IOWA USS (BB-61)

[shipstamps]

Early 1937 work began on the design of a 45.000 ton battleship.
01 July 1939 ordered.
27 June 1940 laid down on the New York Navy Yard for the USA Navy.
27 August 1942 as the IOWA (BB-61), sponsored by Ilo Wallace the wife of the Vice President Henry Wallace, she was the leadship of her class. The other ship in this class was NEW JERSEY, MISSOURI and WINCONSIN. The IOWA was named after the 29th state in the USA, the state was named for a Sioux Indian tribe that originally inhabit the Missouri Territory.
Displacement 48.500 tons standard, 57.450 tons full load. Dim. 270.43 x 32.97 x 11.58m. (draught).
Powered by four General Electric geared steam turbines, 212.000 shp., four shafts, speed 33 knots.
Armament when built: 9 – 406mm, 20 – 127mm, 60 -40mm AA and 60 – 20mm AA guns.
Three Vought Kingfisher floatplanes. Armament later after the war included also missiles.
Crew 1921.
22 February 1943 commissioned under command of Capt. John L. McCrea.

On 24 February, IOWA put to sea for shakedown in Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast. She got underway, 27 August for Argentia, Newfoundland to neutralize the threat of German Battleship TIRPITZ which was reportedly operating in Norwegian waters.

In the fall, IOWA carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Casablanca, French Morocco on the first leg of his journey to the Teheran Conference in November. After the conference she returned the President to the United States.

As Flagship of Battleship Division 7, IOWA departed the United States 2 January 1944 for the Pacific Theatre and her combat debut in the campaign for the Marshalls. From 29 January to 3 February, she supported carrier air strikes made by Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman's task group against Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls in the Marshall Islands. Her next assignment was to support air strikes against the Japanese Naval base at Truk, Caroline Islands. IOWA, in company with other ships was detached from the support group 16 February, 1944 to conduct an anti-shipping sweep around Truk to destroy enemy naval vessels escaping to the north. On 21 February, she was underway with Fast Carrier Task Force 58 while it conducted the first strikes against Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam in the Marianas.

On 18 March, IOWA, flying the flag of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee, Commander Battleships, Pacific, joined in the bombardment of Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Although struck by two Japanese 4.7" projectiles during the action, IOWA suffered negligible damage. She then rejoined Task Force 58, 30 March, and supported air strikes against the Palau Islands and Woleai of the Carolines which continued for several days.

From 22 to 28 April 1944, IOWA supported air raids on Hollandia, Aitape, and Wakde Islands to support Army forces on Aitape, Tanahmerah Bay, and Humboldt Bay in New Guinea. She then joined the Task Force's second strike on Truk, 29-30 April, and bombarded Japanese facilities on Ponape in the Carolines, 1 May.

In the opening phases of the Marianas campaign, IOWA protected the flattops during air strikes on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Rota, and Pagan, 12 June. Iowa was then detached to bombard enemy installations on Saipan and Tinian, 13-14 June. On 19 June, in an engagement known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea, IOWA, as part of the battle line of Fast Carrier Task Force 58, helped repel four massive air raids launched by the Japanese Middle Fleet. This resulted in the almost complete destruction of Japanese carrier-based aircraft. IOWA then joined in the pursuit of the fleeing enemy Fleet, shooting down one torpedo plane and assisting in splashing another.

Throughout July, IOWA remained off the Marianas supporting air strikes on the Palaus and landings on Guam. After a month's rest, IOWA sorties from Eniwetok as part of the 3d Fleet, and helped support the landings on Peleliu, 17 September. She then protected the carriers during air strikes against the Central Philippines to neutralize enemy air power for the long awaited invasion of the Philippines. On 10 October, IOWA arrived off Okinawa for a series of air strikes on the Ryukyus and Formosa. She then supported air strikes against Luzon, 18 October and continued this vital duty during General MacArthur's landing on Leyte 20 October.

