USS Iowa (BB-61) (Los Angeles, California)

 military, battleship, United States Navy, war memorial, museum ship

Commissioned on 22 February 1943, the USS Iowa was the lead ship in her Class Fast Battleships built for the US Navy. Commissioned in February of 1943 at the height of the Second World War, the Iowa would go on to serve in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theatres of the War before the cessation of hostilities. Remaining in commission through 1949, the Iowa briefly went into reserve before being called to action in the Korean War. Shifting to the US Atlantic Fleet thereafter, she participated in numerous Midshipmen cruises and Cold War NATO exercises before being decommissioned once again in 1958.

Remaining idle at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for the next 26 years, Iowa was reactivated as part of the early 1980's "600 Ship Navy" and following an extensive overhaul and upgrade recommissioned in April of 1984 and once again joined the US Atlantic Fleet. Active thereafter on routine deployments and NATO exercises, the Iowa saw increased duty in the Perisan Gulf towards the end of her service, culminating with her heavy participation in Operation Earnest Will through 1988. Remaining active and on regular training cruises out of Norfolk following her return from the Middle East, the Iowa suffered one of the surface Navy's worst losses of life during peacetime operations when a shell detonated in her #2 turret while engaged in a gunnery exercise off Vieques Island in April 1989. With 47 of her crew killed and her #2 turret out of action with severe damage, the highly publicized event spelled and aftermath indirectly brought about the subsequent decommissioning of Iowa in October of 1990, as repair and upgrade costs to the Battleship were deemed too high in the closing years of the Cold War. Placed into reserve at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Naval Station Newport and finally the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet over the next 21 years, the Iowa was formally stricken from the Naval Register in 2006 and after a multi-year effort to preserve the historic vessel she was awarded to the Pacific Battleship Center for use as a museum ship. Following a tow from Suisun Bay that included a stopover in Richmond, CA, the Iowa arrived at Berth 87 in June of 2012 and opened for tours the following month.

www.ussiowa.org
www.pacificbattleship.com/
www.navsource.org/archives/01/61a.htm