed an increase in cruising radius, 11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi). Both featured upgraded anti-torpedo bulges, to improve their underwater protection. These additional spaces were also used for additional oil storage capacity. Their fore cage mast was also deposed and replaced by a short tripod, on top of which were placed both searchlights and radio antennas. The secondary battery was also partly relocated on the deck to improve the ship's seaworthiness. The eight 3-inch AA guns were relocated to the top sponson top. Of course, the torpedo tubes were removed.

The 1930 London Naval Treaty imposed new limitations on allowable tonnage and USS Wyoming was demilitarized and converted into a training ship. During this process the anti-torpedo bulges were removed, as well as the side armor and half of the main battery, a process which took place at Norfolk Navy Yard on the 12th of January-3 April 1934. The refit saw the last of her three 12-in gun turrets removed, replaced by four twin and two single enclosed mounts, supporting 5-inch/38 guns. A brand new fire control radar was installed and these modifications allowed the ship to train AA gunners. USS Arkansas was modified up to 1942, with a new tripod foremast, modified bridgework, and AA guns, with new quadruple 40 mm Bofors mounts (nine quad), twenty-eight 20 mm Oerlikon, and ten 3-inch guns in 1945.


USS Wyoming in the Mediterranean (WoW screenshot)

Specifications in 1914
Dimensions	171.30 x 28.40 x 8.7 m - 93 ft 3in, 28 ft 6 in, 29 ft 7 in
Displacement	26,000 long tons Standard, 27,240 tonnes Fully Loaded
Crew	1063 total
Propulsion	4 shafts Parsons turbines, 12 mixed Babcock et Wilcox, 28,000 ihp
Speed	20.5 knots (), Range: xxxxx nm
Armament	12 × 12in (305), 21 × 5in (127), 2x 21in (533 mm) TTs sub bd
Armor	Belt, casemate, barbettes 11in (280 mm), turrets 12 in, CT 11.5 in

Specifications (Arkansas) in WW2
Dimensions	Same but width 30 m (100 feets)
Displacement	26,066 long tons Standard, 31,000 tons FL
Crew	1650
Propulsion	4 shafts Parsons turbines, 4 oil-fired Babcock et Wilcox boilers 28,000 ihp
Speed	20.5 knots (), Range: 11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi)
Armament	12 × 12 in, 6 × 5 in, 10 × 3 in, 36 × 40 mm, 26 × 20 mm AA
Armor	Same but Decks 51-76 mm, Conning tower 12 in

USS Wyoming in 1917


USS Arkansas in 1942 - Both, author's illustrations

Sources/Read More

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History.
Breyer, Siegfried (1973). Battleships and Battle Cruisers 1905–1970. Doubleday and Company
Hore, Peter (2006). Battleships of World War I. London: Southwater Books
US Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command (11 May 2009). "USN Ship Types-Battleships
Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Seaforth Publishing
http://shipbucket.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8675
naval-encyclopedia.com/ww1/pages/us_navy/us_navy14_18.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida-class_battleship
Conway's all the world fighting ships 1860-1905 and 1906-1921.

Models corner:
To complete.

USS Wyoming in service

USS Wyoming prewar service

Soon after commissioning, USS Wyoming joined the fleet at Hampton Roads in December 1912, as the flagship of Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, the USN's Atlantic fleet commander. She served in the Caribbean, visited the Panama Canal while it was nearing completion, and did exercises off Cuba. She was back in the Chesapeake Bay by March and then moved to the East River.

On 18 April, she entered the drydock of York Navy Yard for repairs, and after being released on 7 May she participated in maneuvers off Block Island. However, her machinery proved troublesome, and she was again repaired at Newport later in May. She joined Annapolis to train naval cadets by taking them on a summer midshipman cruise. She also took part in gunnery and torpedo training, before returning to New York for further repairs, which lasted until 2 October. She underwent full–power sea trials to test this new machinery and sailed to the Virginia Capes for fleet maneuvers.

