Posted on 06/22/2012 11:48:52 AM PDT by smokingfrog
The USS Iowa, one of the last battleships ever built, will open July 7 as a museum in Los Angeles Harbor. Advance tickets are on sale for tours of the ship, which served on and off from World War II to 1990.
The 900-foot battleship with 16-inch guns was towed recently from Vallejo, on San Francisco Bay, to Los Angeles. It is the last of the four Iowa-class battleships to find a permanent home after years as part of "the mothball fleet."
he Iowa will be operated by the nonprofit Pacific Battleship Center, which will begin offering tours July 7 even as the ship is being renovated. Such work may continue for years to make more of the ship available to tour groups.
The Iowa's new home will offer 41/2 acres of parking space in North America's busiest seaport, adjacent to the World Cruise Center, where cruise ships dock and flocks of tourists could tour the Iowa.
"Our focus for our museum will be on the history of the battleships, not only the Iowa being the ultimate in design, but we'll be focusing from the very beginnings" of the massive vessels, Kent told the Associated Press.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
I spent a couple of nights on that as a boy scout, the week after the turret blew up. It was so much fun to hang out with the sailors.
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