[AFreeBird]

It would be an interesting exercise to modernize one for this duty. But it would cost. I could see replacing the engineering plant with diesel/turbine electric generators (gonna need power generation anyway), and the drive units from mechanical to electrical (why maintain boilers to power the drive steam turbines.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Another problem is crewing an Iowa battleship. It takes anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 sailors, some with very special skills that don't even exist in the Navy anymore, to reactivate and operate one.

In fact, the Navy has lost the capability of manufacturing 16-inch guns, which used to be done at the Naval Gun Factory at the Washington Navy Yard, long since turned into a minimall and fitness center.