HISTORY

conditions, made their functioning problematic. The original quartet of 76.2mm (

3 inch) anti-aircraft guns were doubled in

1923, the additions being installed in pairs

on the superstructure deck next to the

bridge. There were also changes made to

her targeting system and she was equipped with a twenty foot rangefinder and

the roof of Turret No.3 mounted a twelve

foot unit. The original open, very cramped

bridge was also removed and replaced by

a new, enclosed construction with windows and adjoining open walkways to it,

positioned between the command tower

and the forward mast. Probably the most

noticeable modifications were made to

both masts, specifically to the platforms

that supported them. Observations posts,

torpedo fire control stations and 127mm

(5 inch) guns were all moved higher up.

At the same time, they were covered and

had retractable windows installed. Also,

the position of the four-group searchliAnchored in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 1 January 1920 (photo: U.S. Naval History and Heritage ghts that were located on the forward and

Command).

main masts were moved to a new raised

platform. Both masts acquired framework

for new radio and communication items.

View of number 3 turret, with a Nieuport 28 airplane on the flying-off platform, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, circa spring 1921. Note: airing hammocks and mainmast details (photo: U.S.

Naval History and Heritage Command).

The twenties were spent by the USS Arizona fulfilling normal peacetime duties in

both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with

foreign missions being a matter of opportunity. The most significant of these was

a trip to Australia and New Zealand in

1925. An important footnote in the career

of the Arizona came on August 21, 1921,

when she was incorporated into the Pacific Fleet, where she would serve until her

very end. Peacetime activities continued

with the only interruptions being stays in

shipyards for essential repairs, maintenance and upgrades.

14

INFO Eduard

Changes and Modifications

to 1929

Although there were no major changes

made to the ship through the first phase

of her service career that ended with the

first real modernization in 1929, there was

a list of smaller modifications that were

made. These generally reflected the experiences of the First World War gained

not by only the US Navy, but of America’s

main ally, Britain’s Royal Navy. Starting

in 1918, eight 127mm (5 inch) guns were

eliminated from the ship’s armament, situated in casemates at the bow and the

stern of the vessel. The reason was clear.

Ocean spray, even under relatively calm

As a result of Royal Navy experiences

gained at the end of the First World War,

an order was issued in 1919 to equip eight US Navy vessels with ramps to launch

single seat aircraft. Initially, this was to

be fighter aircraft. In January, 1920, the

Arizona was equipped with two such features, mounted above Turrets No.2 and

3. Each was made up of two parts, with

one being a fixed structure on the turret

roof, and a collapsible section fixed to the

barrels via sleeves. The system allowed

for gun elevation with the structure in

place and their use without having to be

removed to fire the main weapons. Period

photographs indicate that these structures were ready for main disassembly and

generally assembled completely only

when there were known intentions of

launching aircraft. The aircraft that were

carried at this time were the Sopwith

Camel, Nieuport 28 and the Hanriot HD.2.

As with other navies, it was found that

this concept was ineffective, and only

the smallest, lightest single-seat aircraft

could be launched, and then only under

ideal conditions. Outside of the range of

a land base, the aircraft’s flight would

end in the drink, with the loss of same

and perhaps its pilot. The combat value

of a single aircraft for the protection of

a surface vessel against a concentrated

attack was, at best, debatable, as was

the effectiveness of a reconnaissance or

observation aircraft without an observer,

radio equipment, or a way to be retrieved

back on board the ship. Although there

are films of launches from these ramps

as late as 1922, float equipped aircraft began to appear by 1920, lowered from and

raised onto the deck by a folding boom

at the stern of the ship. These were then

typically Vought VE-7H, UO-1, FU-1 and

O2U Corsair. In June, 1925, a compressed

air powered catapult was installed at the

stern of the ship during repairs conducted

at the naval dock at Puget Sound Naval

Ship Yard in Bremerton, Washington. Usually, two aircraft were carried, one on the

catapult and the other next to it on a cart.

March 2022