Last of the Battleships: The Iowa Class 

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered here is an interesting detail regarding the construction of these vessels... this is based on something I was told when working at the (former) Philadelphia Navy Yard, where USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin were built. I have no documentation of this, but find it plausible, and fascinating. In those days long before computer-aided manufacturing, the various curved parts and plates that would form the ship’s hull were scaled up from small ship lines drawings in a process called lofting. “Lofters” would take scale-drawn parts and transfer them onto clear plates, then raise them into a tall “mould loft” where the lined images would be projected from a light source to the floor below, scaling up to full size. Workers would move the appropriate steel plate into place and cut the curved shape based on the projected image. When building one or both of the Philly battleships, the lofters decided they wanted to give this ship a “bragging rights” advantage over her sisters... (I believe this only happened for the final one, Wisconsin.) So the lofters changed the distance from the lofting projector light to the drawing plates by a tenth of a percent, thus magnifying every part cut by this seemingly trivial amount. But, multiplied over the course of a ship nearly 900 ft in length, the completed vessel ended up about one foot longer than the sister ships. Thus, the Philly-built ship(s) have the distinction of being the largest battleship(s) ever built for the USN, despite being based on the design from New York.

@@SpamSucker From what I understand, the extra foot of Wisconsin came from when they grafted the bow of Kentucky onto her, making her 11 inches longer than her sisters.

@@StephenCole1916 good report

Stephen Cole I dug a bit more and have discovered that most credible sources put the New Jersey at about 1’ longer than the others... if true, this would eliminate the Wisky collision as the source of the discrepancy. NJ was the first of the Philly-built ships, and though I accept simple variations in dimensional control as a plausible explanation, I also note that it’s likely that some of the loftsmen working at Philly lived in South Jersey... so this could have served as “bragging rights” motivation also, if they had that much forethought on the lead vessel for that yard. As I said, I have no evidence other than the tale told by someone who worked there for 30+ years.

Worked on whisky in Pascagoula, Ms what a beautiful ship!

301steady probably some US Marine farting!

That's sad really

Mosin1929 Probably an IRAQY That Heard Allah saying in those guns, "Give Up, I don't have anymore virgins to give out! Don't Be Stupid!"

on the JFK. we called it a ThunderStorm. yeh. enuff to make a grown man weep at a giant's passing. the Wisco is 4 mi down the street from my home. what a stately woman.

My dad was on the New Jersey in WW2. They were instructed to hold their fingers in their ears during firing. High tech huh? You would not notice he had any hearing problem, but under tests there were lots of freq he couldn't hear, indicating scar tissue on the eardrums. Also he said those shells looked like VW Beetles being loaded :)

Yeah I went aboard her this last summer. Even crewman that never served on her still have neat stories. Also liked iowa over midway b/c it wasnt as congested with tourists. A must see stop in LA.

We were in San Diego 12 months ago and toured the Midway, @@TheOfficial007. Outstanding. I've always wanted to tour the Iowa -- I think that's next.

@@IndianaJoe0321 I toured the Iowa in 2016, I would HIGHLY recommend you make plans to do so. Pictures just can't do the ship justice, you have to see it in person to really understand the sheer size of the ship and guns especially. It is one of my favorite memories ever.

I have read somewhere that there ships could have survived the blast of a nuclear weapon. None one today could build a copy of these ships.

@@JRobbySh That's......not true. A direct nuke hit would sink any ship, and even if the bomb went off far away the radiation would make it uninhabitable. And yes, we can and do make ships as cabable and amazing as an Iowa today. Look at America's supercarriers, they are larger and tougher than any battleship.

Don't know is this is true but I read many years ago there was a hill in the Beruit area that concealed an effective enemy mortar team in some sort of bunker..After a fire mission from the Missouri the top of the hill was literally removed and became a Mesa. Needless to say after the rubble and dust cleared all was quiet . From a friend down under in Qld Australia

It was as Iowa class . Shouldn't have assumed a name of the ship. You Yanks have so many . Toured big Mo in the late 90s. The steel thickness . Made one feel safe alright inside .

@@ianando9459 It was the New Jersey. I was on it at the time.

Say hi to your dad. SEABEE here built his bunkers there. I was there with him. God bless you and your dad.

