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USS Utah BB-31

The USS Utah was a Florida-class dreadnought battleship. Launched on December 23, 1909 and commissioned on 31 August, 1911, she served in World War I but was damaged so severely at Pearl Harbor that she was permanently unable to resume service.

After her commission in 1911, the USS Utah was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in March 1912, where she engaged in gunnery and torpedo defense exercises before embarking on training cruises in the Atlantic. She maintained a schedule of training exercises off the eastern seaboard for around two years. In 1914 she sailed to Mexico for the Veracruz landing that occurred after the so-called Tampico incident. She remained there almost two months before returning to New York in June for an overhaul. Until 1917 she resumed her schedule of training exercises off the eastern seaboard.

After the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the USS Utah continued her training schedule until August 20, 1918. She then sailed for Bantry Bay where she and several other U.S. ships provided cover for Allied convoys approaching the United Kingdom. After Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, she became part of the escort which transported President Woodrow Wilson to Brest, France, before returning to New York.

In the years between World War I and World War II, the USS Utah had various duties. She resumed training exercises off and on in different locations, was involved in diplomatic missions, and was decommissioned in 1925 to undergo modernizing upgrades. Recommissioned on December 1, she resumed her previous activities for several more years.

On July 1, 1931, she was redesignated as AC-16, and recommissioned on April 1, 1932. For the next nine years, she performed a very important service: that of a 'mobile target.' The service she performed was a vital part of training because it contributed essential realism for training naval aviators. She also helped transport troops, towed other battle exercise targets, and provided a venue for weapons testing. From August 1940, she was based in Pearl Harbor before voyaging to Puget Sound Navy Yard for an overhaul.

The USS Utah in World War II

After the overhaul was complete, the USS Utah left Puget Sound, bound for Pearl Harbor. She arrived in mid-September and was engaged in training exercises for the next several months. She had completed an anti-aircraft gunnery exercise in Hawaiian waters before returning to Pearl Harbor in December 1941, where she was moored off Ford Island.

On the morning of December 7, she was moored in the same position when several men on board noticed three planes, which they initially believed to be American. However, the planes dove low at the southern end of Ford Island and began to drop bombs.

The attack on Pearl Harbor began just before 8.00AM on December 7 and lasted around two hours. For the USS Utah, however, it was over much more quickly. At 8.01 she took a torpedo hit and began listing to portside almost immediately. By 8.12 the ship's mooring lines had snapped.

As the Utah began to roll, the beams that had been used on deck during the ship's most recent maneuvers began causing problems for the crew attempting to escape. Below decks, men were attempting to head topside, save for Chief Watertender Peter Tomich, who remained below to ensure all men had left the engineering areas, and Fireman John B. Vassen, who remained in the dynamo room to keep the ship's lights going.

Another who remained on board was Commander Isquith, who conducted a final inspection for trapped men and almost became trapped himself, finding an escape hatch blocked as the ship turned over. Finding a porthole to slip through, he almost lost his grip as the ship continued to list, and was pulled to safety at the last minute by a man who grabbed his arm and pulled him through.

Most men had reached the shore - and safety - when Commander Isquith heard knocking noises coming from within the hull of the Utah. Japanese planes were still in the area, but Isquith and several volunteers returned to the hull to investigate the source of the noise. After cutting the metal with a torch, they found within Fireman John B. Vassen, who had remained behind on the ship to ensure others could escape, and had become trapped.

Of her crew, 58 men died when the USS Utah was hit. Chief Watertender Tomich, who had remained on the ship to help ensure the safety of other engineers, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

The USS Utah was declared to be "in ordinary" on December 29, and on September 5, 1944 was declared "out of commission, not in service." She was struck from the Naval Register on November 13, 1944.

After the War

The USS Utah received one battle star for her World War II service, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989. A memorial in honor of her crew was created and dedicated on the northwest shore of Ford Island in 1972.

Navy ships often contained a large amount of asbestos, particularly in insulation and fire-proofing materials. If you've developed an asbestos-related disease after serving aboard the Utah or another Navy ship, contact us for information about your legal options.

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