Wreck of USS Utah (AG-18) | Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, battleship, auxiliary, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, historic landmark, United States Navy

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, battleship, auxiliary, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, historic landmark, United States Navy

USS Utah was moored here at berth F-11 on the morning of December 7th, 1941 when Pearl Harbor came under surprise attack by Japanese aircraft. Though she was built and served as a Battleship with the US Navy from her 1911 commissioning through 1931, treaty limitations had forced the Utah to be reconfigured first as a mobile target ship and eventually a gunnery training platform, with the hull designation AG-18.

Shortly before 0800hrs as her crew went about the daily routine of raising her ensign several men noted planes over the mountains to the North. Within minutes these planes were bombing the airfield on Ford Island and more were inbound from all directions. Japanese flyers, seeing the Battleship lines of the Utah, focused their attention on her first as they pressed home their attacks, and by 0801hrs the Utah was struck by the first of two torpedoes. Lack of watertight integrity and the topside weight of thick lumber boards used to absorb impact from practice bombs caused the Utah to take a sharp list to Port and by 0812 the weight of inrushing water proved too great for her mooring lines to withstand. Rolling completely over on her beam ends, the Utah's war ended at 0813hrs on December 7th, 1941.

Salvage and rescue efforts began in earnest before the Japanese planes had eve cleared out of the area, and due to quick action by her crew several men were cut out of her overturned hull and saved. Later muster calls revealed that 58 of her compliment were missing and presumed trapped onboard, along with an unknown number of shipyard workers. After being declared 'in ordinary' on December 29th, the Utah was partially righted to clear the channel for the berth Astern of her resting place, but aside from the removal of topside structure and usable gun turrets, she was left where she sunk and placed out of commission on September 5th, 1944. USS Utah received one Battle Star for her World War II service.

In 1972 a memorial in honor of the lost and living crew of the Utah was dedicated on the Northwest shore of Ford Island, adjacent to the ship's wreck. In addition, the ship was added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

www.hnsa.org/ships/utah.htm
www.navsource.org/archives/01/31b.htm