December 2011 AP "USS Iowa nearing final voyage."
It is now in its final mooring near Los Angeles, California, but back in 2011 it was preparing to make the last voyage of a United States battleship.
The last-surviving World War II battleship without a home had been docked in Richmond, California (near San Francisco), is preparing for its final journey to the Port of Los Angeles. It was to be towed there in March. The Pacific Battleship center in Los Angeles has raised $8 million to rescue the 68-year-old ship from the Ghost Fleet in Suisun Bay.
The 800-foot ship was commissioned in 1943 and was used in World War Ii, the Korean War and last sailed in 1990.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "The Iowa is long and lean and power-ful-looking like an old lion." Its two anchors weigh 30,000 pounds each and it is the only American battleship ever fitted with a bathtub which was installed when the ship carried FDR to Africa on his way to his summit meeting in Iran during World War II with Churchill and Stalin.
In 1989, the middle gun on a turret exploded, killing 47 sailors.
While still in San Francisco, it was open for tours on weekends from 10-4 for a $10 donation.
Sure Glad They Saved It. Fortunately, Most All of Our Last battleships Are Museums Today. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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