When the Jersey arrived of Beirut she became known as “The worlds largest tranquilizer”

but they keep them ready in case there needed for who knows what

@@onlythewise1 I don't know about the other 3, but Missouri has had all her modern weapons and hardware removed and she's been restored to her state and appearance she had on the day of the Japanese surrender. The navy also reserves the right to remove pieces from museum pieces if they are useful on an active ship. Unlikely now, but the USS Alabama here in Mobile had several pieces removed over the years for use on the Iowa class ships since they shared many common components despite being in different classes.

@@michaelmorris4515 wow thats cool i might see the gun my dad used to fire the 40 mm, he was group leader of one turret of 40 mm.

@@michaelmorris4515 the Wisconsin still has tomahawk launchers on it so I think it’s the same since it last got decommissioned

Yep! N.J. is about 5 miles from my house. Sitting in Camden, N.J. on the Delaware river.

Thank you for your service.

Were you on board when the explosion happened?? I was on Westpac when it happened and my ship (USS Belleau Wood) was in the Philippines and i found out about it listening to the radio.

Haha, I just commented about the North Vietnamese requesting that the USS New Jersey be pulled from duty within range of Vietnam or they wouldn't "come to the table". Thank you for your service!

Thank you bro!

Arrived on board a month after the explosion.

The old battlewagons have presence like nothing else.

We should nuke China for creating the corona virus. They are satans tool. When u purchase chinese goods you are supporting communism

Oof. Your wife went to Starbucks rather than see a Battleship. I wouldnt lay my wife for week after that. Lol. Glad you got to see a legend.

@@theenzoferrari458 I got lucky (sorta), when my ex and I was in Oahu, we went to the Mighty Mo (and the Sub across the way) and she was ALL about it!

I would like to add on the 1980s "modern computer", today's computers let alone a phone could do it better and cheaper. Heck a xbox one s could handle the computation or a nice samsung note 9 or a general run of the mill laptop with a core i3 with integrated graphics could gettir dun. Wouldnt need that much ram anyways.

I have also been aboard the USS Iowa. Back in 85 in Oslo. I was 7 years back then, imagine the awe I experienced. Even bought an Authentic USS Iowa cap I wore for years. Good memories!

Can't imagine being married to someone who was *horrified* to go see such a piece of US history. Probably shouldn't expect me to go see Cats.

I was in the Northern Persian Gulf, less than 20 miles off shore in USS Nassau, flagship of the Amphibious Force. At night you could not only HEAR the battleships, their guns lit the sky like some thunderstorm from Hell. They never fired broadsides while shelling the Iraqi positions, only 1 and 2 gun salvoes. Once the ground campaign got started the two ships covered the US Marine and allied force moving up the coast from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait, dismantling or splattering Iraqi defenses and breaking up Iraqi attempts to counter attack. Allied minesweeping ships and helicopters, despite working very hard had only been able to sweep the waters to about half way up the coast to Kuwait City. When they ran out of swept channel Missouri's Captain ordered the escorting destroyer HMS Gloucester "Get in close behind me, stay in my wake, I'll sweep the damned mines." By this point in time two USN ships had suffered mine hits. Cruiser USS Princeton triggered two influence mines on the shallow sea bottom which screwed up her main machinery, mission killing her. Assault ship USS Tripoli swept a contact mine the hard way, suffering a 20 x 30 foot hole in her starboard bow which required weeks of work in a Bahraini shipyard to patch it up well enough to make her seaworthy enough for the trip home afterward. What would have happened if Missouri had taken similar hits? Probably nothing major. Missouri was also attacked with two "Silkworm" anti-ship missiles. One missed entirely while HMS Gloucester (remember her?) shot the other down with surface to air missiles. Depending upon where she got hit, if the "Silkworm" (a very large cruise missile with a half ton warhead) had hit her chances are that damage to the battleship could easily have been serious enough from blast damage and shock plus fires to force her withdrawal from action. The Iowa class armor scheme is of the "All or nothing" type with large areas of the ship (about 2/3rds) either lightly or totally unarmored.

Might be History Guy's wife. Someone on the History Guy Team can really turn a phrase.

Ditto. Calls to mind an old, tired soldier picking up his rifle one last time shouting, "Follow me" as he charges up the hill to inspire the younger men to get the job done.

Nate....What a great call sign.." WET FOOT"...yea, a huge, giant sized foot, and stomp it did..!!

Great story!

Yet despite the mighty battleships we lost that war. Winning a war takes more than making the biggest boom. It also takes voters willing to murder enough children to get the job done.

