USS Iowa

[82Rigger]

Sailors, this is not a Pulitzer Prize winning post.

Just a pic I found of the Iowa firing her big guns.

I believe they are 16 inch guns but not positive.

Used to tour the USS Texas when I was a kid. Not sure of the size of her guns but they had a projectile on board for you to see, and it was a whole lot bigger than I was!

I remember reading accounts of soldiers and Marines in landing craft headed for the beaches telling of those big shells passing overhead...sounding like railroad trains going by. Some even said they could see the shells and feel the pressure wave as they passed.

I understand the projectiles weigh around 2,000 pounds and reach distances out to around 30 miles. Is that right?

That is mind-boggling!

Look at the shock wave traveling out over the water under the guns!

[Boats]

Found this article - Yes they are 16" guns.

Navy's Last 2 Battleships to Be Decommissioned

Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page A29
The last two U.S. battleships -- the USS Iowa and the USS Wisconsin -- have been decommissioned and reactivated several times in their 60-year history.

Now they are facing their final deactivation and could be turned into museums.

They were last deactivated in 1991, but Congress ordered them back into reserve status five years later after determining that the Navy would have a gap in its ability to support Marine Corps land operations until early in the 21st century.

From World War II until the 1991 Persian Gulf War, support for the Marines was provided mostly by the Iowa-class battleships' 16-inch guns, which can hurl a 2,000-pound projectile 24 nautical miles.

The last ship to fire its guns in support of U.S. troops ashore was the USS Wisconsin in 1991.

Congress will decide whether to decommission the two battleships for good as lawmakers try to complete the defense authorization and spending bills. A GAO report said the Iowa and Wisconsin together cost about $1.4 million a year to maintain.
The Iowa and the Wisconsin are each nearly three football fields long. The Iowa would become a floating museum in Stockton, Calif., and the Wisconsin would become a museum in Norfolk.
Critics warn that the move could leave Marines vulnerable.
The Navy expects that most future battles will be in or near coastal waters, and that it will need ships that can deliver huge amounts of gunfire to support land operations. Cruisers and destroyers serve that purpose now, and the Navy expects the new DD(X) destroyer to take over the job when it goes into service in 2014.

"The issue here is the need to press forward with a new ship and new technology to meet 21st-century threats," said Landon Hutchens, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman. "The battleships performed marvelously in the 20th century, with 20th-century technology. DD(X) incorporates stealth technology, precision-guided long-range naval fire support, the capability to shoot down enemy aircraft before they can fire anti-ship missiles and high-tech command and control communications capabilities."
The critics doubt the DD(X)'s capabilities and say the Navy cannot afford to wait until the next decade.

"At present the Navy's active fleet has no effective NSFS [naval surface fire support] capability," says a statement by the U.S. Naval Fire Support Association, a group that supports reactivating the two battleships. "The Navy's attempt to rectify this serious deficiency by developing long-range 5-inch and 6.1-inch 155 mm gun systems and medium-range missiles is not adequate."

Currently, the Navy uses 5-inch guns on its destroyers and cruisers to support land operations. The battleship supporters say that only battleships can provide accurate and high-volume fire in all conditions.

-- Knight Ridder Newspapers

[SEATJERKER]

...

...BB-64, the Wisconsin was the ship my youger brother served on as a hull tech when she was in Texas,...

...she was the longest battle ship out there by 6",...

[Robert Ryan]

Sure hope Stockton gets the Iowa, it only 30 miles down the interstate for me. Would love to go visit her once in a while. Where did the New Jersey go? anyone know. Man what a picture of awesom fire power shown on that photo.

[82Rigger]

I know it's necessary...but to me it is SO sad to see the big Battle Wagons pass into history.

The Arizona at Pearl...

The Missouri in Tokyo Bay...

The Texas at Normandy off Pointe Du Hoc...

...and so many others in so many valiant campaigns.

I'm glad that we'll have some of them as memorials.

[82Rigger]

Robert,

The USS New Jersey (BB-62) is now the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. It is permanently berthed on the Camden, New Jersey, Waterfront. The museum opened to the public for tours in October 2001.

[Bill Farnie]

Some of the profits go to the museum

[David]

I was on the IOWA a couple times when she fired full broadside salutes. I have also sat next to arty battalions for weeks on end with constant fire and all of those weeks never added up to one broadside from the IOWA. It was truly one of the most awesome sites I have ever seen

footnotes:

It was advisable to hold on when she fired a broadside as she moved 17 feet sideways in the water upon firing.

One of the turrets had dents in it from where it had been hit by enemy fire during WW2. They could have fixed it but they didn't as a tribute to her service in that conflict.

[Boats]

One trip I had a couple years ago I went to the Naval Museum and went on board this ship. Wooden decks gun turrets so thick I was amazed - but a 8" shell could punch a hole through it on direct hit. Below decks was also shocking it far more room in it than I thought.

Also along side was a submarine you could also tour. Spent 1/2 a day their just looking over all the exhibits. Get a chance drop in there some time.

[Jerry D]

Great Pic of the Iowa ,wish they would meke a Missouri State Plate like the NJ state one of the a New Jersey it looks cool