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The
construction of the USS Arizona (BB-39), named for the 48th state in the
Union
, began on March 16, 1914, when the keel
was laid. After a year of intense labor, it was launched on June 19, 1915, as
the second and last of the
Pennsylvania
class battleships.
The
launching was a grand affair, and Esther Ross, daughter of an influential
pioneer citizen in
Prescott
,
Arizona
, was selected to christen
the ship. The battleship's commissioning took place on October 16, 1916, under
the command of Captain John D. McDonald. The
dimensions of the ship were quite impressive for the time. |
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Its overall length
was 608 feet (two American football fields long) with a beam of 97 feet 1 inch.
It displaced 31,400 tons with a mean draft of 28 feet 10 inches.
Arizona
's four
shafts were driven by four paired Parsons turbines and 12 Babcock and Wilcox
boilers that developed 33,375 horsepower, enabling a top speed of 21 knots.
The
designed complement was 55 officers and 860 men.
Arizona
was well-armed for ships of
its period. The original armament consisted of 12 14-inch 45-caliber guns; 22
5-inch 51-caliber guns; four 3-inch 50-caliber guns; and two 21-inch submerged
torpedo tubes. It was protected by 18 inches of armor at its maximum thickness.
Arizona
and its sister ship
Pennsylvania
represented a modest improvement of the previous Nevada-class
battleships: "length and displacement were somewhat increased and two
additional 14-inch guns were shipped, the main armament now being arranged in
four triple turrets. . .
"The significant change was concentrated in the
firepower of the vessel:
Arizona
's
four turrets (labeled No. 1, 2, 3 and 4) each mounted three 14-inch naval guns.
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