@@danielmocsny5066 the war involving desert storm and telhe battleships was very definitely won

@@danielmocsny5066FACT: The U.S could easily have won Vietnam inside a year. All we had to do was flatten Hanoi, and ID then flatten all other industrial and agricultural areas until the population was starving, dying and in such desperation as to unconditionally surrender. Would actually have been a very easy job for the U.S. Military to conduct an effective, total victory war like that. Here is the truth: The U.S. Military was not permitted to either win or lose, but were effectively ordered to keep the war in a "No win/No lose" stagnate situation for about 10 years. Why a stagnate war? Because there was lots of money being made by the American Military-industrial complex and funneled to corrupt Politicians(BOTH D&R), and the gravy train ends with either victory or defeat. The cynical truth is that the U.S. would still be in Vietnam in a stagnate situation, had not the American people got fed up with being militarily involved in an area that had no strategic importance at all to the U.S. Sad but true that there are those in American Industry and Politics, who do not mind the lives of young Americans being lost in a stagnate war, just as long as the gravy train keeps rolling. It is STILL happening as we speak.

It wasn't Reagen it was Carter who started this

Incorrect, @@brandonshaw7619. Carter was an incompetent buffoon who had slashed the military budget that he had decimated the US Armed Forces. There are MANY reasons why he was a long-term President.

One of the major criticisms against Ronald Reagan, @@brandonshaw7619, is that he put SO much toward military spending.

@@IndianaJoe0321 And that spending ended the Soviet Union. They just couldn't compete.

True, @@oldgoat142. The increased military threat from the US validated Ronald Reagan's "Peace Through Strength" motto. Also, the Soviet government was full of corruption, their economy was in shambles, and they couldn't beat Afghanistan in a drawn-out war. Essentially, an implosion upon itself.

That other ship must have been "OH SHIT MAN CHIL IT WAS LIKE THREE GUYS JESUS"

Rule # 1: Don’t fire on the battleship with anything less than another battleship.

Ah the wonderful humor of our glorious Navy

Thanks for that story. Tho I float thru the Ocean of Doom I shall fear no Evil because I'm the Badass hear. "Hit me" see what you get.

My grandfather told me about that hit, he said the shell bounced all the way down/across the deck.

Yes , 😍The History Guy, and , Nick Zentner ...they have some very blessed students💛📚

See the post above. It was intended for you. LOL

There are teachers out there with the passion and ability to make history (and some other subjects) interesting to students but it is the curriculums that cripple there ability to teach, basically what they're forced to do for there job is to get the kids to memorize some bullet points just long enough to pass a test then afterwards it's all for nothing because it's off to the next set of bullet points and the kids are just glad to be done. It's unfortunately a waste of time for everyone involved and in many cases actually takes the desire to learn away from people. Thankfully for people who do have that desire still there are people like the history guy

Yes i would love to have him as my history teacher. as well

Absolutely! However, my interest in the subject has somehow survived all of those repetitive, monotone, and utterly useless classes.

Thank you for your service, Marine. God bless.

Semper Fidelis! Coming from an Sailor who served in the gator Navy(USS Belleau Wood LHA-3)

The say they can be refitted but I doubt it due to the fact they had to cannibalize some other decommissioned fast battleships like the North Carolina in the 1980s and there weren’t enough parts to go around.

It was my understanding that the original mechanical fire control computers were still used during the Gulf War because they are built into the ship and linked directly to the rangefinders, gun turrets, etc. You can put modern electronic computers aboard the ship along with modern radar, but at some point when it comes time to aim the guns you use the old machines. Something I thought I read somewhere. In any case those old fire control systems were the best in the world, and the US had a huge advantage over Japan when it came to radar and fire control in the later part of WWII. At the Battle of the Philippine Sea the only Japanese battleship to have radar fire control was Yamato, IIRC, the others were all using optical rangefinders.

Unfortunately, the Navy scrapped the spare 16" main gun barrels a few years ago.

Steve Huffman I agree! Mark in Milwaukee

It brings me a bit of pride to know that such titans bear the name of my home state.

Born in Iowa and raised in Missouri here.

I served aboard the New Jersey, and they were the best years of my service... Love her.

