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USS Oklahoma BB-37

Construction on the USS Oklahoma began in 1912 and was completed in 1916. She spent the early years of her career in the Atlantic Fleet. Her duties during the first World War involved patrolling the Atlantic Ocean around the European coast as a service to the Allied troops. As a large battleship, she was used to protect other ships and aircraft carriers in a convoy. When she returned home she spent time in Norfolk for repairs and updating. By 1921 she was ready to rejoin her fleet for training exercises. The USS Oklahoma then became part of the Pacific Fleet. Her time on the Pacific Fleet was a continuation of training exercises and extended voyages, including a trip to Australia.

Once she returned home, the USS Oklahoma again received an overhaul before heading back to her group, this time in the Caribbean. On one, supposedly routine cruise, the USS Oklahoma was pressed into duty due to a civil war in Spain. The Oklahoma was sent to the aid of Americans and others who had been vacationing in the area. This type of spontaneous mission was the reason for such extensive training by the navy. Ships were often pressed into unexpected duty while at sea, due to the unpredictability and remote location of ocean life.

The USS Oklahoma was in dock at Pearl Harbor the morning of December 7, 1941. Moored with the Maryland, the Oklahoma was among the first ships struck by Japanese torpedoes. The hits proved fatal to the Oklahoma, and her men began to disembark. Unfortunately, many of the sailors aboard the ship were attacked from overhead by gunfire as they tried to leave the ship. Some of her sailors, however, were able to board the Maryland and continue the battle. It took less than fifteen minutes for the USS Oklahoma to settle on the ocean floor, mast down. Over 400 of her men were lost in the attack. Most of these men were not recovered until the ship was righted. By this time, it was impossible to identify the bodies, and most of the men who dies aboard the USS Oklahoma share mass graves on the island.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was clearly designed to stop the United States from becoming involved in a war on the Pacific Ocean. In the eighteen months prior to the attack, President Roosevelt had redirected the Pacific Fleet to a base of operations in Pearl Harbor. This move was intended to discourage any encroachment by the Japanese, but seemed to have the opposite effect. Knowing that the full might of the United State's Pacific Fleet was located in one area seemed to embolden the enemy. Perhaps one of the most sobering facts about the attack on Pearl Harbor is that in less than an hour five of the eight ships that were in dock were sunk and over 2,400 servicemen were dead.

Pearl Harbor was undergoing expansion for her duty as host to the Pacific Fleet. At the time of the attack, Pearl Harbor was home to a dry dock, marine railway, industrial plant, extensive moorings and docks, a submarine base, a naval air station and plentiful fuel and oil tanks. There were plans underway to construct a floating and additional permanent dry docks, alternative air fields and other expansions that would make Pearl Harbor a premier naval station.

The USS Oklahoma was salvaged in 1942. Her salvaging was the largest and most expensive salvage operation undertaken by the navy. Because the USS Oklahoma had suffered such extensive damage, and was an old ship to begin with, there were no plans to return the ship to service. The main objective of righting the ship was to clear the spot she occupied in dock at Pearl Harbor. It took over three months to right the ship, and then it was towed to a dry dock. To right the ship, the navy removed as much excess weight, in the form of fuel, machinery and ammunition, as it could, and braced the base of the ship with coral to prevent it from sliding when it was pulled. They then attached cables and rigging to the ship and proceeded to pull the ship upright. Once she was upright, the holes that were caused by torpedo attacks were patched so that she could be re-floated. Although the Oklahoma was sold for scrapping, she sunk while being towed from Pearl Harbor.

The USS Oklahoma had a limited history in battle, but she did receive one battle star for duties that she performed in the second World War. Many of the sailors that spent time on the Oklahoma and other ships, as well as those who worked in the shipyards, may have suffered from asbestos exposure. If you were exposed to asbestos while serving on the USS Oklahoma BB-37, or have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, Asbestos.com offers a free packet with more information. Enter your contact information in the form in the right column and we'll send a copy immediately.

Battleships Index

USS Alabama USS Arizona BB 39 USS Arkansas BB 33 USS California BB 44 USS Colorado BB 45 USS Idaho BB 42 USS Indiana USS Iowa BB 61 USS Maryland BB 46

USS Massachusetts BB 59 USS Mississippi BB 41 USS Missouri BB 63 USS Nevada BB 36 USS New Jersey BB 62 USS New Mexico BB 40 USS New York BB 34 USS North Carolina BB 55 USS Oklahoma BB 37

USS Pennsylvania BB 38 USS South Dakota BB 57 USS Tennessee BB 43 USS Texas-BB 35 USS Utah BB 31 USS Washington BB 56 USS West Virginia BB 48 USS Wisconsin BB 64

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