[pvt_Grunt]

Some close up photos too, notice the condition of the timber deck in #15

http://framework.latimes.com/2012/05/13/battleship-iowas-final-journey/#/1

[dj]

Slide 14...you meant.  Interesting they chose San Pedro / Los Angeles as museum site.  I've been to the Missouri at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...the ship where the Japanese signed their surrender.  Not many Battleships left to see in the world...amazing to see these ships in person.

[dj]

Just arrived in Port this morning and is all over the local television news...it is awesome to have the Iowa permanently docked in my home town.

[pvt_Grunt]

I toured the HMS Belfast when I was in London, only a cruiser though so you win.

[ke_mechial]

Great Photos... Thanks...!

[AT_Stalky]

Thank for photos Grunt.

Its good its becoming a museum.

[dj]

I wonder if there are any Battleships left in Europe?  The Royal Navy maybe has one left?

The Iowa looked amazing shown on High-Def television taken from cameras at sea level on small boats.  They had a team of divers cleaning the hull in preps before docking as museum.  The TV cameras on small boats really gave a good perspective of how massive the Battleship is.

As I recall only the Japanese made larger Battleship than these late-war U.S. ships.  The Bismark was probably about the same size but introduced very early in the war so outclassed anything the Brits had at that time.

[US_Brake]

Link


I was a Radioman aboard the USS New Jersey from 1989 until it's decommission in 1991.

I served on the most decorated Battleship in the history of the United States. It wasn't until years later that I became the most decorated Close Combat III player in the history of the United States.  

[johnsilver]

[US_Brake]

hey John.

Yes, I got to go on one Westpac Cruise in 90-91 Aleutian Islands, Korea, PI, Hong Kong, Singapore, Straits of Hormuz, UAE, Bahrain, Thailand, Singapore, PI, Guam, Pearl Harbor Hawaii, then back to Longbeach Ca.

[ronson]

[johnsilver]

Hi Brake,

Sounds like you had more "fun" than I did. The Sweeper I was on was built during the Korean war and was not in the best of shape, attached to a USNR unit actually and we were the full time crew.

Did manage to see many nice Caribbean locales, Panama, Guantanamo Bay, Mexico. Then the ship was used extensively in the Mariel boatlift and this will sound odd for some of you history buffs and maybe not to others.. But we actually pulled in a couple of mines adrift.. Left over from the war.. Bales of marijuana from probable drug runners thinking we were a CG Cutter and tossing them over board.

Then the nice fishing off of the fan tail in the evenings.. That was always the best part..

Many years after got out, went onboard one of those fancy new hybrid fiberglass hulled MSO's that came to Port of Tampa that was open for visitation. It was like a floating palace as compared to that old wooden hulled relic of years past, with most of the crew's sleeping bunks forward, 4 tall. Rough seas and nobody slept. Nothing you don't know about if ever served on a small ship with a shallow draft.

I do miss it sometimes and think back often, as can tell.

JS

[US_Brake]

I once asked the Admiral, "what his favorite cruise was" he said, caribbean.

[dj]

What was it like on board the NJ when the big guns fired?  Obviously the gunners in the turret wear earplugs and gear for protection.  But on the bridge or other parts of the ship it still must have been intense.

I did some research and found that the Bismarck was actually larger than the Iowa class...along with the Japanese super battleship Yamamoto.

[US_Brake]

Link


I put on ear protection and stood on deck next to the 16'' guns when they fired. Intense shock and heat wave. Definitely rocks you to the core. After that, I made my way back inside the ship. LOL

[dj]

Brake is legit. That's amazing...last remaining WWII Battleships still served all the way until the 90's.  Wondering if it is more economical to keep these as floating coastal artillery support vs the cost of deploying Air to Surface missiles, helo's or other options.  

Must really be terrifying to face the wrath of these heavy guns.  I spoke with a WWII veteran that operated landing craft in Italy.  He told me how much they hated getting shelled by the big German coastal artillery. After all these years he still could barely even talk about it, brought back painful memories.