The four members of the Iowa-class of fast battleships—USS Iowa, USS Missouri, USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin – were the last battleships ever built by the United States. Originally designed to serve in World War II, the Iowa-class also saw action in Korea, Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. Some of the battleships were mothballed as many as three times before finally being decommissioned for the last time in the early 1990s. Two other members of the class, the USS Illinois and USS Kentucky, were cancelled before completion.
The Iowa-class was the third class of American battleships to be produced during the World War II era, following the South Dakota and North Carolina-classes. Weighing 45,000 tons, the Iowa-class was the largest of the class, with a waterline length of 860 feet and a beam of 108 feet. It could also cruise at nearly 35 knots, much faster than the 27 knot limit of the South Dakota and North Carolina class.
As with the other classes of battleship, the Iowa-class was armed with nine 16-inch guns; however, the Iowa-class’ guns were Mark 7 16-inch guns, which were lighter and had greater range than the Mark 6 guns of the North Carolina and South Dakota class. The shell fired by the Iowa-class weighted 2,700 pounds, 460 pounds more than those rounds fired by the Mark 6 guns. The total package made the Iowa-class not only impressive, but expensive–$125 million each, a breathtaking sum in the Great Depression. But, after the fall of France in 1940 to the Nazis, construction was authorized to not only complete the already ordered Iowa and New Jersey, but to build the Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kentucky as well.
The Iowa and New Jersey were the first two members of the Iowa class to enter service, having been commissioned in February and May 1943. The New Jersey would be the first to see action, in the Marshalls campaign in late 1943. All four battleships would be in the Pacific Ocean by the time the United States invaded the Philippines in October 1944 and would take part in the critical operations against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in early 1945. The Missouri would become the best known ship of the class not for its actions in battle, but for serving as the site of the official Japanese surrender ending World War II on Sept. 2, 1945.
Three of the four members of the Iowa-class were mothballed at the end of World War II, with only the Missouri—a favorite of President Harry Truman—staying in service. As a result, she was the first battleship to arrive in the waters off the Korean peninsula after communist North Korea invaded U.S.-ally South Korea in August 1950. The other three members of the class were quickly reactivated, refurbished and sent to join the Missouri in the combat zone. The Iowa-class would actually use their 16-inch guns more frequently during the Korean War than they did in World War II, hammering North Korean and Communist Chinese positions with devastating effect. After the completion of the war, the battleships remained active for several years, but eventually all four were decommissioned.
The New Jersey was reactivated in 1968, during the height of the Vietnam War, and was sent to the Pacific once again. After serving on active duty for a year and supporting U.S. and allied forces near the demilitarized zone, the New Jersey was decommissioned once more in 1969, in part due to the cost of maintenance.
The Iowa-class was called on yet again in the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan ordered a massive expansion of the Navy to meet a goal of 600 ships. Each ship underwent a major overhaul and refurbishment, having their manned anti-aircraft guns and several five-inch gun positions removed in favor of Harpoon surface-to-surface missile systems, Tomhawk cruise missiles and the automated Phalanx Close-In Weapons System Gatling guns (nicknamed R2-D2s for their distinctive shape, similar to that of the fabled “Star Wars” droid). The upgrades cost a staggering $500 million per ship.
The New Jersey would return to action first, shelling Druze and Syrian positions in the hills near Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983. The Iowa would suffer the worst peacetime loss of life in 1989, when an accidental explosion in one of her 16-inch gun turrets killed 47 sailors. The incident would lead to her rapid decommissioning.
The Missouri and Wisconsin would see action in Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 allied assault that forced Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Army out of Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded in August 1990. Both battleships would fire Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Iraq and Kuwait and would bombard Iraqi positions along the coast before the war ended in late February.
Though the Iowa and Wisconsin are maintained by law in a state of semi-readiness in the event they are reactivated once more, all four members of the Iowa-class have been decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. The Missouri and New Jersey are now museum ships, at Pearl Harbor and Camden, N.J., respectively; the Iowa is berthed near San Francisco, awaiting a new home and a life as a museum ship. The Wisconsin is currently berthed at Norfolk, Va.
General characteristics Type: Battleship
Displacement: 45,000 tons (standard);
52,000 tons (mean war service);
58,000 tons (full load)[1]
Length: 861¼ ft (262.5 m) between perpendiculars
890 ft (271 m) overall
Beam: 108 ft (33 m)
Draught: 36 ft (11 m) maximum
Propulsion: 4 screws; geared turbines; 8 Babcock & Wilcox Boilers; G.E. (BB-61;BB-63); West. (BB-62; BB-64; BB-66); 212,000 shp (158,000 kW) Speed: 31 knots (57 km/h) normal operating[2]
35 knots (65 km/h) theoretical maximum (light displacement)[2] Range: 9,600 miles (15,000 km) @ 25 knots (46 km/h);
16,600 miles (27,000 km) @ 15 knots (28 km/h) Complement:
- World War II, Korea and Vietnam
2,700 officers and men - During the 1980s
1,800 officers and men
Electronic warfare and decoys:
- World War II, Korea
None - During the 1980s
AN/SLQ-32(V)
AN/SLQ-25 Nixie
Mark 36 SRBOC
Armament:
- World War II, Korea, Vietnam:
9 × 16-inch (406 mm) / 50 cal. Mark 7 guns[A 5]
20 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 38 cal. Mark 12 guns[A 6]
80 × 40 mm / 56 cal. Bofors anti-aircraft guns
49 × 20 mm / 70 cal. Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns - Cold War, Gulf War: 9 × 16-inch / 50 cal. Mark 7 guns
12 × 5-inch / 38 cal. Mark 12 guns
32 × BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles
16 × RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles
4 × 20 mm / 76 cal.Phalanx CIWS
Armor: Belt: 12.1 in (310 mm),[3]
Bulkheads: 11.3 in (290 mm),[3]
Barbettes: 11.6 to 17.3 in (295 to 439 mm),[3]
Turrets: 19.7 in (500 mm),[3]
Decks: 7.5 in (190 mm)[3] Aircraft carried:
- World War II:
3 × Vought OS2U Kingfisher/Curtiss SC Seahawk - Korea/Vietnam:
3 × helicopters - Cold War/Gulf War:
8 × RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned aerial vehicle
Notes: Final battleship class completed by U.S. Navy, only remaining battleship class on earth that can be reactivated
