 During the next few weeks , the Navy set up twenty @-@ one large winches on the island to turn the Oklahoma upright so it could be re @-@ floated and patched before being scrapped . Coral was piled between the ship and the island so the ship would roll upright , instead of sliding toward the shore . Oklahoma sank during a mid @-@ Pacific storm while it was being towed to the scrapyard . Nevada , California , West Virginia and the minelayer USS Oglala were re @-@ floated and salvaged by the Navy . The entire salvage operation took 20 @,@ 000 man @-@ hours underwater and 5 @,@ 000 dives to recover human remains , weapons , ammunition and artifacts of historic or military importance . 
