1940 USS Arizona Crossing the Line

This extraordinary collection of photographs documents the USS Arizona's 1940 'Crossing the Line' ceremony — the traditional naval initiation ritual performed when a ship crosses the equator for the first time. The ceremony, known formally as the Line-Crossing Ceremony or 'Crossing the Line,' transforms 'Pollywogs' (sailors who have never crossed the equator) into 'Shellbacks' (those who have).

What makes this collection uniquely significant is its subject: the USS Arizona, the battleship that would be destroyed at Pearl Harbor just over a year later on December 7, 1941, killing 1,177 of her crew. These photographs capture the ship and her sailors in a moment of celebration and camaraderie — unaware of the fate that awaited them. The images show the ceremony in vivid detail: the costumes, the rituals, the crew assembled on deck.

This is one of the most historically significant photographic collections in American naval history — 30 original photographs from the final year of the USS Arizona's active service, showing her crew alive and at sea. Each photograph is a window into the lives of the men who would soon make the ultimate sacrifice.