USS Oklahoma was a battleship that served in the United States Navy from May 2, 1916, to September 1, 1944. The ship capsized and sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, but she was righted in 1943. While other ships sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack were repaired and returned to service, she was not and never returned to duty. Instead, Oklahoma was stripped of guns and superstructure, and sold for scrap. She sank while under tow to the mainland on May 17, 1947, 500 miles (800 km) northeast of Hawaii.[1]
When Navy personnel receive orders to take command of a ship in the United States they will receive an order from the Chief of Naval Personnel stating: "Proceed to the port in which USS [name of ship] may be and upon arrival, report to your immediate superior in command, if present, otherwise by message, for duty as commanding officer of USS [name of ship]."[2] In the 1990 edition of the United States Navy Regulations Article 0807 states that before leaving his command the commanding officer or CO will inspect the ship with the new CO and have the crew perform some sort of drill or exercise, "unless conditions render it impracticable or inadvisable."[2] Also, before the old commanding officer leaves the ship he should turn over all keys to the incoming CO.[2] Before the CO leaves the ship he is entitled to a say a few words and, according to Naval regulations "the officer relieved, though without authority after turning over the command, is, until final departure, entitled to all ceremonies and distinctions accorded a commanding officer."[2]
During her nearly three decades of service, the Oklahoma had 22 commanding officers. The first Captain was Roger Welles, who took command after Oklahoma's commissioning in 1916, serving over a year.[3] The longest serving commanding officer was John D. Wainwright, who served over for over two years in the position, from May 13, 1930 – June 25, 1932.[4] Oklahoma's last commanding officer was Howard D. Bode, although he was not on board when the battleship was sunk at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked, Bode was on the USS Maryland and Commander Jesse L. Kenworthy Jr., acting as the ship's captain, gave the order to abandon ship.[4]
Contents |
| Name | Years of Service | Total time [A 1] | Rank | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Welles | May 2, 1916 – June 6, 1917 | 13 months | Captain | Roger Welles was the first commander of Oklahoma after her commissioning in 1916.[4] A former commander of the Naval Training Center in Newport, his command of the ship was a short period of time mainly involving the command of the ship as a training ship. This was because the oil-fired boilers that she used were not able to be fueled in England, as German U-boats had drained their supply.[5] After he gave command over to Rear Admiral Spencer K. Wood, he was appointed the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence.[3] |
| Spencer S. Wood | June 6, 1917 – February 1, 1918 | 8 months | Rear Admiral | Rear Admiral Spencer S. Wood held the position of commander of the Oklahoma in about the same situation as his predecessor. His time on ship was spent managing training and undergoing a refit of the ship, in which it gained more anti-aircraft defenses and the repositioning of her 5 inches (130 mm) guns.[4][5] Before his time as the commanding officer, he had been on the General Board of the United States Navy and Flag Secretary to J.S. Walker. After his time on Oklahoma, he was the commander of the 1st Division of the Pacific Fleet.[6] |
| Edward T. Costein | February 1, 1918 – February 18, 1918 | 17 days | Commander | Edward T. Costein held command of the Oklahoma for eighteen days, all of which were spent as a training ship.[4] His posts before and after his time on Oklahoma are not known. |
| MacGillivray Milne | February 18, 1918 – March 1, 1918 | 10 days | Commander | Commander MacGillivray Milne also served on the Oklahoma for eighteen days, during which he served as the commander of the ship in preparation for her to be sent overseas, although the ship was still a training ship.[5] In 1934, Captain Milne commanded the Arizona, which collided with a fishing boat. After being found at fault by a court martial, Milne resigned from the navy. In 1936, Milne became the Governor of American Samoa, a post he held for two years. Milne died in 1959. |
| Mark L. Bristol | March 2, 1918 – October 14, 1918 | 7 months | Captain | Mark L. Bristol held command of the Oklahoma during and after her transit to Berehaven Harbour in Ireland. The remainder of the time was spent in port at Berehaven Harbour, as the German High Seas Fleet was also held inside port.[7] Before his time on Oklahoma, Bristol served as Director of Naval Aeronautics.[8] |
| Charles B. McVay Jr. | October 14, 1918 – July 9, 1919 | 9 months | Captain | Charles B. McVay, Jr. was commander of the Oklahoma for 9 months. On his first day of command, the Oklahoma set out to protect Allied troop convoys going to Britain, a task that took two days.[9] After the Armistice, the Oklahoma sailed back to the United States with the remainder of BatDiv 5 and BatDiv 6.[9] In 1929, McKay was promoted to Admiral and commanded the United States Asiatic Fleet. He retired in 1932 and died in 1949. |
