March 1914 Second U.S.S. Arizona

In March of 1914 the second U.S.S. Arizona's keel was laid down at the New York Navy Yard.  This battleship (BB-39) a Pennsylvania-class, was first skippered by Captain John D. McDonald.  The U.S.S. Arizona was commissioned at her builder's yard on October 17th 1916.

This great battleship departed New York on November 16th 1916 for shakedown training off the Virginia Capes and Newport.  She traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and then returned north to Norfolk a month later to test fire her guns and to conduct torpedo defense drills in Tangier Sound.

The U.S.S. Arizona operated out of Norfolk throughout the war, serving as a gunnery training ship and patrolling the waters of the eastern seaboard from the Virginia Capes to New York.

The lack of oil in Europe keep BB-39 at home for World War I.  She did serve as part of the Honor Guard after the rendezvous with the transport George Washington, the ship carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference.

The story of the U.S.S. Arizona in Pacific will be covered in a future blog post.