On this memorial day, I thought it might be appropriate to share this image and story. The USS Iowa made its final voyage from Richmond, CA to San Pedro CA on Saturday, May 26th, sliding under the Golden Gate Bridge for the last time.
A bow view of the battleship USS IOWA (BB-61) firing its Mark 7 16-inch/50-caliber guns off the starboard side during a fire power demonstration. Date 15 August 1984 Image: WikipediaIronically, the Golden Gate Bridge had its 75th anniversary a day later.
USS Iowa (BB-61) fires a full broadside of her nine 16″/50 and six 5″/38 guns during a target exercise near Vieques Island, Puerto Rico (21°N 65°W). Note concussion effects on the water surface, and 16-inch gun barrels in varying degrees of recoil., July 1, 1984 Image: WikipediaFull story and more great photos here: USS Iowa final voyage from Richmond, CA
As always, my thanks and respect to our men and women in the military, who have served our country in times of war and peace.
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
119 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
GeoLurking
May 28, 2012 12:30 am
During a WASEX ( war ar sea exercise), one of the Nato Players got close enough to receive the signal for a gun engagement from the Iowa. Concidering the size of the vessels… had it been real, it would not have been pretty.
(early 80’s)
At least she won’t be broken up, the fate the Big E got after WWII:
Enterprise entered the New York Naval Shipyard on 18 January 1946 for deactivation, and was decommissioned on 17 February 1947. In 1946, she had been scheduled to be handed over to the state of New York as a permanent memorial, but this plan was suspended in 1949.[13] Subsequent attempts were made at preserving the ship as a museum or memorial, but fund-raising efforts failed to raise enough money to buy the vessel from the Navy, and the “Big E” was sold on 1 July 1958 to the Lipsett Corporation of New York City for scrapping at Kearny, New Jersey. A promise was made to save the distinctive tripod mast for inclusion in the Naval Academy’s new football stadium, but was never fulfilled; instead, a memorial plaque was installed at the base of what is still called “Enterprise Tower.” Scrapping was complete as of May 1960.
In 1989, I saw two battleships, USS Missouri and USS New Jersey, fire simultaneous broadsides in the western Pacific. That came a few minutes after an F-14/Tomcat did a supersonic fly-by just a few hundred from my ship. Awesome is indeed the best word that comes to mind.
EternalOptimist
May 28, 2012 1:35 am
Very nice photos of Iowa.
my father served on HMS Valiant in WWII. She had eight 15″ guns and he saw a lot of action. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQLSlXDKv1bv5OFBpaGltBXkAwJbKHvY80Y3_gn9p2KGypu74hUDBSW3t8
He was shot at by German subs at Norway, bombed by Stukas, took part in the first radar driven night action, bombed by the Italians then finally attacked by Italian human torpedoes in Alexandria harbour.
After that he transferred to HMS Victorious and was stationed in the Pacific, providing cover whilst the damaged US carriers were repaired and refitted. The ship temporarily transferred to the US navy , changing it’s name to USS Robin. In the pacific he was bombed by the Japanese, then finally Kamikazed a few times. He told me that they were put in harms way more than the US carriers, because the British ships had a 6 inch armoured steel deck, as opposed to the US wooden decks.
At the end of the war, as a chief petty officer, he was transferred to a minesweeper. The newly commissioned, pink cheeked captain called him to a meeting as they set out on their first mission
‘Chief petty officer, I want you to put a drill in place, should we strike a mine. I will inspect at first light tomorrow’
‘Are you sure sir ?’
‘Yes. why?’
‘I saw the battleship HMS Barham strike a mine. The first one hundred feet of twelve inch armoured steel just disappeared. Gone. And as we are eighty feet long and made of wood, do you really think it is worthwhile ?’
Alan the Brit
May 28, 2012 1:53 am
Yeah, she may be old, she may be outgunned by a small frigate these days with the right misslie technology, but what a presense on the water, magnificent, truly magnificent! A terrorist rib boat speeding towards her would be so much rubber under the air blast from those powerful 16″guns, would even have to aim at it! Be very proud USA, very proud indeed.
Reminds me of the Cracked story on the USS William D Porter, which among other crimes launched a torpedo at the Iowa, while the President was on board:-)
“They announced “Fire one!” and the first fake torpedo was fake fired. “Fire two!” and the second fake torpedo was fake fired. “Fire three!” and a swooshing sound was heard. The crew watched in horror as an actual torpedo left the tube and made a beeline for the Iowa and the president of the United States.” http://www.cracked.com/article_19637_the-5-craziest-war-stories-all-happened-same-ship.html
Twobob
May 28, 2012 2:06 am
That is some Broadside.