In a last ditch attempt to halt the United States campaign to recapture the Philippines, the Japanese Navy struck back with a three-pronged attack aimed at the destruction of American amphibious forces in Leyte Gulf. IOWA accompanied TF-38 during attacks against the Japanese Central Force as it steamed through the Sibuyan Sea toward San Bernardino Strait. The reported results of these attacks and the apparent retreat of the Japanese Central Force led Admiral Halsey to believe that this force had been ruined as an effective fighting group. IOWA, with Task Force 38, steamed after the Japanese Northern Force off Cape Engano, Luzon. On 25 October 1944, when the ships of the Northern Force were almost within range of IOWA's guns, word arrived that the Japanese Central Force was attacking a group of American escort carriers off Samar. This threat to the American beachheads forced her to reverse course and steam to support the vulnerable "baby carriers." However, the valiant fight put up by the escort carriers and their screen had already caused the Japanese’s to retire and IOWA was denied a surface action. Following the Battle for Leyte Gulf, IOWA remained in the waters off the Philippines screening carriers during strikes against Luzon and Formosa. She sailed for the West Coast late in December 1944.

IOWA arrived San Francisco, 15 January 1945, for overhaul. She sailed 19 March 1945 for Okinawa, arriving 15 April 1945. Commencing 24 April 1945, IOWA supported carrier operations which assured American troops vital air superiority during their struggle for that bitterly contested island. She then supported air strikes off southern Kyushu from 25 May to 13 June 1945. IOWA participated in strikes on the Japanese homeland 14-15 July and bombarded Muroran, Hokkaido, destroying steel mills and other targets. The city of Hitachi on Honshu was given the same treatment on the night of 17-18 July 1945. IOWA continued to support fast carrier strikes until the cessation of hostilities, 15 August 1945.

IOWA entered Tokyo Bay with the occupation forces, 29 August 1945. After serving as Admiral William F. Halsey's flagship for the surrender ceremony, 2 September 1945, IOWA departed Tokyo Bay 20 September 1945 for the United States.

Arriving Seattle, Wash., 15 October 1945, IOWA returned to Japanese waters in January 1946 and became flagship of the 5th Fleet. She continued this role until she sailed for the United States 25 March 1946. From that time on, until September 1948, IOWA operated from West Coast ports, on Naval Reserve and at sea training and drills and maneuvers with the Fleet. IOWA, decommissioned 24 March 1949. After Communist aggression in Korea necessitated an expansion of the active fleet, IOWA recommissioned 25 August 1951, Captain William R. Smedberg III in command. She operated off the West Coast until March 1952, when she sailed for the Far East. On 1 April 1952, IOWA became the flagship of Vice Admiral Robert T. Briscoe, Commander, 7th Fleet, and departed Yokosuka, Japan to support United Nations Forces in Korea. From 8 April to 16 October 1952, IOWA was involved in combat operations off the East Coast of Korea. Her primary mission was to aid ground troops, by bombarding enemy targets at Songjin, Hungnam, and Kojo, North Korea. During this time, Admiral Briscoe was relieved as Commander, 7th Fleet. Vice Admiral J. J. Clark, the new commander, continued to use IOWA as his flagship until 17 October 1952. IOWA departed Yokosuka, Japan 19 October 1952 for overhaul at Norfolk and training operations in the Caribbean Sea.

IOWA embarked midshipmen for at sea training to Northern Europe, July 1953, and immediately after took part in Operation "Mariner," a major NATO exercise, serving as flagship of Vice Admiral E. T. Woolfidge, commanding the 2d Fleet. Upon completion of this exercise, until the fall of 1954, IOWA operated in the Virginia Capes area. In September 1954, she became the flagship of Rear Admiral R. E. Libby, Commander, Battleship-Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

From January to April 1955, IOWA made an extended cruise to the Mediterranean as the first battleship regularly assigned to Commander, 6th Fleet. IOWA, departed on a midshipman training cruise 1 June 1955 and upon her return, she entered Norfolk for a 4-mouth overhaul. Following refit, IOWA continued intermittent training cruises and operational exercises, until 4 January 1957 when she departed Norfolk for duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Upon completion of this deployment, IOWA embarked midshipmen for a South American training cruise and joined in the International Naval Review off Hampton Roads, Va., 13 June 1957.

