March 16, 1914-The keel of the Arizona is laid.
June 19, 1915-The Arizona is launched.
October 16, 1916-The Arizona is commissioned.
November 16, 1916-The Arizona embarks on a one month shakedown cruise, visiting Newport (Virginia), the Virginia Capes, and Guantanamo Bay (Cuba).
December 24, 1916-The Arizona enters the New York Naval Shipyard for an overhaul.
April 3, 1917-The Arizona’s overhaul is finished. The ship acted as a gunnery training ship throughout World War I.
November 11, 1918-The Arizona departs for Portsmouth (England) to join the British Grand Fleet.
November 30, 1918-The Arizona arrives at Portsmouth.
December 12, 1918-The Arizona leaves to rendezvous with President Woodrow Wilson aboard the transport George Washington.
December 13, 1918-The Arizona, after meeting the George Washington, arrives in Brest (France).
December 14, 1918-The Arizona carries 238 American veterans from Brest to New York.
December 25, 1918-The Arizona arrives in New York and offloads the veterans.
December 26, 1918-The Arizona passes in review of the Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels as part of a large homecoming celebration.
January 22, 1919-The Arizona leaves for Hampton Roads, returning to Norfolk on January 23.
February 4, 1919-The Arizona leaves for Guantanamo Bay (Cuba).
February 8, 1919-The Arizona arrives and begins battle training.
March 17, 1919-The Arizona leaves for Trinidad, arriving on March 22. The ship stays in port for another three days, then returns to Guantanamo Bay.
March 29, 1919-The Arizona arrives in Cuba.
April 9, 1919-The Arizona leaves for Hampton Roads, arriving on April 12.
April 12, 1919-The Arizona, after arriving in Hampton Roads, leaves for Brest (France).
April 21, 1919-The Arizona arrives in France.
May 3, 1919-The Arizona leaves for the port of Smyrna (Asia Minor) to drop off Marines during a Greek occupation. American citizens were brought aboard, then dropped ashore when the occupation was ended and citizens could safely return home.
June 9, 1919-The Arizona leaves Smyrna for Constantinople, carrying the consul aboard.
June 15, 1919-The Arizona drops off the consul and leaves for New York.
June 30, 1919-The Arizona arrives at New York. The ship then entered the New York Navy yard for minor repairs.
January 6, 1920-The Arizona, along with Battleship Division 7, leaves for maneuvers in the Caribbean, based out of Guantanamo Bay.
May 1, 1920-The Arizona again returns to New York.
May 17, 1920-The Arizona leaves to visit the Southern Drill Grounds before making stops at Norfolk and Annapolis. The ship then returns to New York, arriving June 25. The ship stayed near New York for the next 6 months.
July 17, 1920-The Arizona is given the hull designation of BB-39, which signifies that the ship was the 39th battleship laid down.
January 4, 1921-The Arizona leaves for Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) and the Panama Canal.
January 19, 1921-The Arizona arrives at Colon, then transits the Canal, arriving in Panama Bay on the next day.
January 22, 1921-The Arizona leaves for Callao (Peru).
January 31, 1921-The Arizona arrives in Callao, staying for nearly a week. During the port visit, the ship was visited by Peru’s President.
February 5, 1921-The Arizona leaves for Balboa, arriving on February 14. The ship then went through the canal again, this time en route to Guantanamo Bay.
March 6, 1921-The Arizona arrives in Guantanamo Bay, operating there until April 24.
April 24, 1921-The Arizona departs for New York.
April 29, 1921-The Arizona arrives in New York, then prepared for an overhaul that would last until June 15. The battleship then leaves for Hampton Roads, arriving shortly later.
June 21, 1921-The Arizona leaves for Cape Charles with military observers to witness the experimental bombings of the formerly German submarine U-117. The ship then is ordered to return to New York.
July 1, 1921-The Arizona becomes the flagship of Vice Admiral John McDonald.