She later sailed to Europe on a goodwill cruise from 26 October via the Mediterranean Sea, visiting Valletta, Malta, Naples, Italy, and Villefranche before sailing back to NY on 30 November. In January of 1914, she was in commission again, and out of drydock maintenance. She participated in the annual fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean until 15 March, stopping at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Tangier Sound, and after an overhaul in New York until 9 May 1914, she went back to Hampton Roads, carrying troops to Veracruz (18 May) during the Mexican Revolution. She returned to Virginia Capes in October before going to New York for maintenance.

Wyoming's Operations in WW1

After leaving Hampton Roads and participating in exercises off Cuba and Block Island, she was back to New York for an overhaul in January 1916. Shortly thereafter proceeding to the Caribbean, visiting Culebra, Puerto Rico, Port-au-Prince, and Guantanamo for more fleet maneuvers. After her usual New York maintenance, she was back in June for fleet maneuvers off the Virginia Capes, and by January 1917, she was in Cuban waters. However, she was off Yorktown, Virginia when the US declared war on Germany (6 April). After some preparations and training of extra personnel which lasted until September, she joined Battleship Division 9 (BatDiv 9) on November 25th, together with USS New York, Delaware, and Florida, she traveled to the firth of forth and joined the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow. There, she was soon part of the newly integrated 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, doing extra training in these waters.


USS Wyoming with BatDiv 9 at Scapa Flow

By 6 February 1918, USS Wyoming underwent her first wartime operation, escorting a convoy to Stavanger in Norway, covered by eight British destroyers. Despite a brief scare where the convoy believed it was under attack by U-boats, the convoy eventually reached Norway unharmed. She went back to Scapa, within two more days. She then patrolled the North Sea, preventing any sortie of the German High Seas Fleet. On 30 June the 6th Battle Squadron covered a minelaying operation, until 2 July. Later the squadron covered Convoy HZ40 returning from Norway.

On 14 October, USS New York collided with a U-boat, damaging the ships' screws and forcing Admiral Rodman to transfer his flag to Wyoming for the remainder of the operations. On 21 November, the Armistice saw the USN battleships escorting the High Seas Fleet through the North Sea to Scapa Flow. On 12 December USS Wyoming was the flagship of Rear Admiral William Sims who replaced Rodman at the head of BatDiv 9, and the squadron left the UK for Brest, France with USS George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the peace negotiations. She then headed back to Britain before departing for the US and returning to New York for an overhaul before being back in service with BatDiv 7 as a flagship in January 1919, flying Rear Admiral Robert Coontz's colors.


USS Wyoming through the Panama canal in 1919

Interwar modifications

In 1919, USS Wyoming took part in annual fleet maneuvers off Cuba, alternating this with overhauls in New York. On 12 May she guided a group of Navy Curtiss NC flying boats for their first aerial transatlantic crossing. She also trained midshipmen off the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Capes. She was drydocked at Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 July for a first modernization, this time to serve in the Pacific. The secondary battery was reduced among other things, and she was re-commissioned as the flagship of BatDiv 6 Pacific Fleet. In July she passed the Panama Canal and sailed to San Diego, California by August. She then sailed to San Pedro and Puget Sound for an overhaul lasting until April 1920. She left San Pedro for Hawaii, for more training exercises and later maneuvers back on the west coast. Afterward, she departed San Francisco on 5 January 1921 for a long cruise in South American waters, stopping at Valparaíso, Chile for a state visit before returning to Puget Sound on 18 March. In August she was in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone, under Rear Admiral Rodman. She went back to New York to join the Atlantic Fleet, as the flagship of Admiral Hilary P. Jones. For the next three years she went through the usual routine of winter fleet exercises off Cuba and summer maneuvers off the east coast. She was then the flagship of Vice Admirals John McDonald, Newton McCully, and Josiah McKean of the Scouting Fleet. In the summer of 1924, she trained midshipman in a European cruise, stopping in Torbay (UK), Rotterdam, Gibraltar, and the Azores. She also took part in February 1924 in Fleet Problem II, III, and IV, in the "Blue" force.

