List of commanding officers of USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of USS Oklahoma (BB-37)

Section Title: Commanding officers
Table Section Text: None

Name	Years of Service	Total time	Rank	Details

Roger Welles	2 May 1916 – 6 June 1917	13 months	Captain	Roger Welles was the first commander of Oklahoma after her commissioning in 1916. A former commander of the Naval Training Center in Newport, his command of the ship was a short period of time mainly involving the command of the ship as a training ship.

Spencer S. Wood	6 June 1917 – 1 February 1918	8 months	Rear Admiral	Rear Admiral Spencer S. Wood held the position of commander of the Oklahoma in about the same situation as his predecessor.

Edward T. Constein	1 February 1918 – 18 February 1918	17 days	Commander	Edward T. Constein held command of the Oklahoma for eighteen days, all of which were spent as a training ship.

MacGillivray Milne	18 February 1918 – 1 March 1918	10 days	Commander	Commander MacGillivray Milne 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.

Mark L. Bristol	2 March 1918 – 14 October 1918	7 months	Captain	Mark L. Bristol held command of the Oklahoma during and after her transit to Berehaven Harbour in Ireland.

Charles B. McVay Jr.	14 October 1918 – 9 July 1919	9 months	Captain	Charles B. McVay, Jr.

Noble E. Irwin	9 July 1919 – 5 July 1921	2 years	Captain	Noble E. Irwin served on the Oklahoma for two years, all of which were spent in peacetime.

Edwin T. Pollock	5 July 1921 – 13 January 1922	7 months	Captain	Edwin Taylor Pollock served in several positions before the Oklahoma, rising steadily from an Ensign during the Spanish–American War to the Superintendent of the U.S.

Stephen V. Graham	13 January 1922 – 4 July 1923	1 year 7 months	Captain	Stephen Victor Graham'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.

W. Pitt Scott	4 July 1923 – 15 June 1925	11 months	Captain	As an Ensign, W. Pitt Scott has served on the Olympia when she was Admiral George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay.

Willis McDowell	15 June 1925 – 5 May 1927	23 months	Captain	Willis McDowell held command of the Oklahoma for the remainder of the Great Cruise, when the ship stopped in several Pacific ports.

T.A. Kearny	5 May 1927 – 10 December 1928	20 months	Captain	T.A. Kearny was commander of the Oklahoma during her two-year refitting at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which she began in September 1927.

J.F. Hellweg	10 December 1928 – 13 May 1930	17 months	Captain	J.F. Hellweg took command during peacetime, and like preceding and succeeding commanders, participated in naval exercises.

John D. Wainwright	13 May 1930 – 25 June 1932	2 years	Captain	John D. Wainwright commanded the Oklahoma for two years, which being in peacetime were uneventful.

Henry D. Cooke	25 June 1932 – 1 May 1934	23 months	Captain	Henry D. Cooke commanded the Oklahoma for two years, which were in peacetime and were uneventful.

W. R. Van Auken	1 May 1934 – 1 November 1935	18 months	Captain	W.R. Van Auken commanded the Oklahoma during peacetime, thus his command was uneventful.

William Alden Hall	1 November 1935 – 25 June 1937	19 months	Captain	William Alden Hall commanded the Oklahoma for two years, including part of the start of the Spanish Civil War. His posts before and after are not known.

Charles C. Hartigan	25 June 1937 – 21 December 1938	18 months	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.

T.S. McCloy	21 December 1938 – 30 January 1939	2 months	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.

Emmanuel L. Lofquist	30 January 1939 – 24 June 1940	18 months	Captain	Emmanuel L. Lofquist held command of the Oklahoma for about a year and a half.

Edward J. Foy	24 June 1940 – 31 October 1941	16 months	Captain	Edward J. Foy commanded the Oklahoma for more than a year, mainly involving training exercises.

Howard D. Bode	1 November 1941 – 7:30 am, 7 December 1941	1 month	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 7 December 1941, when he left the ship to board the Maryland.

Sentence(s)

Roger Welles was a naval officer and the first commander of the USS Oklahoma.

final_sentence: Roger Welles was a naval officer and the first commander of the USS Oklahoma.