List of commanding officers of USS Oklahoma (BB 37)

USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

USS Oklahoma , the only ship of the United States Navy to ever be named for the 46th state, was a World War I-era battleship and the second of two ships in her class; her sister ship was . She, along with her sister, were the first two U.S...

was a battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

that served in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

from May 2, 1916, to September 1, 1944. The ship capsized and sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

on December 7, 1941, but she was righted in 1943. While other ships sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack were repaired and returned to service, she was not and never returned to duty. Instead, Oklahoma was stripped of guns and superstructure, and sold for scrap

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

. She sank while under tow to the mainland on May 17, 1947, 500 miles (804.7 km) northeast of Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

.

When Navy personnel receive orders to take command of a ship in the United States they will receive an order from the Chief of Naval Personnel stating: "Proceed to the port in which USS [name of ship] may be and upon arrival, report to your immediate superior in command, if present, otherwise by message, for duty as commanding officer of USS [name of ship]." In the 1990 edition of the United States Navy Regulations

United States Navy Regulations

United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy, endowed with the sanction of law, as to duty, responsibility, authority, distinctions and relationships of various commands, officials and individuals...

Article 0807 states that before leaving his command the commanding officer or CO will inspect the ship with the new CO and have the crew perform some sort of drill or exercise, "unless conditions render it impracticable or inadvisable." Also, before the old commanding officer leaves the ship he should turn over all keys to the incoming CO. Before the CO leaves the ship he is entitled to a say a few words and, according to Naval regulations "the officer relieved, though without authority after turning over the command, is, until final departure, entitled to all ceremonies and distinctions accorded a commanding officer."

During her nearly three decades of service, the Oklahoma had 22 commanding officers. The first Captain was Roger Welles, who took command after Oklahomas commissioning in 1916, serving over a year. The longest serving commanding officer was John D. Wainwright, who served over for over two years in the position, from May 13, 1930 – June 25, 1932. Oklahomas last commanding officer was Howard D. Bode, although he was not on board when the battleship was sunk at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked, Bode was on the USS Maryland

USS Maryland (BB-46)

USS Maryland , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the seventh state.Her keel was laid down 24 April 1917 by Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 20 March 1920, and sponsored by Mrs. E. Brook Lee, wife of the...

and Commander Jesse L. Kenworthy Jr., acting as the ship's captain, gave the order to abandon ship.

