Why did so many precious sailors get lost on the Arizona

[bushmaster1313]

A report on the radio said over 1,100 souls were lost on the Arizona.

Why so many From one ship?

 

[timjake]

The forward magazine for the 14" guns blew up. The blast not only blew the forward areas apart, lifting the forward tower 30 feet, but the shock wave also passed through the entire ship and killed many below decks before they even knew they'd been hit.

This video shows it in slow motion. Watch as they play the segment and watch along the hull. You can watch the progress of the shock wave by seeing vent out the port holes as it moves through the ship.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYO9nT4MtU[/ame]

 

[eb07]

4th bomb hit the magazine and ignited powder. Huge explosion. . Trapping many below deck.

 

[Murphy's Law]

My understanding was she was originally hit forward where some of the 16" inch guns store their magazines (big powder sacks) after the projectile which in many cases is an amor piercing shell. You can imagine that type of explosion/fire that would quickly engulf the ship.....if one even made it through the original explosion. Sure others who know specifics on the history could be more enlightening.

 

[Bullzaye]

One of the bombs which struck the Arizona caused one of the magazines to explode. This was an enormous explosion which nearly ripped the ship in half. The deaths were a result of the force of that tremendous explosion, the other bombs which struck her, and the speed with which she sank, due to the magazine explosion.

When HMS Hood was sunk in May of 1941, she went down with 1418 of her crew...only 3 men survived. The Hood was also destroyed when a magazine was hit by a shell from the Bismarck (or from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, depending on which account you read), and exploded...tearing the ship apart.

Tim

 

[OLDNAVYMCPO]

The attack happened on a Sunday morning. Most of the crew was asleep in their quarters. The Japanese used 16.1 inch armor piercing rounds modified into bombs. These bombs had the capability of penetrating the ships armored deck before detonating. One such bomb penetrated the deck near a forward gun mount and penetrated the forward magazine where it exploded. The explosion was of such a magnitude that the ships hull burst like a balloon and burst into flames that went uncontrolled for two days. This cataclysmic explosion rendered the ship beyond repair and resulted in the horrific loss of life. The bulkheads ( compartment walls) were so buckled that doors and hatches could not be opened, trapping crew members in their spaces.

 

[Bullzaye]

My understanding was she was originally hit forward where some of the 16" inch guns store their magazines (big powder sacks) after the projectile which in many cases is an amor piercing shell.

The USS Arizona had 12 x 14 in. guns, not 16 in.

Tim

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

The USS Nevada, turned turtle and permanently trapped many inside. Of the two being aboard the Arizona was more merciful!

Ivan

I have been informed that I am confusing the Nevada and the Oklahoma. No disrespect intended. Lord Bless the all!

 

[Marine Corps Air]

The attack occurred just before 0800 on December 7th, which was a Sunday. This would explain why so many of the ship's crew were on board.

Looking at the information that I found, 1,177 sailors and Marines from the U.S.S. Arizona were lost, only 335 survived which is a total of 1,512. Approximately 2,335 lives were lost that morning and this would mean that half were from the U.S.S. Arizona, for the reasons stated above by the other forum members.

 

[bushmaster1313]

All the above posts are very informative on this sad day that must not be forgotten

 

[Cyrano]

I'd heard that the bombs were made from 18.1" projectiles for the battleships Yamato and Musashi. The projectiles were ready before the ships were, so some were modified for bombs to be used in the Pearl Harbor raid.

 

[cmort666]

Look at the modern digitized video of the explosion that destroyed the magazine, and more importantly the fire that followed.

It looks like the Dresden firestorm confined to a single ship. There's no way anybody anywhere near that could survive.

And regarding the explosion itself, it was so powerful, it actually created a miniature tidal wave that rolled across the shore of Ford Island.

I don't know how many survived the Arizona, but it's a miracle that any of them did.

 

[LDM]

One of the bombs which struck the Arizona caused one of the magazines to explode. This was an enormous explosion which nearly ripped the ship in half. The deaths were a result of the force of that tremendous explosion, the other bombs which struck her, and the speed with which she sank, due to the magazine explosion.

When HMS Hood was sunk in May of 1941, she went down with 1418 of her crew...only 3 men survived. The Hood was also destroyed when a magazine was hit by a shell from the Bismarck (or from the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, depending on which account you read), and exploded...tearing the ship apart.

Tim

At Jutland in 1916 the Royal Navy lost three battlecruisers (Invincible, Idefatigable, Queen Mary) to magazine explosions when penetrated by German shells. There were only a handful of survivors. They would have lost a fourth (Lion) if the turret commander hadn't ordered the flooding of the penetrated magazine with literally his dieing breath.

 

[cmort666]

I'd heard that the bombs were made from 18.1" projectiles for the battleships Yamato and Musashi. The projectiles were ready before the ships were, so some were modified for bombs to be used in the Pearl Harbor raid.

I know they were made from armor piercing naval shells. I don't recall if they were 18.1" shells or not.

During the First Gulf War, we similarly dropped bombs made from excess artillery tubes on the Iraqi bunkers.

 

[Gamecock]

I think even 16" shells, over a ton, would have been too heavy to be carried by plane.

The British battle cruisers were show boats. Light on armor, but fast. Warfare showed that armor was more important.

 

[ohioseabee]

One must bear in mind that a ship is an enclosed community, and that even the most modern ships, by their very design, are difficult to escape from. This holds especially true for the engineering spaces below the waterline. When the ship is at general quarters the watertight doors and hatches are secured and escape is through "scuttles" (small one-person-at-a-time watertight openings).

 

[DanWales]

Airizona

My understanding through video and survivors that the initial explosion instantly vaporized about 3/4's of the ship starting from the bow. What wasn't vaporized the concussion killed almost instantly. I'm amazed that 355 of that crew survived.

The power it took to collapse all the compartments from bow to stern with enough force to blow up through the stack is incredible, that's a lot of steel.

I can't imagine how it felt to swim in burning oil, good lord those guys went through hell and back.

Dan

 

[the ringo kid]

Look at the modern digitized video of the explosion that destroyed the magazine, and more importantly the fire that followed.

It looks like the Dresden firestorm confined to a single ship. There's no way anybody anywhere near that could survive.

And regarding the explosion itself, it was so powerful, it actually created a miniature tidal wave that rolled across the shore of Ford Island.

I don't know how many survived the Arizona, but it's a miracle that any of them did.

I THINK, that sadly, only about 350 survived and only about 3 or 4 are left.

 

[the ringo kid]

My understanding through video and survivors that the initial explosion instantly vaporized about 3/4's of the ship starting from the bow. What wasn't vaporized the concussion killed almost instantly. I'm amazed that 355 of that crew survived.

The power it took to collapse all the compartments from bow to stern with enough force to blow up through the stack is incredible, that's a lot of steel.

I can't imagine how it felt to swim in burning oil, good lord those guys went through hell and back.

Dan

Sorry I had not read your post first before posting.