What the video didn't mention was how many and which Iraqi troops surrendered. My understanding is that they were entire Revolutionary Guard Units. These, we, in the USA were told, countless times, prior to the war, were the best trained die-hard Iraqi soldiers. My point is that having these soldiers off the battlefield without having a soldier's life or body in jeopardy versus battleship maintenance costs, seems to be a pretty easy comparison. How many lives will be saved the next time a barrage of 16 inch artillery vaporizes and terrorizes future enemies, when said battleship flies that targeting drone over Iraqi troops who then surrender worth? BTW, would it be that difficult to install a GPS package on a 16 inch shell like the USA did with gravity bombs, ensuring pinpoint accuracy?

Exactly, was so happy when it popped up in my feed!

Kinda sad - it’s so rare to clearly see the design pinnacle of a certain type of machine. I think the Iowa’s just as incredible today as they were in the 40s, similar to your P-51Ds, B-29s, etc - and for the same reason.

You should see him break dance, last year he won 1st place as the worlds greatest break dancer. Mind blowing, yet true, totally true. 100% true if donald trump can be considered honest or even a halfway decent president right lol. Trump is the worst president of all time, only thing the piece of shit is good at is lying to our dam face and misleading inbreds and the elderly

@@johnserrano9689 wtf?

William Lane thank you for your service

@Joe Deus If enough people saw the value in battleships, especially the Iowas, they might yet again be part of your life with a recall to active duty. And they would be much more effective than the alternatives. In the meantime, you might want to watch a youtube playlist called "Battleship Myths Debunked" regarding just how devastating they might still be in today's environment.

@Joe Deus You're welcome. If you want to see them back, you should get more people of your kind together to make enough noise to get them back. Places like Iran and North Korea might change their tune with a few battleships off their coast(s), for one thing. Besides, the marines have completely forgone any naval gunfire support (a vital role in any opposed amphibious landing) from armoured warships, a role in which the battleships would excel at if reactivated. I'm not sure making a nuclear battleship is a good thing. Simplicity of technology is one major reason why battleships are so resilient and repairable (besides their armour, of course), and I'm sure you wouldn't want to be on a nuclear battleship whose reactor started leaking dangerous radiation from what would otherwise be minor battle damage. Still, it presents an interesting opportunity especially with directed energy weapons (assuming lasers can get off the ground as CIWS and AAW weapons). Did you take a look at the "Battleship Myths Debunked" playlist? And what's a "lamp" in terms of a mission package? And thank you for your service.

The chad battleship vs. The virgin guided missile battlecruiser :D (no offense to the latter, I would not like to be on the receiving end of either of these ships weapons systems)

That’s because the US Navy hasn’t faced a competent adversary in 75 years. Same reason they still use the B-52. You can use obsolete stuff if it’s only against tiny third world nations full of brown people.

@@Bartonovich52 - it doesn't matter what color the enemy is, just that the enemy trusts in God rather than technology.

Ohio class submarine: Hold my beer!!!

Modern day submarine: Hold my Whiskey.

Tony K The Martine Museum in Norfolk, where Wisconsin is docked as a museum ship, has a giant balance scale with a Volkswagen Beetle on one side and a 16 inch 50 caliber projectile on the other side. The scale is perfectly balanced.

@@chandlerwhite8302 Sometimes I like to imagine that naval battles were really just big ship hulking beetles at eachother

I rember reading a book about vietnam. A pilot called for gun support for some people who were in contact. The pilot at the time didn't realize he was calling in battle ship fire. The troops were impressed with the size of the explosion. If i rember correctly.. Only one round was fired and the nva ran like hell.

@@colin7763 Doesn't surprise me that the NVA did a "di di mau". The only thing more devastating was an Arclight mission.

Chandler White I always wondered why that the comparison between the VW and the 16” shell was so common. Now I know. 👍

Nancy Bode my grandfather served on the Iowa. Always wore his USS Iowa BB-61 cap proudly. In the 80/90’s my grandparents would go to all the reunions. Sad to fathom most of all the WWII vets that served on these ships are almost all gone.... but they will never be forgotten

Our miniature wargaming group here in Des Moines Iowa had some games days dedicated to supporting the saving of the Iowa. The game shop even had a jar on the counter for donations. I forget how much we raised, but I do remember how proud I was to participate. And many members felt the same, stuffing that jar full of dollar bills.

Iowa is my most favorite ship, Im glad she's still here today.

Hi Nancy, my name is Allen. I also served on board the Iowa. I was there when the turret exploded, I worked with Engineering in the Auxiliary Division the same time your Dad was there. I was on the recommissioning crew in Gulfport MS.

