USS Arkansas (BB-33)

USS Arkansas (BB-33)

USS Arkansas (BB-33) was a dreadnought battleship of the United States, one of the two Wyoming-class battleships built in the early years of the Twentieth century.

The third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 25th state, she was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 September 1912 with Captain Roy C. Smith in command.

Arkansas served in both World Wars. She was part of the U.S. battleship squadron attached to the British Grand Fleet during World War I, Battleship Division Nine.

During World War II she escorted convoys in the Atlantic and bombarded shore targets during the invasions of Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She was sunk by the underwater nuclear test "Baker" at Bikini Atoll in 1946.