USS Arizona was responsible for almost half of all American fatalities
The explosion of USS Arizona, which destroyed the entire forward section of the ship, remains a subject of debate eighty years later. One theory is that the fatal bomb, which struck the ship at 8.06, detonated in an area where black powder, used to fire ceremonial salutes, was improperly stored. Another theory suggests the bomb penetrated the armored deck, detonating in the forward magazine. The massive explosion followed the bomb strike by just under 7 seconds, so either theory is possible, but it’s really quibbling over details. The forward magazines exploded, regardless of what the final trigger was, and the result was 1,177 men killed, most of them instantly. More than two-thirds of Arizona’s crew died in the explosion and its immediate aftermath, among them Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh and Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd. About half of the deaths during the Pearl Harbor attack occurred aboard Arizona.
Arizona’s destruction triggered fires which spread to the oil covering much of the area around Battleship Row and contributed to the loss of at least one more American battleship. USS California, moored alone at the far end of the row, received two bomb hits, and at least two torpedo hits of its own. Its crew lost electrical power temporarily but were in the process of restoring it when burning oil drifted down on the stricken ship. California abandoned ship, but by late morning its crew came back aboard. Attempts to counterflood to control the list on the ship, as well as pumping out the ship, remained hampered by the lack of electrical power. California gradually settled to the harbor mud, its main deck partially awash. Like the other battleships lost that day, other than Oklahoma and Arizona, California was eventually raised, rebuilt, and returned to service.