Jeez, you sure know how to make a guy cry! I'm sure your Dad was mighty proud to have served on Iowa, as I'm sure you were. I was a frigate and destroyer sailor, so my rating never lent itself to service on BB's or CVN's, but I'd visit them any chance I got just to see them. BIG ships!

She really does look like a hot rod of a ship.

The 16/50 caliber gun barrels were all manufactured in Watervalette NY. All lined gun barrels were!

@@samnelsen7658 Mesta's West Homestead plant was a center for WWII production. It earned the Army-Navy E Award, and was one of only seven factories to earn six stars. Mesta specialized in manufacturing 16 inch naval guns. Watervalette also manufactured 16 inch guns.

Daryl Campbell I saw it here in Australia moored in Sydney harbour, those 16” guns are huge

Daryl Campbell I firmly believe if we took the USS Missouri into the Middle East waterways and fired her guns it would end or significantly reduce how long the war goes because of a significant reduction of morale. Most of those terrorists have never seen something that big and powerful.

my grandfather served on the new jersey though probably long before your service on there...thanks for that.

Maybe the history guy should just start filming a bunch of reality TV shows that noone asked for or wants to watch.. Oh wait, this is much better!

No one: History channel: Moooooore ancient aliens!!!

So True! Thank you History Guy for all your wonderful work!

The History Channel doesn’t do history programs any more. Instead, it airs cheesy “reality” shows.

No doubt! The Discovery Channel too! I remember when both of them were worth watching...

Within the next few years, several companies will be sending rockets more powerful than the Saturn 5 into space. Between SLS (maybe), Starship, and New Armstrong, we'll see raw power climbing into the skies with some regularity.

Perhap, @@JarrodFrates, but those Saturn 5's were a thing of beauty. Newer space vehicles just look ... utilitarian.

@@ELCADAROSA The destination is more important than the vessel.

I saw the New Jersey shoot during Viet Nam - sure was glad to be be where those shells landed....

Lucky you.

I got to see the New Jersey fire practice off Gitmo, AWE INSPIRING!

Thank you for your service..and I am jealous that you got to see one in her natural habitat....stalking the seas!!

@@EldarKinSlayer Me, too. By comparison, our 5" guns looked like pea-shooters.

@@kirk2767 My ship went into combat mounting 40mm Mk 19 Grenade Launchers and .50 BMG M 2 machine guns :D

Beautiful and majestic, yet all modern navies have rejected battleships as obsolete. Wars are not won with nostalgia or sentimentality, but with the most efficient allocation of always-scarce resources. The battleship era was clearly over in December, 1941 with the Japanese aerial destruction of the British Force Z. Even the USA with all its production capacity abandoned its Montana class super battleship development, after the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway demonstrated the primacy of the aircraft carrier to American military planners. And of course the greatest battleships ever built, Japan's Yamato and Musashi, were both easily sunk by US naval air power.

I was stationed in Long Beach in the mid-80s on the Coast Guard Cutter Glacier. I was part of a crew that was volunteered to go over to the naval base as a line handler for some ship the Navy had coming in. It turned out to be the New Jersey. It was very impressive.

Nicholas Griswold Okinawa both showed the Battleships greatest strengths, but also heralded the ultimate end for them. 76,000 Battleship rounds poured onto the island. It was physically impressive. But had remarkably little impact on the well dug in and entrenched enemy. The Marines still had to bloodily fight for every square inch of land. The Naval Fire did keep the beaches clear to allow the amphibious landing of troops. But had remarkably little actual combat effect much past the beaches.

@@andrewtaylor940 True, deep entrenchments are hard to eliminate. Suri Castle was a strong point until the BBs leveled it in a few minutes but caves etc are hard to get. Yes, the Marines had to slug it out but imagine how much tougher it would have been if they did have that overwhelming naval fire support. I cannot imagine us doing that again today. The beauty if ships like that is that heavy artillery is only a minute or two away whereas airplanes can take many minutes to arrive if they are available and loaded with the proper ordnance. Once they drop it is hours before they can come back. The BBs would be ready to repeat the fire mission in less than a minute.

Nicholas Griswold My point was more Saipan and Okinawa really highlighted the Battleships diminishing role in Warfare. With the end of the Battleline they had mainly lost their principle designed purpose of naval on naval engagement. Their last offensive combat role was shore bombardment. But while powerful and useful in that role, it was still a niche task and not a very cost effective one for something as operationally expensive as a Battleship. It’s both strange and a little sad that by the end of WW2 the Mighty Fast Battleships best and most effective role was as Anti Aircraft defense of the Carriers. Becoming in many ways the forebears of the modern AEGIS Cruisers.

