Written during the age of the Dreadnought, this article heralds the construction of two American battleships that would later become famous for the rolls they played during World War Two: the “USS Oklahoma” (BB-37) was assigned the tragic roll of a dying extra and the “USS Nevada” (BB-36) played the handsome part of a good man wronged, who later returns to the story and delivers justice. Both ships were commissioned in 1916 and assigned to the Atlantic during the Great War; “Oklahoma” protected convoys and later, in 1919, escorted President Wilson to France for the Versailles Treaty. “Nevada” patrolled the British isles.
After the dastardly raid on Pearl Harbor, “Oklahoma” never regained her footing and was sold as scrap in 1946. Having spent much time in dry dock, “Nevada” returned to battle and was active in both theaters. The attached essay illustrates how unique these ships were in 1912 and how lucky the United States was to have had them in her arsenal.
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