The USS Arizona was launched on June 19, 1915. It was the second Arizona to be built and the 39th battleship. During World War I the Arizona served as a gunnery training ship as well as patrolling the waters from the Virginia Capes to New York. The Arizona is perhaps best known for the memorial erected in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in memory of the attacks on December 7, 1941. The ship sunk just off the coast of Pearl Harbor when Japanese aircrafts attacked the harbor. A memorial was built and dedicated on May 30, 1962 and it floats atop the ship's remains today.
The USS Enterprise CVN-6 was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It is the eighth ship to carry the Enterprise name and a member of an illustrious line up of ships dating back to 1775. Its predecessor, USS Enterprise CV-6, joined World War II on December 7, 1941, the same day that the USS Arizona sank. During it's nearly four years of service, the CV-6's bombers sank 71 ships and brought down 911 enemy planes. The ship left duty on May 14, 1945 when a kamikaze attack off of Japan left it with a gaping hole in its side.
The battleship Bismark was a German naval vessel that gained fame when it almost instantly sunk the British vessel HMS Hood in World War II. The two ships waged battle in May 1941 in what is referred to as the Battle of the Denmark Strait. At 5:43 on the morning of May 24, the alarm sounded for the Bismark to prepare for battle and 17 minutes later the HMS Hood blew up and sank. After this the Bismark became even more famous as the Royal Navy sought it relentlessly and sunk it on May 27, 1941.
The HMS Invincible earned its place in naval vessel history in 1907 as the first battlecruiser to be built by any country. The Royal Navy ship saw success in World War I when it helped to sink the Scharnhorst and Gneisnau. In 1916, at the battle of Jutland, the ship came under heavy fire which resulted in an explosion which sunk the ship and killed all but six of its 1,000 person crew.