The bursting charge of the HC round is only 153 pounds while an SBD/SBF airplane is at least 2000 pounds. Most of the weight of the BB projectile goes to casing while most of the arial bomb goes to the bursting charge. An airwing can deliver far more effective ordinance than a BB for any time constraint, and that was the justification given by the Navy's own intelligence to go almost entirely carriers. The battleship was highly vulnerable to torpedoes, meaning the weakest least expensive ship could destroy the most expensive ship, and indeed that is what happened when PT boats ambushed battleships just before the battle of San Bernardino straights.

@@andrewtaylor940 What you say is true which is why they are too expensive. Aegis Class Cruisers, however, are not any real great threat. They have little real firepower. Yes, they have cruise missiles which are expensive ways to blow up tin shacks, if they function. I have been part of a strike package that got past such vessels with a little direct terrain masking ECM and very low altitude/ high speed ingress and was able to engage the Aircraft Carrier with a simulated ordnance load of the nine ship strike package that would have most likely sent the carrier to the bottom. As one of my submariner friends says, there are submarines and then there are targets. It will be interesting to see if the Chinese are able to counter the US Aircraft Carrier with their new systems and render it just as obsolete. My point is that we can no longer project power ashore like we used to and amphibious invasions may also be obsolete as we cannot bring enough force to bear. The British invasion of the Falklands is a text book example of what a small Air Force can accomplish against a fleet close to shore. If the Argentines had not run out of Exocets I am sure the Royal Navy would have fared much worse.

Did you know they actually tried to get the battleship Wisconsin to Wisconsin but it wouldn’t fit through the locks

If they were to put reactors in that would be a good upgrade though they would need to put more steel over the 5 inch gun powder magazine rooms, it’s a bit of a weak spot. If push came to shove they could replace some the 16 inch rifles with rail guns and add laser anti missile systems automated bofors and more missile batteries along with replacing the old dual 5 inch guns with the modern fast firing ones. Of course a huge warehouse/ museum would be needed to store the material that this would displace.

One big issue with the Iowas along with the South Dakota class battleships was in its armour belt. While it was only 12.1 in and inclined at 19 degrees. It was attached to the structure of the ship. So if it was damaged. That section including the framing would have needed to be repaired, which wasnt easy even during the 40s. Even if the Belt armour wasnt penetrated, the damage to the side of the ship would have caused flooding that could hardly be contained

@@curiousentertainment3008 Sadly, Railguns and Laser systems for naval warfare are mostly science fiction, not science fact. In fact, a railgun is practically useless for naval gunfire because it is a direct fire weapon...i.e. it can only fire effective kill shots on a direct line of sight with the target; indirect or parabolic fire with a railgun is technically possible but literally pointless because a railgun slug is a solid kinetic mass and is incapable of carrying high yield explosives (the g-forces generated at launch compress the explosives, causing detonation). Firing a non-explosive projectile over the horizon, by the time all the physics is said and done, would have less force than a standard 155mm shell. Railguns will likely never be used as naval gun assets, although they would excel as interceptors and replacements for current CIWS systems with their ability to generate higher forces on line-of-sight direct fire impacts due to their MUCH higher projectile velocities.

@@curiousentertainment3008 I imagine the reactors alone would have been north of $1 billion per vessel, and rail guns aren't viable yet (the Navy canceled the version they were working on), to say nothing of 25 years ago. A bigger problem is the lack of spare parts for all the other systems throughout the ship. The Navy has largely standardized on a number of vessel classes (Burkes of three flights with possibly a fourth to come, Nimitz and soon the Ford-class carriers, etc.) and set up long-term supply chains. The Iowas would not benefit from either of those in that they were less standard (I'm aware that many ships in a single class have their differences) and there are no supply chains left, further raising the costs. Ultimately, air power from the Navy and Air Force are more efficient in terms of cost and effect than bringing the old girls back.

@@digitalis2977 You don't have to run a railgun always at full power, so indirect fire with explosive shells should still be possible. Another question is if the caliber is big enough for a relevant explosive load.

It worked

As long as you can't strike back, we'll send in our best boats to thwart you. Otherwise, those boats would be toast.

