Anchor Aweigh Virtual Cache
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A memorial to the USS Oklahoma, sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7 1941.
The USS Oklahoma was hit by up to nine torpedoes. Her hull's port side was opened almost completely from below the forward gun turret back to the third turret, a distance of over 250 feet. She listed quickly, her port bilge struck the harbor bottom, and she then rolled almost completely over. Oklahoma came to rest less than twenty minutes after she was first hit. Some of Oklahoma's men were still alive inside her upturned hull, and their rescue became the focus of an intense effort over the next two days. Thirty-two Sailors were recovered alive, but over four-hundred were killed.
In 1943, the capsized ship was rolled upright and raised in one of the salvage profession's greatest undertakings, but she was not further repaired.
The righting and refloating of the capsized battleship Oklahoma was the largest of the Pearl Harbor salvage jobs, and the most difficult. Divers worked in and around her to make the hull as airtight as possible. The actual righting operation began on 8 March and continued until mid-June. Oklahoma's port side had been largely torn open by Japanese torpedos, and a series of patches had to be installed. This involved much work by divers and other working personnel, as did efforts to cut away wreckage, close internal and external fittings, remove stores and the bodies of those killed on 7 December 1941. The ship came afloat in early November 1943, and was drydocked in late December, after nearly two more months of work.
Once in Navy Yard hands, Oklahoma’s most severe structural damage was repaired sufficiently to make her watertight and fit for towing. Guns, some machinery, and the remaining ammuniton and stores were taken off. She was sold to a scrapping firm in 1946, but sank in a storm while under tow from Hawaii to the west coast in May 1947.
This virtual cache is located in downtown Oklahoma City near a historic hotel. Tall buildings may hinder your GPS search, but those familiar with the area will know right where to look. To log the find, attach a picture of your GPSr with the object, or send me an e-mail including the inscription etched below.
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