Historic Battleship Becoming Naval Museum in SoCal

[Hauptmann]

http://news.yahoo.com/historic-battleship-becoming-naval-museum-socal-150141738.html

Historic Battleship Becoming Naval Museum in SoCal

By ERIC RISBERG | Associated Press – 8 hrs ago

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — Firing its 16-inch guns in the Arabian Sea, the U.S.S. Iowa shuddered. As the sky turned orange, a blast of heat from the massive guns washed over the battleship. This was the Iowa of the late 1980s, at the end of its active duty as it escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran-Iraq war.

Some 25 years later, following years of aging in the San Francisco Bay area's "mothball fleet," the 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill, Stalin and Chiang Kai Shek is coming to life once again as it is being prepared for what is most likely its final voyage.

Not far from where "Rosie the Riveters" built ships in the 1940s at the Port of Richmond, the 58,000-ton battlewagon is undergoing restoration for towing May 20 through the Golden Gate, then several hundred miles south to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. There it is to be transformed into an interactive naval museum.

On May 1, ownership of the Iowa was officially transferred from the U.S. Navy to the Pacific Battleship Center, the nonprofit organization that has been restoring the boat for its new mission.

"This means everything — it's going to be saved," John Wolfinbarger, 87, of San Martin, Calif., who served aboard the USS Iowa for almost two years in the mid-1940s and recently began giving public tours of the old ship during repairs here.

"When it gets down to San Pedro, it's going to be the happiest day of my life, like coming home!" he said, watching the mast being reattached.

For the past decade, the lead ship of her battleship class known as "The Big Stick" has sat in the cold and fog, anchored with other mothballed ships in nearby Suisun Bay. This spring, workers began scrubbing and painting the Iowa's exterior, replacing the teak deck and reattaching the mast in preparation for the museum commissioning on July 4.

Jonathan Williams, executive officer of Pacific Battleship Group, has been overseeing the project, which will exceed $4 million upon completion. Williams credited his dedicated his staff and volunteers, along with the financial contributions from the state of Iowa, for making the restoration possible.

"The U.S. Navy, MARAD (United States Maritime Administration) and the crew that mothballed the battleship over the past 22 years did an excellent job and kept the heart and soul of Iowa alive," said Williams.

"Things are on track and we are following our schedule as planned," he added. "We are trying to make sure nothing is missed as the process is complex."

The fast Iowa-class battleships, ordered by the Navy in 1939 and 1940, could travel at a speed of 33 knots. The Iowa, first commissioned in 1943 and again in 1951 and 1984, saw duty in World War II and the Korean War. It took part in escorting tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war before being decommissioned in 1990.

During World War II, when transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, the ship shelled beachheads at Kwajalein and Eniwetok in advance of Allied amphibious landings and screened aircraft carriers operating in the Marshall Islands.

It was one of two ships of its class camouflaged during World War II— and it also was the only one with a bathtub, which was put in for President Roosevelt. The Iowa also served as the Third Fleet flagship, flying Adm. William F. Halsey's flag as it accompanied the Missouri at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.

A dark part of the ship's history took place in 1989, when 47 sailors were killed in an explosion in the No. 2 gun turret. After the blast, the Navy alleged a crewmember caused the explosion as a result of a failed relationship with another male crewmember. A follow-up investigation found the explosion was most likely the result of human error.

Most visitors are immediately drawn to the sight and firepower of the Iowa's nine16-inch guns, which could send an armor-piercing shell the weight of a small car 24 miles. When the ship was modernized during the 1980s, it was outfitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Phalanx gun mounts. It was also one of the first ships outfitted to carry a drone for reconnaissance flights.

Future plans for the Iowa include an interactive tour experience that will allow the visitor to experience what life at sea was like during active duty. Among the highlights will be viewing the inside of one of the main gun turrets, seeing the 17.5-inch armored conning station on the bridge and viewing Roosevelt's stateroom.

There will also be tours of secondary weapons, missiles, engineering, armor and special spaces. An ADA accessibility plan calls for an elevator to be installed from the main deck to one below for access to the main exhibit areas. The museum is scheduled to open on July 7.

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Web link: pacificbattleship.com

http://pacificbattleship.com/page/museum

http://pacificbattleship.com/page/tours

[Hauptmann]

In this Dec. 16, 1987 file photo, the battleship USS Iowa fires its 16-inch guns during duty in the Persian Gulf. The 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill and Stalin is coming to life once again for what is most likely her final voyage this month to become a floating museum in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

This April 21, 2001 file photo shows the battleship USS Iowa being towed through the Carquinez Straits near Benicia, Calif., as it makes its way toward the mothball fleet in Suisun Bay. The 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill and Stalin is coming to life once again for what is most likely her final voyage this month to become a floating museum in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