@@lololomo5484 LOL - What are you going to "strike back" against an Iowa class with? Unless you're planning to lob a nuke at it, you're probably going to a have a bad day going up against a battleship (and, yes, that includes if you're firing missiles or attempting to drop bombs from an aircraft.) And good luck getting close enough to fire a torpedo... and, even if you did, it would be unlikely to penetrate the armor. And then you would find yourself on the wrong end of those 16" batteries.

Yep!

I got to walk her decks when I was a kid in Bremington, Washington. Not something you forget.

Two silkworm missiles were fired at Missouri during the Gulf War- one missed and the other was shot down by a Sea Dart missile fired from HMS Gloucester. the general agreement seems to be that it would have done little damage to the ship's armor, but still could have caused casualties.

As I recall the '80s upgrade also included the Phalanx close in anti-missile weapons system.

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel I suspect that it would take 15-20 Tomahawks to actually sink an Iowa, but probably only 5 or 6 to take out enough radar and fire control to be a mission kill. So, a couple days later the Iowa would be back and turn the enemy boat into a non-rising submarine. In the last season of the tv show The Last Ship, bad guys manage to steal an Iowa and do a little refitting (after the pandemic and civil war depicted in the show, security on a museum ship was probably low priority) and a 16" shell hitting the hero Arleigh Burke class justifiably led the crew of the latter to recreate Monty Python's RUN AWAY skit. A modern 5" shell against Iowa hull armor would scuff the paint, although the destroyer ought to be maneuverable enough that it would be a lucky strike indeed for the Iowa.

There is a reason why they are called the tin can fleet.

Yeah I'm pretty sure it was 89 she came out.

I’ve visited the Missouri when I was in Hawaii. Absolutely moving to to be able to stand in the spot where the Japanese surrender instruments of WWII were signed. Also, it’s moving and fitting it’s docked in Pearl Harbor right next to Ford Island and the Arizona Memorial. Where the Japanese started the War with the US and where it was ended.

Ever notice there's never anyone on deck in all those old reels showing the main batteries being fired? That's because the noise and the muzzle blast would seriously injure or kill anyone near them. So much for 'speaking softly' lol

@@ttystikkrocks1042 - That's the point. The Captain does the speaking. The Iowa is the big stick. I think they were also nicknamed the Big Sticks at one point too.

You understand you can find your "primary references" through google right

I was also a child of the 70's and i loved that show. I loved the Japanese anime cartoons back then.

I watched it too as a kid!!!! Just thought of it and was trying to find it recently!!!

@@wheels-n-tires1846 I found my copy on Amazon. Bought season 1 of Star Blazers a few years ago and finally broke down and bought Space Battleship Yamato 2199 a few days ago. Can't wait to watch.

@@catjudo1 thanks!!! Funny how the stuff from childhood makes a return... Ill def be making an order!!!

@@wheels-n-tires1846 No prob. BTW, likes on the Dodge Stealth R/T. That car came out when I was in high school and I've liked it ever since. Mitsubishi made better Chryslers.

I do

A match.

I used a Zippo. Still have it, still works.

@@markhalstead7691 yeh zippos ruled. butane lighters were prohibited in firerooms.

@@em1osmurf why were butane lighters prohibited?

Bobby Cars cool! Thank you. Mark in Milwaukee

I don't know about the other 3, but if you have an Iowa ID, and go tour the Iowa there is no charge.

You are missing the Kentucky

@@michaeldye5257 It's in Norfolk as part of the Kisconsin.

Dan Zervos I know but I just love 2 battleships in one

I took my family on a visit in Norfolk, VA when the U.S.S. NEW JERSEY was in Port. A 3rd class gunners mate explained the 16 gun operation to us and about 10 others. Visited the North Carolina and Mobile, Mississippi battleship display with wife and children. All freeworld battleships in WW2 had a important role to bring the war to a final end to such wasteful global conflict power struggle. Peace will only come as true peace makers stand up to renegades of unjust fighting.

Makes sense, everyone carried lighters back then.

@@travistucker1033 yeah, everything on the ship runs off of steam generated by the boilers. It was a fully modernized ship with electronic weapons systems, radar, and navigation but all of that is run on electricity generated by steam.But something has to ignite the boilers. I just find it a bit whimsical to start a battleship with a zippo lighter. Sort of like starting a 747 with a key.

