Posted on 04/09/2021 8:02:31 AM PDT by Onthebrink
Today, the massive USS Iowa (BB-61) calls the Port of Los Angeles home, where she is a museum ship and serves as a testament to the might of the United States Navy from World War II to the end of the Cold War.
The largest and most powerful battleships built for the U.S. Navy, the Iowa-class were also the final battleships that entered service with the Navy.
Unlike slower battleships of the era, this class was also designed to travel with a carrier force, and even be able to transit the Panama Canal, enabling the mighty warships to respond to threats around the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at 19fortyfive.com ...
Very short article that says little but has plenty of ads.
My dad was the supply officer on BB-62 during the Korean kerfuffle. Still have his cruise books. I remember going aboard as a little kid when they got back to Norfolk. Those things were YUGE!😄. A lot bigger than my first ship. A destroyer escort.
Could be back in service. There are new missiles being developed with a 10K mile range. They need a big boat. Aircraft carriers are now getting obsolete-too vulnerable.
In other words, about average for '19FortyFive'.
Ping
But ac’s are floating airports though.
Most anti-ship missiles can’t penetrate the bridge armor of a battleship, much less the hull.
Interesting to note, there are no US Battleships anymore. They’ve all been decommissioned as there is no mission for them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_ships_of_the_United_States_Navy
Just a few remaining as museum pieces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_battleships_of_the_United_States_Navy
I had the privilege to walk her main deck back in the 50s when she stopped for a visit in NYC.
We have her sister ship, the New Jersey here in Camden as a museum. It’s privately funded and is kept in amazing condition. Plus, it’s right across the road from the aquarium which is also nice. Makes for a great Saturday with the family.
“Most anti-ship missiles can’t penetrate the bridge armor of a battleship, much less the hull.”
Wow! I didn’t know that. I thought those missiles were just like giant rpgs.
Back in the 60s, I was briefly in the Philadelphia shipyard, where my ship was assigned guard duty for the Wisconsin and the Iowa. I remember doing night watchman rounds and punching the watch clock. I also remember that both ships had their various compartments filled with wheat.
Bridge armor on those ships is 5” thick. The Hull armor around the magazines and engines, etc is more like 16”. Modern ships don’t have any armor to speak of any more so the missiles aren’t designed to penetrate serious armor.
The old Battleships were designed to survive hits from the same guns they used. In this case 16” guns firing projectiles weighing around 2500lbs. Such armor would laugh at an anti-ship missile.
Impossible to replace the gun barrels at this time. So it renders them useless in that role. Plus they are very expensive to operate and eat fuel at an atrocious rate.
Still a battleship would laugh at most of the antiship weapons of today.
Mom’s guardian (Vice Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter) was captain of the Mighty Mo in 1946. One of the great thrills in my life was being able to walk the decks, explore his cabin, and see his exhibit when we visited Pearl.
When the battleships were put back in service under Reagan a reporter asked the captain what he would do about anti ship missiles. He said he would send out a cleanup crew to sweep the missile parts over the side.
“Such armor would laugh at an anti-ship missile.”
That’s why they started dropping 2,000lb bombs down the smokestack.
Works every single time.
ROF! That is true except..
Look how much it took to sink the Yamato.
Or the Bismark.
I could only imagine what it was like on those while they were being blasted to hell.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.