A Night on the Battleship [USS Iowa] Overnight Tour $125

Atlas Obscura ^ | 10/05/16 | Atlas Obscura

[BunnySlippers]

The USS Iowa may have been the first of the Iowa-class battleships to be commissioned, but she was the last battleship to retire permanently.

Once called the "Battleship of Presidents" (having hosted FDR, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush), the USS Iowa had the biggest guns on any U.S. Navy ship, used primarily for anti-aircraft missions: nine 16-inch guns mounted on three stacked turrets on the flight deck (capable of carrying 2000 tons of firepower).

She was the lead ship of the last class of battleships in the Navy, having served in three significant commissions: World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War. And now, having emerged from the Navy's mothball fleet just four years ago, she has made the Port of LA in San Pedro her permanent home.

Join Field Agent Sandi Hemmerlein for a rare and immersive experience aboard the USS Iowa, now known as the Battleship Iowa Museum. In a "sleepover" excursion arranged exclusively for the Los Angeles Obscura Society—

[DesertRhino]

That’s true. The Iowa guns did have an obscure capability for AAA, and the Yamato and Musashi did too. But that was not the primary purpose of the 2 kiloton 16 inch guns in stacked turrets on the flight deck.

[mad_as_he$$]

Related:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a23202/do-you-know-what-to-do-with-15000-battleship-shells/

[doorgunner69]

Follow up shots must have been a bitch when they missed.

[Mariner]

"the USS Iowa had the biggest guns on any U.S. Navy ship, used primarily for anti-aircraft missions: nine 16-inch guns mounted on three stacked turrets on the flight deck (capable of carrying 2000 tons of firepower)."

Anything from this author in the future should be banned. He's not smart enough on this subject.

[small business owner]

I did my 4 years on a ship. I don’t want to spend the night or eat horse**** sandwiches again.

[Riley]

I thought only the Seaview could do that.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wife and I toured the Missouri at Pearl Harbor about five years ago. She had just emerged from dry dock with fresh paint seemingly a quarter inch thick.
There are pictures of the surrender, and a mark on the quarter deck where MacArthur stood. A small dent in her deck armor was the only indication of where a kamikaze had hit and apparently bounced off.
The officer’s dining area featured dinnerware settings from her WW 2 past. It looked like the room was five minutes away from a full sit-down.
The bridge was more or less what you might call a “highbred” control room. The Missouri had been fitted with missiles from when the Gipper ran the White House.
Today, with the jerk we have in office, they’d likely install unisex toilets...

[x1stcav]

I went on it about 4 years ago. Nothing quite like an Iowa class battlewagon.

(Re: no fishing equipment. One probably wouldn’t want eat anything caught within LA/LB harbors.)

[Delta 21]

Does that price include someone stumbling loudly into your berthing area around 3:30am , shining a bright flashlight in your eyes and yelling, “NEXT WATCH!”

If not you are not getting the full experience.

[Drawsing]

Stayed overnight on two separate occasions on the USS Alabama in Mobile when my boys were going through boy scouts. The bunks (3 high hanging on chains) are surprisingly comfortable...or maybe I was just really tired.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We spent a full day aboard the USS Midway which has become a museum in the harbor at San Diego. The carrier deck is packed with airplanes from various wars. It’s a very cool tour...

[Political Junkie Too]

I'm still shocked that San Francisco refused to take her, leaving the ship to rot in Suisun Bay for years. It was nice to catch a glimpse of it when driving across the Benicia Bridge.

-PJ

[Redleg Duke]

And the 16” guns were used mostly for anti-aircraft...yeah...right.

[BunnySlippers]

I’ll check it out, I’m down there often!

[BunnySlippers]

Somehow, I doubt they are going to serve slop. Besides, I’m inclined to pack some munchies.

[yuleeyahoo]

$125? I don’t miss the Navy that much.

[Oztrich Boy]

I know. They meant patio deck (well, it’s got wood planking laid on it)

[rmlew]

Maybe they loaded them with canister. Think about what a Zero would look like after flying through a cloud of one inch steel balls.
Iowa class battleships had 10 dual mounted turrets with 5 inch 38 caliber dual-purpose canon, 20 quad mounted 40mm cannon, and 50 20mm cannon. The 3 triple mounted 16" guns did not have anti-aircraft capabilities. Ironically, the Japanese did use canister rounds in their Yamato class. I have no idea how effective these were, but the Yamato and Musashi were sunk by aircraft.
The crew of the Bismarck tried to shoot down the Fairey Swordfish torpedoing it using the splash from 15" high explosive rounds, but these didn't do anything but get the shirts (and perhaps undergarments) of British aviators wet.

[JoeFromSidney]

Yeah. I got paid to stay on a destroyer. I decided the AIr Force was a better bet