Now days there would be some special tool to light it. Purchased by the Pentagon for hundreds of dollars.

hundreds of thousands of dollars*

@@spikespa5208 Yep, $5 to build it, $100 to design it, hundreds of thousands to fill out the paperwork and go through the requisition process. And its existence will be Secret, design will be Top Secret. I've seen some of those military requisitions where they quite literally could have purchased *every* vendor's offering for what was spent on the bidding process.

The Iowa wouldn't last an hour against a real enemy. See for example the General Belgrano, converted into a home for deep sea life by a Royal Navy submarine.

Daniel Mocsny ha, sure buddy!

@@humanerror8787 Daniel Mocsny is right, modern anti ship weapons do far more damage than the Iowa class were designed for. Just 1 modern torpedo would break their backs and sink them, due mainly to the targeting difference of exploding beneath the ship and creating a large bubble of zero support for the hull. An anti-ship missile getting past their defenses would likely cause enough damage to force them out of the fight for repairs. Taking the original Iowa class plans and updating them to handle modern threats and building from scratch would give a much better result.

@@jaquigreenlees 1 modern torp isn't going to sink an Iowa, with a triple bottom. It would hurt, for sure, but she's not going under. They could absorb a few missiles and still fight, though.

​@@danielmocsny5066 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

The UAV was from the Wisconsin.

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Not saying this old man is deaf or anything but I definately misheard you then :) For those who are not sure what we are talking about I am sure the video of Iraqi troops surrendering to a drone can be found on youtube

Common myth. WisKy is not an inch longer than she ever was. Only the lower part of her bow was replaced, the top (deck) part, which is where the length is measured, is still original.

I'm not sure pacfanweb , admiral crunch is an admiral after all. Plus his cereal is pretty iconic.

Jean-luc Picard when did he get promoted to Admiral? Man, I really haven’t kept up.

@@Justanotherconsumer Its actually my first name, CAP'N ADMIRAL TIBERIUS CRUNCH

@@ws2228 congratulations! Comrade!

Taun Also the MG3 which is based on the MG42, but ok it’s currently more and more being replaced by the MG4 and MG5.

Taun, Ma Deuce and the M1911, both from the creative talent of John Moses Browning. (Along with a WHOLE BUNCH of others.) steve

That's why me keep club.

It's cost, in WW2 both the Italian and Japanese navies never had enough fuel to operate their BBs. The Italian BBs spent most of the war in port as did Yamamoto and Musashi (Japan's 18" armed BBs) for lack of fuel. In fact the Pearl Harbour attack and SE Asia campaign used the last of Japan's reserve of fuel oil at that time.

The M60 tank and M113 as well

I've heard that story and it is great. Don't piss off a Battleship Captain is the moral of the story.

I had orders to her out of A school in 1990 too!!! Changed before i got to go though😖

This time with rocket engines to fly into space

@@taterater1052 Alongside Spacebattleship Yamato??😂

The original War of the Worlds has battleships engaging the Tripods (ineffectively).

You have been reading too many John Ringo books.

Martians? It could be worse. It could be the Chinese.

Iowa frequently has cruise ships as dock neighbors, and it almost looks small compared to many of them!

My mother is a crack-whore in Wisconsin.

Bob Stern thank you!! Mark in Milwaukee Wisconsin! Go Packers

@@Sphere723 - I thank her for her service.

There is a common misconception that the broadside moved the ship sideways. That was caused by an optical illusion, as the water is moved by the concussion of the blast.

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Maybe so but the myth of moving sideways is embedded deep in navy lore and most likely always will be.

It's like many other things, it's simply outclassed by guided missiles that can be fired from much further away.

@@jamesaustralian9829 - But a shell is a millionth of the price. Well, at least a thousandth.

@@jamesaustralian9829 eventually it will get to the point where the missiles cost too much to be used for the "mundane" task of fire support and the 5 inch guns will be the ones doing that... assuming future ships even have them.

@@deadfreightwest5956 Probably closer to ~300-600 than a million. A BMG-109 Tomahawk have been as cheap as $600k per round. And accuracy? A Tomahawk goes percisely where it's waypoints send it and with a range of ~1000 miles it's far more versitle than a 16" round. For value, it's hard to beat a Tomahawk, one of the best PGM ever made. That's the reason battleships although cool are technology historical relics in moden warfare.

James Australian....I know you are right on range and accuracy....but guided missiles are much larger (thus more able to be shot down), were an artillery shell is nearly unstoppable. Plus electronic warfare cannot affect a fired shell.