The Ship moved sideways.
ThAT was Real Awesome!
Laurie
May 28, 2012 3:03 am
Thanks, Anthony and I join you in thanks to those who gave everything for our freedom and to those who served.
Awesome indeed. I like how the designer tricked Neptune into thinking the ship was going to be skinny all the way back.
Thommo
May 28, 2012 3:18 am
Love the images. Is the first a painting? Some people do these well.
William Truesdell
May 28, 2012 3:34 am
I served on her for a few days of my Midshipman cruise to South America, Sailed from Annapolis to Norfolk where I shifted to the USS Northampton CLC 1. During the cruise we had a gunnery exercise and towed a sled. Destroyers fired first and were impressive with splashes all around the sled. Cruisers second and even tigher. Iowa last and fired only one turret. Result- no sled.
Graphite
May 28, 2012 3:36 am
Talk softly and carry a big stick.
And man, that is some stick.
George V
May 28, 2012 4:22 am
Nice display of Newton’s third law in that first picture. I am also amazed at the complex design of such a ship in the day when the computing device was a slide rule and the design system was a drafting pen, compass, straightedge, and giant sheets of paper.
George V.
pax
May 28, 2012 4:40 am
Cool!
kadaka (KD Knoebel)
May 28, 2012 4:52 am
I came across something I highly recommend reading, the Wikipedia account of the 1989 USS Iowa turret explosion when 47 crewmen perished. It’s long but worth it, well written and thoroughly researched. It is the finest Wikipedia entry I have ever read, whatever that’s worth.
And what it is, is a long and ultimately sordid tale of brass and bureaucrats lying and conspiring, before and after, arguably causing it and not-arguably covering it up. While written in a bland and neutral tone, the details have nevertheless angered me. To summarize my impression, it’s like the “upper management” involved went to the graves of these fine battlefield troops, squatted and dumped, and blamed it on a stray dog. While looking around for any other graves they would have to likewise “honor”.
Our troops deserved better. They deserve better than they get now. Today, in the US, we show our respect for those of the military who have fallen. Let us not forget to extend due respect to all who have served or are now serving our nation honorably. At the absolute least, this is what they are owed.
Jonathan Smith
May 28, 2012 5:04 am
I am reliably informed that when she fires a broadside USS Iowa drifts up to 16m (50ft in old money) sideways. There is no statistic about these ships that isn’t impressive.
[Not that much. Robt]
greymouser70
May 28, 2012 5:45 am
If I remember correctly, it was stated that when the Iowa-class battleships fired a full 9 gun broadside the whole moved 30′ from the recoil. That is one large amount of Kinetic Energy!!!!!
[30 inch more likely. Robt]
FredericM
May 28, 2012 5:58 am
Slide Rule – good. A once seaman assigned to this class battleship in the late 60s denoted what many pictures have displayed – the 16 inch projectile is so large that at the correct angle-and light one can see with their eye the projectile leaving the barrel. This sailor noted most the roll counter to the gun recoil. HE rounds weighted up to 2700 lbs/max range 24 mile. The older USS Alabama of the Dakota class also had the auto mechanical load system-nicely displayed cut away in the Mobil, AL resting site. There is on a highway north of Yuma a displayed menagerie of engineering a purposed small satellite 40/60lb launch gun (for temporary stationary battlefield ) of this 16 inch with a barrel of 119 feet.
Larry Mead
May 28, 2012 6:26 am
Actually these ships did not move sideways. Even the big guns on Battleships couldnt do that. Too much mass and the water on the other side of the ship made it impossible. At best a slight roll. The first Pic looks like there is a port turn occuring at the time of firing.
wsbriggs
May 28, 2012 6:42 am
In response to one comment, the first image is not a painting. In a past life, my employer exhibited every year at IITSC in Orlando. One of the corporate products was a 60″ printer (no points for guessing the co.). We’d have a list of Admirals and Generals who came by wanting prints of the Iowa, Missouri, [Wisconsin], M1A1 Abrams, SR-71, B-52, F-22, F-117, B2. All were digital images from photos taken by the respective services. You can imagine the quality of a 600 dpi 60″ print.
TANSTAAFL
May 28, 2012 6:43 am
Imagine firing a Volkswagen 28 miles.
Great googly moogly!
RACookPE1978
Editor
May 28, 2012 6:45 am
Worthy of note – though the British in the very early 1900’s) – 1902 through 1917 – “thought” they were developing the world’s best computers and analog calculators for their empire-protective battleships and battlecruisers ! – they were WRONG. Dead wrong in how they did the “simple” sciences of gunnery prediction and ballistics predictions – 300 years after Newton.
The early analog computers were “good” for what they did – for example, the analog (gear-driven) “watch-maker” black box for the USS Texas (BB-34) of 1914 era-computers allowed input signals (gear-settings) for latitude (to correct for the Coriolis effect of the earth’s spin on the shell and other ship’s position), temperature of the gun barrel, temperature of the powder, current range, own ship’s course, other ship’s course, own ship’s speed, other ship’s speed, etc … WWII analog computers were similar.
But the British “consensus” scientific development followed the own “favorite sons” and “consensus” experts in the Brit Navy and the Brit establishment (Royal Society – among others) …. So, at Jutland – and many other naval battles [since] WWI, they LOST their battlecruisers and their ships because their computers – their equations and their corrections and their calculators were dead wrong. The Germans outshot them, out sunk them, and out-calculated the Brits… because the Brit “science” was correct in naval gunnery. Politically correct, that is, in the government’s decision of how to fund their naval gunnery computers.
Dead wrong in the practical aiming of the shells over long range – but correct to the Royal Society’s “consensus” of how to the aim guns and pay for the analog computers in their Navy of the day.
During a WASEX ( war ar sea exercise), one of the Nato Players got close enough to receive the signal for a gun engagement from the Iowa. Concidering the size of the vessels… had it been real, it would not have been pretty.
(early 80’s)
Awesome. No, really…AWESOME.
Yes, but did they hit the aliens?
At least she won’t be broken up, the fate the Big E got after WWII:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CV-6)#The_end_of_the_.22Big_E.22
“Ironically, the Golden Gate Bridge had its 75th anniversary a day later.”
Did the Iowa miss the target?
In 1989, I saw two battleships, USS Missouri and USS New Jersey, fire simultaneous broadsides in the western Pacific. That came a few minutes after an F-14/Tomcat did a supersonic fly-by just a few hundred from my ship. Awesome is indeed the best word that comes to mind.
Very nice photos of Iowa.
my father served on HMS Valiant in WWII. She had eight 15″ guns and he saw a lot of action.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQLSlXDKv1bv5OFBpaGltBXkAwJbKHvY80Y3_gn9p2KGypu74hUDBSW3t8
He was shot at by German subs at Norway, bombed by Stukas, took part in the first radar driven night action, bombed by the Italians then finally attacked by Italian human torpedoes in Alexandria harbour.
After that he transferred to HMS Victorious and was stationed in the Pacific, providing cover whilst the damaged US carriers were repaired and refitted. The ship temporarily transferred to the US navy , changing it’s name to USS Robin. In the pacific he was bombed by the Japanese, then finally Kamikazed a few times. He told me that they were put in harms way more than the US carriers, because the British ships had a 6 inch armoured steel deck, as opposed to the US wooden decks.
At the end of the war, as a chief petty officer, he was transferred to a minesweeper. The newly commissioned, pink cheeked captain called him to a meeting as they set out on their first mission
‘Chief petty officer, I want you to put a drill in place, should we strike a mine. I will inspect at first light tomorrow’
‘Are you sure sir ?’
‘Yes. why?’
‘I saw the battleship HMS Barham strike a mine. The first one hundred feet of twelve inch armoured steel just disappeared. Gone. And as we are eighty feet long and made of wood, do you really think it is worthwhile ?’
Yeah, she may be old, she may be outgunned by a small frigate these days with the right misslie technology, but what a presense on the water, magnificent, truly magnificent! A terrorist rib boat speeding towards her would be so much rubber under the air blast from those powerful 16″guns, would even have to aim at it! Be very proud USA, very proud indeed.
Reminds me of the Cracked story on the USS William D Porter, which among other crimes launched a torpedo at the Iowa, while the President was on board:-)
“They announced “Fire one!” and the first fake torpedo was fake fired. “Fire two!” and the second fake torpedo was fake fired. “Fire three!” and a swooshing sound was heard. The crew watched in horror as an actual torpedo left the tube and made a beeline for the Iowa and the president of the United States.”
http://www.cracked.com/article_19637_the-5-craziest-war-stories-all-happened-same-ship.html
That is some Broadside.
The Ship moved sideways.
ThAT was Real Awesome!
Thanks, Anthony and I join you in thanks to those who gave everything for our freedom and to those who served.
Awesome indeed. I like how the designer tricked Neptune into thinking the ship was going to be skinny all the way back.
Love the images. Is the first a painting? Some people do these well.
I served on her for a few days of my Midshipman cruise to South America, Sailed from Annapolis to Norfolk where I shifted to the USS Northampton CLC 1. During the cruise we had a gunnery exercise and towed a sled. Destroyers fired first and were impressive with splashes all around the sled. Cruisers second and even tigher. Iowa last and fired only one turret. Result- no sled.
Talk softly and carry a big stick.
And man, that is some stick.
Nice display of Newton’s third law in that first picture. I am also amazed at the complex design of such a ship in the day when the computing device was a slide rule and the design system was a drafting pen, compass, straightedge, and giant sheets of paper.
George V.
Cool!
I came across something I highly recommend reading, the Wikipedia account of the 1989 USS Iowa turret explosion when 47 crewmen perished. It’s long but worth it, well written and thoroughly researched. It is the finest Wikipedia entry I have ever read, whatever that’s worth.
And what it is, is a long and ultimately sordid tale of brass and bureaucrats lying and conspiring, before and after, arguably causing it and not-arguably covering it up. While written in a bland and neutral tone, the details have nevertheless angered me. To summarize my impression, it’s like the “upper management” involved went to the graves of these fine battlefield troops, squatted and dumped, and blamed it on a stray dog. While looking around for any other graves they would have to likewise “honor”.
Our troops deserved better. They deserve better than they get now. Today, in the US, we show our respect for those of the military who have fallen. Let us not forget to extend due respect to all who have served or are now serving our nation honorably. At the absolute least, this is what they are owed.
I am reliably informed that when she fires a broadside USS Iowa drifts up to 16m (50ft in old money) sideways. There is no statistic about these ships that isn’t impressive.
[Not that much. Robt]
If I remember correctly, it was stated that when the Iowa-class battleships fired a full 9 gun broadside the whole moved 30′ from the recoil. That is one large amount of Kinetic Energy!!!!!
[30 inch more likely. Robt]
Slide Rule – good. A once seaman assigned to this class battleship in the late 60s denoted what many pictures have displayed – the 16 inch projectile is so large that at the correct angle-and light one can see with their eye the projectile leaving the barrel. This sailor noted most the roll counter to the gun recoil. HE rounds weighted up to 2700 lbs/max range 24 mile. The older USS Alabama of the Dakota class also had the auto mechanical load system-nicely displayed cut away in the Mobil, AL resting site. There is on a highway north of Yuma a displayed menagerie of engineering a purposed small satellite 40/60lb launch gun (for temporary stationary battlefield ) of this 16 inch with a barrel of 119 feet.
Actually these ships did not move sideways. Even the big guns on Battleships couldnt do that. Too much mass and the water on the other side of the ship made it impossible. At best a slight roll. The first Pic looks like there is a port turn occuring at the time of firing.
In response to one comment, the first image is not a painting. In a past life, my employer exhibited every year at IITSC in Orlando. One of the corporate products was a 60″ printer (no points for guessing the co.). We’d have a list of Admirals and Generals who came by wanting prints of the Iowa, Missouri, [Wisconsin], M1A1 Abrams, SR-71, B-52, F-22, F-117, B2. All were digital images from photos taken by the respective services. You can imagine the quality of a 600 dpi 60″ print.
Imagine firing a Volkswagen 28 miles.
Great googly moogly!
Worthy of note – though the British in the very early 1900’s) – 1902 through 1917 – “thought” they were developing the world’s best computers and analog calculators for their empire-protective battleships and battlecruisers ! – they were WRONG. Dead wrong in how they did the “simple” sciences of gunnery prediction and ballistics predictions – 300 years after Newton.
The early analog computers were “good” for what they did – for example, the analog (gear-driven) “watch-maker” black box for the USS Texas (BB-34) of 1914 era-computers allowed input signals (gear-settings) for latitude (to correct for the Coriolis effect of the earth’s spin on the shell and other ship’s position), temperature of the gun barrel, temperature of the powder, current range, own ship’s course, other ship’s course, own ship’s speed, other ship’s speed, etc … WWII analog computers were similar.
But the British “consensus” scientific development followed the own “favorite sons” and “consensus” experts in the Brit Navy and the Brit establishment (Royal Society – among others) …. So, at Jutland – and many other naval battles [since] WWI, they LOST their battlecruisers and their ships because their computers – their equations and their corrections and their calculators were dead wrong. The Germans outshot them, out sunk them, and out-calculated the Brits… because the Brit “science” was correct in naval gunnery. Politically correct, that is, in the government’s decision of how to fund their naval gunnery computers.
Dead wrong in the practical aiming of the shells over long range – but correct to the Royal Society’s “consensus” of how to the aim guns and pay for the analog computers in their Navy of the day.