USS Arizona

USS Arizona is the battleship that sank in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941; it now rests as a sunken war grave beneath the USS Arizona Memorial. The loss of life aboard the ship was heavy and the site is a central element of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

The visitor experience is focused on the memorial structure which spans the hull and allows visitors to view the rusting superstructure and oil seeps on the water surface. The site is operated by the U.S. National Park Service and is treated with commemorative and historical respect.

The Arizona was a U.S. Navy battleship that was destroyed in the 1941 attack; 1,177 crew members were killed and many remain entombed within the hull. The memorial over the ship was dedicated in 1962 and the wreck is preserved as a symbol and final resting place for those lost.

The wreck and memorial lie in Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, about ten kilometres west of central Honolulu, and are accessed from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center by the official shuttle boats.

• Casualties: 1,177 service members were killed when the ship was destroyed on December 7, 1941.
• Visitor access: Public access to the memorial is via a short boat ride from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center; the National Park Service issues timed entry tickets free of charge.

What to See #

• USS Arizona Memorial: A memorial structure completed in 1962 that spans the wreck and is maintained by the National Park Service; it provides visitor access by boat and a commemorative plaque room.
• Wreck (USS Arizona): The sunken battleship hull resting on the floor of Pearl Harbor, 185 metres in length, where 1,177 members of the crew lost their lives and many remain entombed; the wreck is treated as a war grave.