USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbour

USS West Virginia Color Photo

Affectionately nicknamed “Wee Vee”, USS West Virginia was commissioned in in December 1923.  She was moved to Hawaii in 1940 with the US Pacific Fleet and was the youngest of all the battleships at Pearl Harbour. USS West Virginia During the Attack During the attack on Pearl Harbour West Virginia was outboard of USS Tennessee. The

Battleship USS California at Pearl Harbour

Battleship USS California

USS California Before the Pearl Harbour Attack Launched in 1919, USS California (BB-44) was a proud ship, the flagship of the fleet. She held that title for 20 years from 1921 until 1941. A seemingly carefree ship, California was nicknamed “alky barge” California was a well built Tennessee class battleship. Like USS Tennessee, which was

USS Tennessee at Pearl Harbour

USS Tennessee at Sea

No torpedoes hit the USS Tennessee. The primary reason for her lucky fate was her location inboard of West Virginia. The West Virginia protected USS Tennessee by taking seven torpedo hits. Tennessee was a Tennessee class battleship.  She weighed 33,190 tons with a length of 624 ft. Early on in the Pearl Harbour attack, two 800lb armor piercing bombs that

USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbour

USS Oklahoma foreground capsized

With twelve torpedo launched against her, USS Oklahoma took the brunt of the torpedo attack on Pearl Harbour.  Nine of those torpedoes hit their mark.  The torpedo attack ripped open holes in the Oklahoma’s hull and caused her to list 40 degrees. Eventually she turned turtle and rolled 135 degrees and 429 men lost their lives. The Oklahoma

History of the USS Missouri

USS Missouri Battleship

One of the most famous warships of the US Navy, also known as “Mighty Mo” has left her mark in military and national history of the United States in the 20th century.From grandiose construction through participation in the battles of World War II and the signing of the Japanese surrender, to significant roles in blockbuster movies,

USS Arizona at Pearl Harbour

USS Arizona Exploding during the attack

The most devastating loss of the attack on Pearl Harbour was on the USS Arizona, accounting for nearly half of the 2403 total deaths. 1,177 men died on the battleship Arizona when a 1765-pound armor piercing bomb exploded, igniting the powder magazine. Admiral Kimmel, who saw the explosion, said he saw “the Arizona lift out of the water, then sink back