USS Arkansas BB-33 Patch — USS Arkansas (BB-33) Battleship Embroidered Patch
USS Arkansas (BB-33) — the Wyoming-class battleship that served through two World Wars, from the age of coal-fired dreadnoughts to the atomic age.
USS Arkansas (BB-33) was a Wyoming-class battleship commissioned in 1912, making her one of the oldest battleships to serve in the United States Navy through World War II. Armed with twelve 12-inch guns in six twin turrets, Arkansas was a formidable dreadnought when she joined the fleet and continued to serve with distinction for over three decades.
During World War I, USS Arkansas served with the 6th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet, operating from Scapa Flow to counter the threat of the German High Seas Fleet. Between the wars, Arkansas underwent significant modernization, including upgraded fire control systems and anti-aircraft armament. When World War II erupted, the aging battleship found new purpose providing naval gunfire support for amphibious operations.
USS Arkansas participated in some of the most consequential amphibious operations of World War II, including the D-Day landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944, where she provided devastating fire support for the troops storming the beaches. She also supported operations in Southern France and in the Pacific at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After surviving two World Wars, USS Arkansas met her final fate as a target vessel in the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946.
Perfect For: USS Arkansas (BB-33) historians and descendants, battleship enthusiasts, World War I and II naval history collectors, D-Day and Pacific campaign historians, and U.S. Navy warship patch collectors.
USS Arkansas (BB-33) — from dreadnought to D-Day to the atomic age — a battleship that saw it all.