USS Arizona, a Pennsylvania-class battleship commissioned in 1916, embodied the U.S. Navy’s Standard-type dreadnought design with heavy armor and powerful guns. Named for the 48th state, she served in training, fleet exercises, diplomatic missions, and humanitarian relief, including duty after World War I and a major modernization in 1929–1931. Her defining moment came at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, when Japanese bombs triggered a catastrophic explosion that destroyed the ship and killed 1,177 officers and crewmen. Never returned to service, Arizona remains on the floor of Pearl Harbor as a preserved archaeological site and grave, central to the memory of the attack and the nation’s entry into World War II.