Oklahoma Journeys

Week of April 29, 2007

Battleship USS Oklahoma Commissioned 1917

Battleships and naval superiority are probably not the first things you think of when you hear the word, "Oklahoma," yet in 1917 those ideas and words were on the minds of many Oklahomans. In 1917, the United State’s Navy commissioned, what was for that time the most modern and powerful warship ever built. It's the USS Oklahoma this week on Oklahoma Journeys- celebrating our centennial. From the Oklahoma Historical Society.

From the Oklahoma Historical Society, this is Oklahoma Journeys: Celebrating our Centennial. I'm Michael Dean.

In 1914 thoughts of naval power and warfare on the high seas probably did not cross the minds of many Oklahomans, yet those concepts were household topics in March of that year. In March of 1914 the daughter of then governor Lee Cruce, Lorena stood on a high scaffold in New York City and christened the newest of the US Battleships, the USS Oklahoma. After assurance that the Champaign used for christening wouldn’t be consumed by humans, (Oklahoma, after all, was a dry state at the time), Lorena Cruce smashed the bottle on the ships bow and it slid gracefully into the water. It was to be three years later, however, before the Oklahoma was fully outfitted and ready for duty. The USS Oklahoma along with her sister ship the USS Nevada sported the latest in US Naval technology, they were the first battleships in the US fleet to use fuel oil instead of coal and they both held technologically advanced engine designs. Following completion in 1917 the ship underwent its shakedown cruise and with the exception of a few minor glitches, passed the test with flying colors. It was in this week of 1917 that the USS Oklahoma became a fully commissioned vessel in the United States Navy. During World War One, the ship was held up for repairs and served as an escort for only one Atlantic convoy. Following the "Great War," the Oklahoma went on to a variety of important tasks. Under President Wilson, the mere presence of the Oklahoma at places like Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Vera Cruz Mexico and the Panama Canal helped to enforce and strengthen the influence of the United States. Throughout most of the twenties and thirties the battleship served in the Pacific fleet and remained there until 1936 when it was sent to Spain to rescue civilians caught in the middle of the Spanish Civil War. By 1940 threats of a new war brewing sent the Oklahoma into battle mode and back to the Pacific. As the now aging ship sat, moored at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Japanese forces made their now infamous strike of Dec. 7, 1941. One of the dozens of naval victims of that assault, the USS Oklahoma was hit by seven torpedoes and capsized shortly thereafter. The ship lost 448 men. The USS Oklahoma proudly served the United States for twenty-four years and did so, as various crewmembers have pointed out, without ever firing a shot in anger. The Oklahoma Historical Society has a number of artifacts from the USS Oklahoma, including her silver service set that is on display in the Oklahoma History Center on NE 23rd Street just east of the state capitol in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma History Center is open Monday thru Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm and Sundays from noon to 5 pm. Oklahoma Journeys: Countdown to Centennial is a production of the Oklahoma historical dedicated to collection, preserving and sharing our states history. From the Oklahoma Historical Society, I’m Michael Dean.