Righting of USS Utah, 1943-1944
Salvage on the old target and training ship Utah was a limited venture. Though consideration had been given to refloating her by pumping the capsized hull full of air and towing her in that condition over to a drydock for scrapping, that project was quickly seen to be far more difficult than it was worth. The work actually done used the righting gear previously employed on USS Oklahoma to roll Utah partially upright, thus moving her closer to Ford Island and away from the busy shipping channel. This was carried out from the fall of 1943 into the spring of 1944, leaving the ship on the bottom of Pearl Harbor with only some of her starboard deck edge showing above water. She remains in that location to this day. Some of Utah's guns and other equipment were also recovered.