Commanding officers

		Rank
May 2, 1916 – June 6, 1917	Captain	Roger Welles was the first commander of Oklahoma after her commissioning in 1916. A former commander of the Naval Training Center in Newport Newport Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent... , his command of the ship was a short period of time mainly involving the command of the ship as a training ship. This was because the oil-fired boilers that she used were not able to be fueled in England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... , as German U-boat U-boat U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II... s had drained their supply. After he gave command over to Rear Admiral Spencer K. Wood, he was appointed the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland... .
June 6, 1917 – February 1, 1918	Rear Admiral Rear admiral (United States) Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...	Rear Admiral Spencer S. Wood held the position of commander of the Oklahoma in about the same situation as his predecessor. His time on ship was spent managing training and undergoing a refit of the ship, in which it gained more anti-aircraft defenses and the repositioning of her 5 inches (127 mm) guns. Before his time as the commanding officer, he had been on the General Board of the United States Navy General Board of the United States Navy The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, effectively a naval general staff. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by John Davis Long. The order was officially recognized by Congress in 1916... and Flag Secretary to J.S. Walker. After his time on Oklahoma, he was the commander of the 1st Division of the Pacific Fleet.
February 1, 1918 – February 18, 1918	Commander Commander (United States) In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...	Edward T. Costein held command of the Oklahoma for eighteen days, all of which were spent as a training ship. His posts before and after his time on Oklahoma are not known.
February 18, 1918 – March 1, 1918	Commander	Commander MacGillivray Milne MacGillivray Milne MacGillivray Milne was a United States Navy Captain, and the 27th Governor of American Samoa from January 20, 1936, to June 3, 1938. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, Milne served many posts in the Navy, including heading the Department of Modern Languages at the Naval Academy... also served on the Oklahoma for eighteen days, during which he served as the commander of the ship in preparation for her to be sent overseas, although the ship was still a training ship. In 1934, Captain Milne commanded the Arizona USS Arizona (BB-39) USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside... , which collided with a fishing boat. After being found at fault by a court martial, Milne resigned from the navy. In 1936, Milne became the Governor of American Samoa, a post he held for two years. Milne died in 1959.
March 2, 1918 – October 14, 1918	Captain	Mark L. Bristol held command of the Oklahoma during and after her transit to Berehaven Harbour Castletownbere Castletownbere is a small town in County Cork in Ireland. It is located on the southwest coast of Ireland, in West Cork, on Berehaven harbour near the entrance to Bantry Bay. It is also known as Castletown Berehaven. The name of the town comes from the no longer extant MacCarty Castle, and not... in Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... . The remainder of the time was spent in port at Berehaven Harbour, as the German High Seas Fleet was also held inside port. Before his time on Oklahoma, Bristol served as Director of Naval Aeronautics.
October 14, 1918 – July 9, 1919	Captain	Charles B. McVay, Jr. was commander of the Oklahoma for 9 months. On his first day of command, the Oklahoma set out to protect Allied troop convoys going to Britain, a task that took two days. After the Armistice, the Oklahoma sailed back to the United States with the remainder of BatDiv BatDiv A BatDiv or BATDIV was a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "battleship division."The Commander of a Battleship Division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMBATDIV , such as COMBATDIV ONE.... 5 and BatDiv 6. In 1929, McKay was promoted to Admiral and commanded the United States Asiatic Fleet United States Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was part of the U.S. Navy. Preceding the World War II era, until 1942, the fleet protected the Philippines.Originally the Asiatic Squadron, it was upgraded to fleet status in 1902. In 1907, the fleet became the First Squadron of the Pacific Fleet. However, on 28... . He retired in 1932 and died in 1949.
July 9, 1919 – July 5, 1921	Captain	Noble E. Irwin Noble E. Irwin Noble Edward Irwin was a United States Navy Rear Admiral and Navy Cross recipient.-Biography:He was born at Greenfield, Ohio on September 29, 1869. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1891, and was wounded in action 1 May 1898 while aboard the USS Baltimore in the Battle of... served on the Oklahoma for two years, all of which were spent in peacetime. During this period, the Oklahoma was modernized and prepared for the Great Cruise of 1925, similar to the Great White Fleet Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with... in 1909. Before his command on Oklahoma he was on the Martial Board of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Chief of Naval Operations The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy... . Rear Admiral Irwin became Commandant of the 15th Naval District in March 1931 and retired in 1933.
July 5, 1921 – January 13, 1922	Captain	Edwin Taylor Pollock Edwin Taylor Pollock Edwin Taylor Pollock was a career officer in the United States Navy, serving in both the Spanish-American War and World War I. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of captain. Like many naval officers, his name was often abbreviated using initials: Pollock.As a young ensign, Pollock served... served in several positions before the Oklahoma, rising steadily from an Ensign during the Spanish-American War Spanish-American War The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence... to the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory and eighth Naval Governor of American Samoa American Samoa American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa... . His time on the Oklahoma, however, was not an adventurous one, spent mainly in port.
