015 - All Hail the Arizona!

The Ship of Untold Destiny

Within 15 minutes after the first bombs were dropped at Wheeler Field, the American Battleship Fleet had been decimated. The Utah and Oglala had been sunk and the West Virginia was keel-deep in Harbor mud. The Nevada, which tried to make for the sea, grounded itself near the Harbor mouth. Only a few ships, like the Arizona, remained unscathed.
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However, as the First Wave came to its final phase, ten (10) B5N “Kate” Bombers soared some 10,000 feet overhead. Unlike the torpedo bombers, these Kates were each fitted with a single 1,757-pound armor-piercing bomb. The five Kates from the Kaga dropped their bombs first. One bomb struck the rear midship and another ricocheted off turret IV before exploding in the stern midship.

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Targeting off the bomb strikes from the Kaga, the second five-bomber squadron from the Hiryu dropped their bombs slightly forward of the Kaga strikes. Their bombs landed on the forward portion of the ship. The last bomb to strike hit near Turret II and penetrated the first two decks, landing near a fully loaded ammunition magazine.

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The bomb is thought to have exploded in a pool of oil. Fires spread throughout the front portion of the ammo deck and ignited some 1,000 pounds of gunpowder. When the gunpowder exploded, its hot gasses filled the forward portion of the lower deck before exploding up through the seam between Turret II and the forecastle of the main towers. A fireball erupted 500 feet upward and sailors were catapulted into the Harbor. The gaping holes in the Arizona's hull caused her to sink in seconds. 1,177 midshipmen and officers died instantly.

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