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Collin
February 20th, 2009, 06:09
Crashaz you mentioned in a previous thread about parts remaining of the Arizona.

This is extracted from "After the Battle" Number 38 magazine.

This particular magazine was a special edition concerning only Pearl Harbor, and its dated issue is 1982.




Believe it or not, the Arizona can also be found at two other locations on Oahu. One of these is Waipio Peninsula, at the navy degaussing station, which was used as a storage site for the superstructure remains of the ship.

Shortly after she was destroyed, sections of her superstructure were salvaged and hauled to this site on the tip of Waipio where it has remained practically forgotten to rot away, piece by piece, year by year. The Hawaiian Army Museum wanted to use it for a fund raising campaign but this was not permitted in view of the ship's status as a war grave. It seemed a waste to let it rot, but the cost of doing anything else with it was far to high.
Someone suggested that the superstructure could be reunited with the rest of the vessel, but even this has come to nothing. Many museums, when hearing of its existence, have asked for a piece to use as an exhibit but there is no evidence to suggest that any have been successful in their requests.
Then, in January 1978, the Navy decided to assume responsibility for reclaiming three seperate items which were lying around - a hatch and cover, a section of armoured pipe, and a platform and ladder assembly. It was though they might form part of an exhibit to display in a planned museum.

The ship's scout plane lies in another area and is in an equally sorry state; the longer these relics of the ship lie there, the worse their condition will become.

More of the Arizona can be found at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station - if you get there at the right time. I eagerly wanted to to see the 14" gun emplacements, which house the battleships main armoury, but when I went to Kaneohe a firing practise was going full blast and I was unable to get permission to enter.
Anyway, when the ship was stripped of anything useful, the big guns were removed with the idea of using them as coastal defence batteries in the event of an invasion. Designated logically enough Batteries Pennsylvania and Arizona, sites for the guns were chosen at the tip of Mokapu Penisula. The sites were prepared and very intricate, self contained emplacement was built for both. However, their construction took so long that by the time everything was ready the war was all but over. A few years afterwards, when the US decided to discontinue fixed coastal defences the batteries were cut up for scrap. All that now remains is the maze of rooms within Ulupau and the housing for the 14" guns.

A P Hyde



There's some more info stashed away in other later mags and I'll try and dig them out for you.

regards Collin:ernae:

Collin
February 22nd, 2009, 09:01
Photos dated around 2004.

regards Collin:ernae: