last and mightiest battleship division steams together

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[attachment=0]4 Iowa class BBs.jpg[/attachment]

4 Iowa class BBs.jpg (5.21 KiB) Viewed 2650 times

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This is Battleship Division 2 steaming abreast off the Virginia Capes on 7 June 1954, the only time all four of the Iowa class battleships ever operated together. Nearest the camera is USS Iowa (BB-61), then USS WIsconsin (BB-64), USS Missouri (BB-63) and USS New Jersey (BB-62). At 45,000 tons standard, 888 feet long, with nine 16-inch guns and with 212,000 horsepower giving them an attained speed of 33 knots, they as a group were the most potent battleships ever built. One on one, only the two Japanese super dreadnoughts Yamato and Musashi might have defeated them in pitched battle. But that time was past- both ships were sunk by carrier aircraft.

All four battleships are still in existence as public attractions: New Jersey at Camden, NJ, Wisconsin at Norfolk, Iowa at San Pedro, California and Missouri at Pearl Harbor. I have been on the New Jersey and it is something to see for sure.

There are several shots of these ships on this once only cruise online and they can be made to come in clearer and be printed- just Google something like "all 4 Iowa class battleships together". I have it as my desktop background.

Best,
Bill

[Pips]

Outstanding photograph, many thanks Bill.

They were truly a beautiful class of ship, rivalling HMS Hood.

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Well, I'd more equate them to HMS Vanguard, last of the British battleships and a magnificent ship herself. Hood was also magnificent but still a battle cruiser, and it was not wise to put her in a fight with better armored modern battleships. But what choice did Britain have then with Bismarck on the loose and only one fully worked up modern battleship, King George V, to up against her IF she could be caught. This was the debut of the aircraft carrier's usefulness against battleships also.
Best,
Bill

[OpanaPointer]

My ship, USS Peleliu (LHA-5) was in Long Beach Naval Shipyard when New Jersey and Missouri were there. At one point they were across the dock from each other and all 18 main guns were pointed inboard. The yard birds were walking a little hunched over...

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Now THAT'S funny, man. That was a while back, right? MIsssouri has been at Pearl for a while now.

I was at the Navy DC/Firefighting course at Philly Navy Yard when I was in the Coast Guard in the winter of 1966 when three of the four were moored side by side in the mothball fleet- here's a link to a shot of them on Google Images:

http://www.ussnewjersey.org/thejerseyman/2010-4q.pdf

WIsconsin-New Jersey-Iowa- Missouri was in Bremerton at that time.

I took a photo of them from head on when I saw them. It wasn't too long after that before they were mobilized for Vietnam.

There's nothing like touring one of those babies. When I was on New Jersey at Camden in 2004 there was a life size photo on the port bridge wing of Bull Halsey standing there- it was just like when he stood there when it was his flagship. Spruance had her as flagship also when he relieved Halsey and Third Fleet became Fifth Fleet- they would alternate in command while the other planned the next operation ashore with his staff.
I do want to go back and see her again- also USS Massachusetts at Fall RIver and the last heavy cruiser in the world, USS Salem at Quincy, MA.
There's a sweet ship- FULLY AUTOMATIC 8-inch guns.

Best,
Bill

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The event I mentioned would have been c. 1985-6. Peleliu was in the yards when I transfered to DAP.

[Carl Schwamberger]

All stricken from the Naval Registry & no longer USN warships. Meanwhile the Constitution is still a commissioned Navy ship, and if I am not mistaken the only current US warship that has been in combat with enemy surface ships?