USS Oklahoma BB-37

The USS Oklahoma BB-37 was a Nevada class battleship.  She was laid down on October 26, 1912 by New York Shipbuilding Corp. in Camden, New Jersey, and launched on March 23, 1914.  On May 2, 1916, she was commissioned in Philadelphia.  The Oklahoma was 583 feet long, with a 28.5 foot draft and a 95.3 foot beam.

From December 6, 1940, the Oklahoma was homeported at Pearl Harbor.   When the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, the Oklahoma was at her mooring in Battleship Row.  She took 3 torpedo hits almost immediately.  Two more torpedoes struck as Oklahoma began to capsize.  When her men attempted to abandon ship, they were strafed.  Within 20 minutes, she had swung so far over that her masts touched the bottom of the harbor.  Many of her crew continued to fight, but 20 officers and 395 enlisted men were either killed or missing, 32 others were wounded, and many more were trapped within the capsized hull.  Julio DeCastro, a civilian yard worker, organized the team and effort which saved 32 Oklahoma sailors trapped within the capsized hull of the Oklahoma.

In March 1943, the Oklahoma underwent a hard salvage effort and was decommissioned on September 1, 1944.  While traveling from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco on May 17, 1947, the Oklahoma parted her tow line and sank 540 miles out at sea.  Although her life was cut short, the Oklahoma received 1 battle star for World War II service.

All of the battleships built for the US  Navy had  asbestos installed for insulation and as fire control.  Over the past thirty years of representing Pearl Harbor shipyard workers and veterans, our firm has represented men who were exposed to asbestos on the USS Oklahoma.  These men had no idea that the asbestos insulation on the Oklahoma’s machinery and piping could be dangerous.  They often worked without respiratory protection in clouds of deadly asbestos dust.  These USS Oklahoma veterans and shipyard workers were put at a high risk for asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma as a result.