By February 1925, she went through the Panama Canal again to serve with the Pacific Fleet. She made exercises off California and Hawaii, stopped at San Diego, and was back to the east coast, making a later cruise to Cuba and Haiti. Her NY overhaul lasted until 26 January 1926 and she received a new Commander, William F. Halsey, Jr., ready to serve on 4 January 1927. In August, she sailed to Philadelphia for extensive modernization in drydock. All of her boilers were replaced, anti-torpedo bulges were added, and work was resumed by 2 November. She made a trial cruise off Cuba and the Virgin Islands and was back in Philadelphia by December 1927, becoming the flagship of the Scouting Fleet (Vice Admiral Ashley Robertson).


USS Wyoming in March 1930

The next three years were spent in this new Scouting Fleet service, training Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) cadets throughout the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Azores, and Nova Scotia. In November 1928, she picked up survivors from the wrecked steamship SS Vestris and on 19 September 1930, she joined BatDiv 2 as the flagship of Rear Admiral Wat T. Cluverius. On 4 November she was withdrawn from front-line service at last. She became the flagship of the Training Squadron (Rear Admiral Harley H. Christy).

At Philadelphia on 1 January 1931, she was placed on reduced commission under the London Naval Treaty limitations. She was to be demilitarized, with her anti-torpedo bulges, side armor, half of her main battery guns removed. In May 1931 she was back into service, training midshipmen from Annapolis to Europe, rescuing en route the disabled submarine O-12 and stopping in Copenhagen, Denmark, Greenock, Scotland, Cadiz, Spain, and Gibraltar. Back in Hampton Roads (13 August) she was reclassified as "AG-17". While training NROTC cadets one of her 5-in turrets exploded on 18 February 1937 during exercises, when a 5-inch shrapnel shell exploded, killing 6, and wounding 11. In 1938 she was the temporary flagship for Rear Admiral Wilson Brown (Training Squadron Cdr).


USS Wyoming in 1935 after modernization as training battleship

The USS Wyoming during WW2

When the war broke out, USS Wyoming was assigned to the Atlantic naval reserve force alongside New York, Arkansas, Texas, and the carrier USS Ranger. She then became the flagship of Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs (Patrol Force, 2 January 1941). By November, she became a full-time gunnery training ship and was off Platt's Bank when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. She went to serve as a gunnery training ship from February 1942, mainly in the Chesapeake Bay area and her role cannot be underestimated: The "Chesapeake raider" trained thousands of young anti-aircraft gunners on all the AA arsenal in service with the USN, from the .50 cal. "Ma Deuce" to the dual 5-in gun. At some point, the admiralty contemplated her conversion back to a full battleship configuration, but costs were prohibitive.


USS Wyoming in 1944

Wyoming was modernized at Norfolk Navy Yard, between the 12 January-3 April 1944, losing her last 12-in turrets, while four twin and two single 5-inch/38 gun mounts were installed instead along with brand new fire control radars, and she was back in service by 10 April. She would train a total on average 35,000 AA gunners on the 5-in, 3-in, 1.1-in, 40 mm, 20 mm Oerlikon, and smaller .50 cal/.30 cal, firing more ammunition than any other USN ship in the fleet!

Her training duties in the Chesapeake ended on 30 June 1945. She went to New York Navy Yard for her last modifications after which she joined Composite Task Force 69 (CTF 69) (Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee.) in Casco Bay. This was done to answer Japanese kamikaze tactics, with many experimental gunnery drills in which towed sleeves, drone aircraft, and radio-controlled targets being used. CTF 69 became the "Operational Development Force", and she served in this guise until September 1945, testing new fire control equipment. Onboard was also the ensign Jimmy Carter, a future President. On 11 July 1947, she was decommissioned in Norfolk while Mississippi as AG-128 took over her previous gunnery role. She was stricken from Registry on 16 September, sold for scrap on 30 October, and dismantled by Lipsett, Inc. New York.