On 3 September 1957, IOWA sailed for Scotland for NATO Operation "Strikeback." She returned to Norfolk, 28 September 1957 and departed Hampton Roads for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, 22 October 1957. She decommissioned 24 February 1958 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia, where she remains till 1981, when she was towed to New Orleans for reactivation.
A large number of Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles were placed on board

1984 Reactivated by the USA Navy.
Used in the Atlantic and Pacific Surface-Action Group fleets.

19 April 1989 an explosion in her No 2 gun turret killed 47 men and wrecked the turret.
26 October 1990 decommissioned, and struck from the naval list on 17 March 2006.
2009 She is currently berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, near San Francisco.

IOWA earned nine battle stars for World War II service and two for Korean service.

Gibraltar 1997 38p sg MS809, scott 732c.
Marshall Islands 1997 20c sg903, scott 649o.
Sierra Leone 1995 250le sg 2322, scott 1803g


Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Some web-sites.

[aukepalmhof]

Battleship Iowa begins its final voyage
May 20, 2012 | 8:53 am




The battleship Iowa, a stored vessel that languished for years in the U.S.
Navy's mothball fleet, was scheduled to begin its final journey Sunday, from
San Francisco to its permanent home as a museum in the Port of Los Angeles.
Four tugboats were set to guide the Iowa, among the biggest U.S. battleships
ever built, under the Golden Gate Bridge and out of the San Francisco Bay.
One of them, the 7,200-horsepower Warrior, will chug down the coast with the
massive ship in tow, and is expected to arrive in Southern California on
Thursday.
The Iowa will open for public tours in San Pedro on July 7 and remain as a
central attraction on the community's waterfront, officials said.
Launched in 1942, the Iowa was a favorite of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. It carried him across the Atlantic en route to the 1943 Tehran
Conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader
Josef Stalin. Its bathtub - a rare amenity in a U.S. warship - was
installed, along with an elevator, specifically for FDR.
In its heyday, the Iowa's huge guns could hurl 2,700-pound shells, reaching
enemy ships and troops more than 24 miles away, officials said. In World War
II it fought in the Marshall Islands and off the Philippines. It battered
the Japanese island of Hokkaido and was among the Allied ships in Tokyo Bay
for Japan's surrender.
Placed into reserve after the war, it was called back into service for the
Korean War and became known as "the gray ghost of the Korean coast." In
eight months, its 16-inch guns lobbed 4,000 shells - twice as many as in
World War II.
But critics came to view colossal dreadnoughts as obsolete and too expensive
to operate. Aircraft carriers were more efficient, they argued. In 1958, the
Iowa was retired again and was idled for the next 26 years. In the 1980s,
back in service, it was a formidable presence at NATO exercises and in the
Persian Gulf.
The Navy planned to station it permanently in Staten Island, N.Y., but a
1989 gun turret explosion put an end to the controversial plan. The blast
killed 47. The Navy at first blamed a sailor allegedly distraught over a
failed relationship with another man; it later apologized, saying there was
no evidence the explosion was his fault. In 1990, the ship was mothballed
for the third and final time.
The Iowa has been tied up at a Richmond, Calif., dock since March. With a
60-foot mast looming over a body more than 15 stories tall, the ship had to
wait for low tide before passing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.
For several days, the 45,000-ton Iowa will anchor at a spot three miles off
Seal Beach, where divers will scrub the hull of any invasive species it
might have picked up. Then it will be towed to the Port of Los Angeles'
Outer Harbor to await what Kent described as a "grand entry" on June 9, when
tugs will tow it the final two miles and into place at San Pedro's Berth 87.
An invitation-only commissioning ceremony is set for July 4.
The Pacific Battleship Center raised $5 million to secure the Iowa for Los
Angeles, officials said. The state of Iowa donated $3 million to the effort,
which won out over bids from Vallejo, San Francisco and Stockton.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... ns-its-fin
al-voyage.html
Sierra Leone 2019 LE 12500 sg?, scott? and in the margin of the MS.
Niger 2019 800F sg?, scott? and MS 3300 F sgMS?, scott?
Maldives 2019 sMVR22 sg?, scott? (The unnamed vessel is also IOWA) and she is also depict on the Miniature Sheet in the margin.
Sierra Leone 2018 LE9800 sg?, scott?

[Arturo]

USS Iowa

Burkina Faso 1999, S.G.?, Scott: 1133f.