For the last ten years the Iowa has been in Suisun Bay off Bernicia. Now, in Richmond, some 1,000 visitors come each weekend.
The USS Iowa was launched in New York City in 1942 and was the last of its class of battleships, which were the last battleships ever launched by the United States (the others were the Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin).
The ship ferried FDR across the Atlantic to a war council in 1943 and then went to the Pacific in 1944. It never, however, engaged in what it was designed for and that was shooting it out with other battleships. It primarily was used to bombard enemy positions and air cover for carriers.
It continuing bombarding during the Korean War and was mothballed from 1958-1982 before returning to service for one last hurrah during President Reagan's tenure. In 1989, there was an explosion in one of its main gun turrets which killed 47.
Plans for the ship call for have at least one main turret accessible and for people to see the special bathtub installed for President Roosevelt as he was unable to shower because of his paralysis.
--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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