USS Wyoming on 30 April 1945 as AG-17, Chesapeake bay, after her last modernization.

USS Arkansas

The Arkansas in 1912-18

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USS Arkansas circa 1918

Prior to WW1, USS Arkansas underwent a routine split between training cruises and returning to the New York Navy Yard for periodic maintenance. She participated soon after commission in a fleet review on 14 October 1912 for President William Howard Taft. Afterward, she carried the president to the Panama Canal Zone. She started from Key West, Florida to NY and the Atlantic fleet, before making a tour of the Mediterranean Sea in late October 1913. In 1914 she participated in the American occupation of Veracruz. Two of Arkansas's crewmen were killed in the fighting and two others received the Medal of Honor. She also served from Newport, Rhode Island, doing torpedo practice and tactical maneuvers in Narragansett Bay. She served routinely in the Caribbean waters.

In 1917, when the US declared war on Germany, USS Arkansas was stationed in Battleship Division 7 which itself was sailing out of Virginia. She patrolled the east coast and trained her crews for several months before sailing to the UK in July 1918 to relieve the battleship USS Delaware of BatDiv 9, Grand Fleet 6th Battle Squadron. During a patrol, she believed she saw a U-boat periscope and destroyers escorting her dropped depth charges but did not hit the alleged target which was never identified. She also escorted the German Hochseeflotte to Scapa Flow after Germany surrendered, and later escorted the ocean liner SS George Washington carrying President Wilson to France. She returned to NY on 26 December, participating in a Naval Review for Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.


USS Arkansas in 1920

The interwar

Top view of the USS Arkansas in 1927, during a naval review

The ship spent nearly every year of the interwar busy between individual training, annual fleet maneuvers, and periodic maintenance in NY as well as engineering and gunnery competitions. She also served as a reference vessel to guide Navy Curtiss NC flying boats over the Atlantic for their first crossing. From 1920 to 21 she served in the Pacific, via the Panama Canal and was later based at San Francisco, carrying the Secretary and Mrs. Josephus Daniels before participating in a naval review for President Wilson. She was back in August 1921 as the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet. She made a tour of Europe in 1923, visiting Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Gibraltar, and did the same in 1924. In 1925 she served on the east coast and California. Later that year she was overhauled in Philadelphia Navy Yard, receiving new boilers.


USS Arkansas at Kiel.

In 1928 after a cruise to train midshipmen, she participated in a US fleet exercise as part of the hostile "attacking" fleet. In 1929 USS Arkansas cruised in the Caribbean and Canal Zone and after maintenance at NYC, cruised in Europe, stopping at Cherbourg, Kiel, Oslo, and Edinburgh. In 1931 she did the same, stopping at Copenhagen, Greenock, Cadiz, and Gibraltar. She also participated in Fleet Problem XII in which she was "sank" by a dummy torpedo as flagship under Admiral Arthur L. Willard. During the Yorktown Sesquicentennial celebrations in October 1931, she carried President Hoover to the exposition before transporting him to Annapolis at the end of the year. In 1932 she was refitted and recommissioned under George Landenberger, joining the Pacific Fleet.

She made another tour of Europe in 1934, stopping at Plymouth, Nice, Naples, and Gibraltar. She carried the 1st Battalion and 5th Marines to Culebra, for Fleet Landing Exercise No. 1 (FLEX 1), in January 1935, and FLEX 2 in January 1936, before another tour of Europe later that year, visiting Portsmouth, Gothenburg, and Cherbourg. She made another European tour in 1937, carrying midshipmen, and the next year until 1939 she stayed in the Western Atlantic.