| Noble E. Irwin | July 9, 1919 – July 5, 1921 | 2 years | Captain | Noble E. Irwin served on the Oklahoma for two years, all of which were spent in peacetime. During this period, the Oklahoma was modernized and prepared for the Great Cruise of 1925, similar to the Great White Fleet in 1909.[10] Before his command on Oklahoma he was on the Martial Board of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.[11] Rear Admiral Irwin became Commandant of the 15th Naval District in March 1931 and retired in 1933. |
| Edwin T. Pollock | July 5, 1921 – January 13, 1922 | 7 months | Captain | Edwin Taylor Pollock served in several positions before the Oklahoma, rising steadily from an Ensign during the Spanish-American War to the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory and eighth Naval Governor of American Samoa.[12] His time on the Oklahoma, however, was not an adventurous one, spent mainly in port.[10] |
| Stephen V. Graham | January 13, 1922 – July 4, 1923 | 1 year 7 months | Captain | Stephen Victor Graham's time on Oklahoma was in preparation for the Great Cruise, which would occur two years later.[13] He, too, became Governor of American Samoa and later a professor at the United States Naval Academy. He retired as a Rear Admiral in 1931. |
| W. Pitt Scott | July 4, 1923 – June 15, 1925 | 11 months | Captain | As an Ensign, W. Pitt Scott has served on the Olympia when she was Admiral George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay. Scott commanded the Oklahoma for about two years. The last two months of those were part of the Great Cruise. He relinquished command when the ship was anchored in Hawaii.[14] |
| Willis McDowell | June 15, 1925 – May 5, 1927 | 23 months | Captain | Willis McDowell held command of the Oklahoma for the remainder of the Great Cruise, when the ship stopped in several Pacific ports. As the ship exited the Panama Canal in 1927 after the Great Cruise, he gave command to T.A. Kearny.[5] McDowell went on the command the Washington Navy Yard. He died in 1944. |
| T.A. Kearny | May 5, 1927 – December 10, 1928 | 20 months | Captain | T.A. Kearny was commander of the Oklahoma during her two-year refitting in Maryland, which she began in September 1927.[5] His posts before and after are not known. |
| J.F. Hellweg | December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1930 | 17 months | Captain | J.F. Hellweg took command during peacetime, and like preceding and succeeding commanders, participated in naval exercises.[4] Before the Oklahoma, Hellweg commanded the USS Ostfriesland until her tests in 1921. |
| John D. Wainwright | May 13, 1930 – June 25, 1932 | 2 years | Captain | John D. Wainwright commanded the Oklahoma for two years, which being in peacetime were uneventful.[4] His posts before and after the two-year period are not known. |
| H.D. Cooke | June 25, 1932 – May 1, 1934 | 23 months | Captain | H.D. Cooke commanded the Oklahoma for two years, which were in peacetime and were uneventful.[4] Following his command, he commanded the USS Melville and was Chief of Staff of the Naval Commandant of the U.S. Naval Academy for three years. He retired a Rear Admiral.[15] |
| W. R. Van Auken | May 1, 1934 – November 1, 1935 | 18 months | Captain | W.R. Van Auken commanded the Oklahoma during peacetime, thus his command was uneventful.[4] His posts before and after his command of the Oklahoma are not known. |
| William Alden Hall | November 1, 1935 – June 25, 1937 | 19 months | Captain | William Alden Hall commanded the Oklahoma for two years, including part of the start of the Spanish Civil War. His posts before and after are not known.[4] |
| Charles C. Hartigan | June 25, 1937 – December 21, 1938 | 18 months | Captain | Taking command in the middle of the 1937 Midshipmen cruise, in which Oklahoma was participating, Charles C. Hartigan helped command refugee evacuations from Spain during the Spanish Civil War.[4] He received the Medal of Honor. |
| T.S. McCloy | December 21, 1938 – January 30, 1939 | 2 months | Captain | T.S. McCloy held command of the ship for only a month, and during all of this time he commanded the ship in naval exercises, just missing the end of the Spanish Civil War.[4] His posts before and after his Oklahoma command are not known. |
| Emmanuel L. Lofquist | January 30, 1939 – June 24, 1940 | 18 months | Captain | Emmanuel L. Lofquist held command of the Oklahoma for about a year and a half. During this time, she participated in naval exercises in the Pacific. After commanding the Oklahoma, he became Chief of Staff of the Ninth Naval District at Great Lakes, Illinois.[4] |
| Edward J. Foy | June 24, 1940 – October 31, 1941 | 16 months | Captain | Edward J. Foy commanded the Oklahoma for more than a year, mainly involving training exercises. Before Oklahoma, he commanded evacuations from Spain during the Spanish Civil War.[16] He was relieved of command after a collision with a barge. [17] |
| Howard D. Bode | November 1, 1941 – 7:30 am, December 7, 1941 | 1 month | Captain | Captain Bode was given command after Foy was relieved. His time was spent in naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean, and he finished his command at 7:30 am on December 7, 1941, when he left the ship to board the Maryland. He was aboard her when Oklahoma capsized.[4] At the Battle of Savo Island, Captain Bode commanded USS Chicago. After the battle, upon learning that he was to be censured for his actions, Captain Bode shot himself on 19 April 1943. |