USS Arkansas (BB-33) was a dreadnought battleship, the second member of the Wyoming class, built by the United States Navy. She was the third ship of the US Navy named in honor of the 25th state, and was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was laid down in January 1910, launched in January 1911, and commissioned into the Navy in September 1912. Arkansas was armed with a main battery of twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns and capable of a top speed of 20.5 knots.

The Wyoming class was a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy. Wyoming and Arkansas were authorized in early 1909, and were built between 1910 and 1912. These were the fourth dreadnought design of the US Navy, but only an incremental improvement over the preceding Florida class, and the last US battleships to use 12-inch guns. The primary changes were the adoption of a more powerful 12 in (305 mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 gun, addition of a sixth twin-gun turret and improved armor protection, including the first use of a torpedo bulkhead on American battleships. The Navy considered using more powerful 14-inch (356 mm) guns, but this would have caused delays and required larger docks.