# Did the Arizona ever fire at an enemy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589 "2011-12-09T04:45:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589/1 "2011-12-09T04:45:57Z")
Reminded of a question by the recent 70th Anniversary of Japan’s sneak attack at Pearl Harbor, and especially all the pictures of the _U.S.S. Arizona_: did that ship ever fire it’s guns at an enemy? (Obviously, not counting any firing they were able to do on the morning of December 7, 1941.) From what I can find, during it’s 27-year career, it engaged in various exercises & training missions, but never actually fired on an enemy. Is this correct? And was that typical of similar ships, or did _Arizona_ just happen to be unused in combat? ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589/2 "2011-12-09T05:01:18Z")
According to Wikipedia > [@](#): > > Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside during World War I. Shortly after the end of the war, Arizona was one of a number of American ships that briefly escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. The ship was sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent American interests for several months. Several years later, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and remained there for the rest of her career. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589/3 "2011-12-09T05:20:47Z")
_[Haze Grey and Under Way](http://www.hazegray.org/)_ provides a nearly complete on-line copy of the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, an extensive history of most U.S. ships up until the late 1980s. _Arizona_’s history is found at [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb39.htm](http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb39.htm) and includes the events at Smyrna: > [@](#): > > The battleship stood out of Brest harbor on 3 May, bound for Asia Minor, and arrived at the port of Smyrna eight days later to protect American lives there during the Greek occupation of that port-an occupation resisted by gunfire from Turkish nationa ls. Arizona provided temporary shelter on board for a party of Greek nationals, while the battleship’s marine detachment guarded the American consulate; a number of American citizens also remained on board Arizona until conditions permit ted them to return ashore. Departing Smyrna on 9 June for Constantinople, Turkey, the battleship carried the United States consul-at-large, Leland E. Morris, to that port before sailing for New York on 15 June. So, even in her one venture into a location where fighting was going on, she never actually engaged an enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589/4 "2011-12-09T15:43:54Z")
[Here’s](http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyUS.htm) a list of US ships that participated in World War I. Most battleships (dreadnaughts) that participated in WW I were assigned to the British fleet in the North Atlantic where they mostly engaged in convoy duty. They seem to have actually engaged German vessels rarely if at all. After the war, many US capital ships were decommissioned due to arms control treaties. If you are interested, you could check the list vs the [accounts for each ship](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battleships_of_the_United_States_Navy) listed in Wiki. I’ve only made a cursory check, but the [_Arkansas_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arkansas_(BB-33)) saw action in Mexico during the Vera Cruz incident in 1914, fired its guns at a U-boat in WWI, and saw extensive action in WWII. The [_Texas_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35))saw action during the Vera Cruz incident, WWI, and WWII, though it is not clear from the account whether it fired its guns at an enemy before WWII. The[_Utah_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Utah_(BB-31)), which like _Arizona_ was sunk at Pearl Harbor, also served at Vera Cruz and on blockade duty in WWI. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyMarine2092](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JerseyMarine2092](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyMarine2092)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589/5 "2011-12-11T00:05:51Z")
No cite atm (being in Afghanistan and all), but I recall that some of _Arizona_’s gun were salvaged. Some of them were installed in a battery in Hawaii, and 3 of them replaced damaged guns on the _Nevada_. Those guns engaged shore targets during the Battle of Iwo Jima. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-arizona-ever-fire-at-an-enemy/605589/6 "2011-12-13T19:29:44Z")
A few weeks ago I saw a movie called “Here comes the Navy” staring James Cagney and Pat O’Brien. It started off with a navy officer showing some guests around his ship, the USS Arizona. Much of it was filmed on the Arizona and it was sort of creepy in the same way as watching anything with the WTC in the background.