Today's classic warship, Kentucky (BB-66)
Iowa class battleship
As designed:
displacement. 45,000
length. 887'3"
beam. 108'3"
draft. 28'11"
speed. 33k.
complement. 1,921
armament. 9 16", 20 6", 80 40mm., 49 20mm.
Kentucky was built at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, but never completed. Her keel was first laid in March 1942. Construction was suspended in June of that year and not resumed until December 1944. Work was again suspended 17 February 1947 when the battleship was 72.1 percent complete. The incomplete hull was launched in January 1950 to make Kentucky's building dock available for other uses.
Though several schemes were entertained for completing Kentucky as a guided-missile ship, none were pursued. Her bow was removed in 1956 to repair USS Wisconsin (BB-64). Her name was struck from the Navy List 9 June 1958; and her uncompleted hulk was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, Md., 31 October.
However, Kentucky's engines remain in service to this day, powering the fast combat support ships USS Sacramento (AOE-1) and USS Camden (AOE-2).