Wartime service

wow's Arkansas, details of the bridge

USS Arkansas was based at Hampton Roads when the war broke out. She went to the Naval Reserve and carried men and equipment to the future naval airbase of Narragansett. She then joined her sister ship in the reserve force for the Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic. There she completed a tour of maneuvers off Cuba and underwent an overhaul at Norfolk (18 March-24 May 1940). On 19 December 1940 however, with 500 naval reservists on board, USS Arkansas collided with the outbound Collier Melrose during night hours, and the latter sank. But her survivors were picked up. Arkansas herself only received damage in the form of some paint scratched and a smashed lifeboat.

Her active wartime career took an interesting twist when she participated in the occupation of Iceland in July 1941, together with USS New York, two cruisers and eleven destroyers, deployed from NS Argentia, Newfoundland. She resumed her duties in neutrality patrol in the mid-Atlantic, but was in Casco Bay, Maine, on 7 December 1941. She sailed to Hvalfjordur, Iceland, and returned to Boston on 24 January 1942, for more training and patrols. On 6 March, she entered drydock at Norfolk for an overhaul. There, her light AA armament and 3-inch/50 armament were increased. She became the flagship of Task Force 38 (TF 38), escorting convoys to Greenock.

By the fall of 1942, she was escorting convoys across the Atlantic to support the invasion of North Africa. She was back in NYC for another overhaul before returning to the Mediterranean in January 1943 to assist US Forces after Operation Torch, bound to, and back from Casablanca. On 8 October, she steamed to Bangor, Northern Ireland, and escorted other convoys until 1944. By April of that year, she trained for shore bombardment duties in preparation for Operation Overlord. On the morning of 6 June, she took a position about 4,000 yd (3,700 m) from Omaha Beach and commenced firing (for the first time in anger) at 05:52 on German bunkers and positions. On 13 June she supported operations of ground forces in Grandcamp Les Bains. On 25 June she bombarded Cherbourg, helping troops to advance against the German-occupied port. She departed to Weymouth, and then to Bangor, Ireland, before sailing for the Mediterranean Sea, reaching Oran in Algeria, and Taranto, in July 1944 in preparation for Operation Anvil Dragoon, the landings in Provence. She covered the landings for two days with the support of six Allied cruisers, starting on 15 August. She withdrew to Palermo, Oran, and departed for Boston for another refit which lasted until November 1944.


Arkansas in 1944

She went through the Panama Canal to California, spending the rest of 1945 in training maneuvers before departing on 20 January 1945 for Pearl Harbor, and later arriving at the Ulithi Atoll in preparation for the amphibious assault on Iwo Jima, with TF 54. On 16 February, 06:00, USS Arkansas opened fire on Japanese positions. Her shelling lasted until the 19th of February, but she stayed there in order to provide on-demand fire support to US Marines until 7 March. She departed to be rearmed and refueled in order to be ready to participate in the last great amphibious assault of the war, the invasion of Okinawa. She was in place by 21 March, providing gunfire support over the course of 46 days. During these days she was repeatedly attacked by Kamikaze squadrons. Her consistent AA provision repelled them all, and despite some near-misses, none struck her. After the operation, she had returned to Guam by 14 May.

She was in Leyte Gulf in June 1945, together with Task Group 95.7, along with USS Texas and three cruisers. She remained there until 20 August, shortly after the Japanese surrendered. In all, she would earn four battle stars for her wartime service. Her end was however less glamorous -albeit useful. After participating in Operation Magic Carpet (the repatriation of American servicemen from the Pacific), she went to San Francisco and Hawaii, Pearl Harbor (8 May 1946), and sailed on 20 May, for the Bikini Atoll, in preparation for Operation crossroads. Ths nuclear experiment started on 1 July (Test ABLE), and she was hit by an airburst nuclear bomb. 24 days later during test BAKER however she was sunk by the blast and sea wave. The shock was apparently "transmitted directly to underwater hulls", and she capsized, broken only at 230 m (250 yd) from the epicenter. The photo is telling enough. She is layed up to this day, bottom-up, under 180 ft (55 m) of water, as an irradiated hulk.


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