January 13, 1922 – July 4, 1923	Captain	Stephen Victor Graham Stephen Victor Graham Stephen Victor Graham was an United States Naval Rear Admiral and the 18th Governor of American Samoa from September 9, 1927 to August 2, 1929. Graham attended the United States Naval Academy and served on numerous ships before being posted to the governorship. As governor, he established the... 's time on Oklahoma was in preparation for the Great Cruise, which would occur two years later. He, too, became Governor of American Samoa and later a professor at the United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States... . He retired as a Rear Admiral in 1931.
July 4, 1923 – June 15, 1925	Captain	As an Ensign, W. Pitt Scott has served on the Olympia USS Olympia (C-6) USS Olympia is a protected cruiser which saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after... when she was Admiral George Dewey George Dewey George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War... 's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay. Scott commanded the Oklahoma for about two years. The last two months of those were part of the Great Cruise. He relinquished command when the ship was anchored in Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... .
June 15, 1925 – May 5, 1927	Captain	Willis McDowell held command of the Oklahoma for the remainder of the Great Cruise, when the ship stopped in several Pacific ports. As the ship exited the Panama Canal in 1927 after the Great Cruise, he gave command to T.A. Kearny. McDowell went on the command the Washington Navy Yard Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy... . He died in 1944.
May 5, 1927 – December 10, 1928	Captain	T.A. Kearny was commander of the Oklahoma during her two-year refitting in Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east... , which she began in September 1927. His posts before and after are not known.
December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1930	Captain	J.F. Hellweg took command during peacetime, and like preceding and succeeding commanders, participated in naval exercises. Before the Oklahoma, Hellweg commanded the USS Ostfriesland SMS Ostfriesland SMS Ostfriesland "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" was the second vessel of the of battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Named for the region of East Frisia, Ostfrieslands keel was laid in October 1908 at the Kaiserliche Werft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven... until her tests in 1921.
May 13, 1930 – June 25, 1932	Captain	John D. Wainwright commanded the Oklahoma for two years, which being in peacetime were uneventful. His posts before and after the two-year period are not known.
June 25, 1932 – May 1, 1934	Captain	H.D. Cooke commanded the Oklahoma for two years, which were in peacetime and were uneventful. Following his command, he commanded the USS Melville USS Melville (AD-2) USS Melville was a United States Navy destroyer tender that saw service in both World Wars.Laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, on 11 November 1913, she was launched on 2 March 1913, sponsored by Miss Helen W. Neel, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Melville; and... and was Chief of Staff of the Naval Commandant of the U.S. Naval Academy for three years. He retired a Rear Admiral.
May 1, 1934 – November 1, 1935	Captain	W.R. Van Auken commanded the Oklahoma during peacetime, thus his command was uneventful. His posts before and after his command of the Oklahoma are not known.
November 1, 1935 – June 25, 1937	Captain	William Alden Hall commanded the Oklahoma for two years, including part of the start of the Spanish Civil War Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939... . His posts before and after are not known.
June 25, 1937 – December 21, 1938	Captain	Taking command in the middle of the 1937 Midshipmen cruise, in which Oklahoma was participating, Charles C. Hartigan helped command refugee evacuations from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her... .
December 21, 1938 – January 30, 1939	Captain	T.S. McCloy held command of the ship for only a month, and during all of this time he commanded the ship in naval exercises, just missing the end of the Spanish Civil War. His posts before and after his Oklahoma command are not known.
January 30, 1939 – June 24, 1940	Captain	Emmanuel L. Lofquist held command of the Oklahoma for about a year and a half. During this time, she participated in naval exercises in the Pacific. After commanding the Oklahoma, he became Chief of Staff of the Ninth Naval District at Great Lakes, Illinois.
June 24, 1940 – October 31, 1941

}
|Captain
|Edward J. Foy commanded the Oklahoma for more than a year, mainly involving training exercises. Before Oklahoma, he commanded evacuations from Spain during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. He was relieved of command after a collision with a barge.
|-
|
|November 1, 1941 – 7:30 am, December 7, 1941
|
|Captain
|Captain Bode was given command after Foy was relieved. His time was spent in naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean, and he finished his command at 7:30 am on December 7, 1941, when he left the ship to board the Maryland. He was aboard her when Oklahoma capsized. At the Battle of Savo Island

Battle of Savo Island

The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces...

, Captain Bode commanded USS Chicago

USS Chicago (CA-29)

USS Chicago was a Northampton-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy that served in the Pacific Theater in the early years of World War II. She was the second US Navy ship to be named after the city of Chicago, Illinois...

. After the battle, upon learning that he was to be censured for his actions, Captain Bode shot himself on 19 April 1943.
|}

External links

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Commanding officers

See also

External links