July 9, 1921-The Arizona sails for Panama and Peru.
July 22, 1921-The Arizona arrives in Callao, acting for the battle force of the Atlantic Fleet.
July 27, 1921-Vice Admiral McDonald leaves the Arizona to represent the United States at the dedication of a monument to San Martin.
August 9, 1921-The Arizona leaves for Panama Bay after Vice Admiral McDonald transfers his flag to the battleship Wyoming.
August 10, 1921-The Arizona becomes the flagship for Battleship Division 7.
August 11, 1921-The Arizona leaves for San Diego, arriving on August 21.
January 1929-The Arizona participates in Fleet Problem IX.
February 7, 1929-The Arizona departs for Guantanamo Bay after making a trip through the Panama Canal.
April 30, 1929-The Arizona leaves for Norfolk Naval Yards after completing the nearly 3 month stay in Cuba.
May 4, 1929-The Arizona arrives at Norfolk and enters drydock to begin preparation for modernization, one such change being made was a widening of the ships beam width.
July 15, 1929-The Arizona is placed in standby while modernization is carried out on the aging battleship.
March 1, 1931-The modernizations on the Arizona are complete and the ship is returned to full commission.
March 19, 1931-The Arizona leaves for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with President Herbert C. Hoover aboard.
March 29, 1931-The Arizona returns President Hoover to Hampton Roads before continuing on for post modernization trials in Maine. The ship then stops at Boston and Norfolk.
August 1, 1931-The Arizona embarks on a trip to San Pedro to join the Battleship Division 3. The ship operated there, but participated in various fleet problems the covered the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, West Indies, and around the Lesser Antilles.
September 17, 1938-The Arizona is boarded by Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz and becomes flagship of Battleship Division 1.
May 27, 1939-Rear Admiral Nimitz was replaced by Rear Admiral Russell Wilson aboard the Arizona.
1940-The Arizona takes part in Fleet Problem XXI, which would be the ships final fleet problem.
April 2, 1940-The Arizona enters Hawaiian waters, where it would stay until late into the year.
September 30, 1940-The Arizona is ordered to Long Beach. The ship then entered the Puget Sound Navy Yard for an overhaul.
January 23, 1941-The Arizona’s commander, Rear Admiral Wilson, was replaced by Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd.
February 3, 1941-The Arizona returns to Pearl Harbor and resumes training.
June 11, 1941-The Arizona leaves Pearl Harbor for Long Beach.
July 8, 1941-The Arizona returns to Pearl Harbor.
October 27, 1941-The Arizona enters the naval yard in Pearl Harbor for minor overhaul.
December 4, 1941-The Arizona, Nevada, and Oklahoma take part in a night firing exercise awaiting tender availability.
December 5, 1941-The Arizona returns to Pearl Harbor and docks at mooring quay F-7, to await an available tender.
December 6, 1941-The Arizona takes the repair ship Vestal alongside the battleship.
December 7, 1941-The Arizona is still at berth F-7, part of the well-known "Battleship Row," receiving a reported one or two torpedo hits and eight bomb hits. An armor piercing bomb that deflected off the faceplate of the number two 14-inch turret, slamming through the deck and detonating near the turrets powder magazines, setting off a chain reaction that devastated the ship. The explosion killed 1,177 of the total 1,400 total aboard. Within two weeks of the attack, divers had begun to analyze the wreck for the possibility of salvaging the sunken ship. After analyzing the damage, then the salvage efforts were abandoned when the extent of the damage was determined.
December 29, 1941-The Arizona’s wreck is ordered to be set "in ordinary."
December 1, 1942-The Arizona is struck from the Naval Vessel Register. The parts of the ship that could be used were salvaged and the exposed superstructure was removed.
May 30, 1962-The USS Arizona Memorial is dedicated after the $200,000 memorial was built over the ship and legislation, originally introduced during Dwight D. Eisenhowers presidential term, is passed.
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