The Japanese bomb that killed Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd struck USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Kidd was the ship’s senior officer and commander of Battleship Division One when the attack began.
A large armor-piercing bomb detonated in or near Arizona’s forward ammunition magazines. The resulting explosion destroyed the ship’s forward section and caused massive loss of life. Arizona sank rapidly, although parts of its superstructure remained above water.
Kidd was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his conduct during the attack. More than 1,100 Arizona sailors and Marines died, making the battleship the deadliest single ship loss at Pearl Harbor.
The wreck remains in the harbor and serves as the foundation for the USS Arizona Memorial. Oil that still rises from the wreck is popularly called “the tears of the Arizona,” although the ship is also an active military grave. Arizona is sometimes confused with Oklahoma, which also suffered catastrophic damage, but Oklahoma capsized rather than exploding in a magazine blast.