A crane on a floating barge lifts a mast back on top of the battleship USS Iowa for reattachment in Richmond, Calif., Tuesday April 24, 2012. The historic battleship is undergoing renovation before it will be towed next month to the Port of Los Angeles where it will become a museum at the Pacific Battleship Center in San Pedro. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

In this Dec. 16, 1987 file photo, the battleship USS Iowa fires its 16-inch guns during duty in the Persian Gulf. The 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill and Stalin is coming to life once again for what is most likely her final voyage this month to become a floating museum in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

[Hauptmann]

A delegation from the state of Iowa looks on as a crane on a floating barge lifts a mast toward the top of the battleship USS Iowa for reattachment in Richmond, Calif., Tuesday, April 24, 2012. The historic battleship is undergoing renovation before it will be towed next month to the Port of Los Angeles where it will become a museum at the Pacific Battleship Center in San Pedro. Opening to the public is expected in July. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

In this photo taken Tuesday, March, 27, 2012, gun turrets one and two are shown near the bow of the battleship USS Iowa under renovation in Richmond, Calif. The 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill and Stalin is coming to life once again for what is most likely her final voyage this month to become a floating museum in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The battleship USS Iowa is pushed by tugboats beside the Benicia-Martinez bridge on Suisun Bay Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, in Benicia, Calif. After resting in the Suisun Bay Reserve "mothball fleet" for a decade, the famous battleship is taking the first leg of its journey to southern California, where the Pacific Battleship Center intends to transform the vessel into an interactive museum permanently based at Berth 87 in Los Angeles. The Iowa will be towed to Richmond, Calif., on Friday for significant refurbishment until at least the end of the year and possibly through the first part of 2012 before the move south. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The battleship USS Iowa is pushed stern first by tugboats on Suisun Bay Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011, in Benicia, Calif. After resting in the Suisun Bay Reserve "mothball fleet" for a decade, the famous battleship is taking the first leg of its journey to southern California, where the Pacific Battleship Center intends to transform the vessel into an interactive museum permanently based at Berth 87 in Los Angeles. The Iowa will be towed to Richmond, Calif., on Friday for significant refurbishment until at least the end of the year and possibly through the first part of 2012 before the move south. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

[Hauptmann]

This March 31, 2010 photo shows the battleship USS Iowa anchored with the "ghost fleet" at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, Calif. After being shunned by the city of San Francisco in 2005, the USS Iowa will be transferred from the Bay Area to the Port of Los Angeles to stand as a permanent museum and memorial. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

In this July 18, 2003 file photo, the battleship USS Iowa, bottom left, sits anchored with the mothball fleet in Suisun Bay, Calif. The 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill and Stalin is coming to life once again for what is most likely her final voyage this month to become a floating museum in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

This April 21, 2001 file photo shows the battleship USS Iowa being towed through the Carquinez Straits near Benicia, Calif., as it makes its way toward the mothball fleet in Suisun Bay. The 887-foot long ship that once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Churchill and Stalin is coming to life once again for what is most likely her final voyage this month to become a floating museum in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

The USS Iowa crosses the Panama Canal at Miraflores Lock near Panama City, Panama Wednesday, March 28, 2001. At 108.2 feet wide, the Iowa-class battleships are the largest vessels ever to scrape their way through the 110-foot-wide locks of the canal. They were designed so that they could just fit through the waterway. (AP Photo/Tomas Munita)

[Hauptmann]

Historical marker dedicated to sailors killed in USS Iowa explosion

http://news.yahoo.co...n-29016421.html

Edited May 13, 2012 by Hauptmann

[Hauptmann]

USS Iowa passes new milestone

http://news.yahoo.com/video/desmoineskcci-18191122/uss-iowa-passes-new-milestone-29146426.html

[Greg Collins]

Hauptmann,

Thanks for posting this; takes me back to when I recommissioned and sailed aboard the USS New Jersey (BB-62). We were the first to be recommissioned back in '82; I believe the Iowa was the second. As it turned out, all four Iowa class Battleships were recommissioned and, with the release of this information, all four are now museums BUT are being kept in some state of readiness (just in case). The New Jersey is in Camden Ship Yard, the Missouri is in Pearl Harbor and the Wisconsin is in Norfolk.

Some miscellaneous information from one who served aboard this class of ship:

The Iowa class Battleship is a "doomsday" vessel. As proved by the incident in '89, she can take her own firepower- something that was always assumed since '43. Prior classes of Battleship were built tough, but not as tough as these (interesting tidbit: the famous photo of the Bikini Bomb test, shortly after the war, in which you can see a ship being pulled "up the pipe" of the mushroom- that's the USS Pennsylvania. Well, that was the only ship that was outright sunk by the blast. The others were sunk by sailors who travelled ship to ship and openned up the discharge valves allowing the sea to enter the engineering spaces. One of those sailors was Leroy Collins, my cousin- also searved as a coxswain during the Normandy landing- he told me that the outside of the older battleships was quite charred, but the inside looked untouched). These ships were built to withstand whatever was thrown at them... the hull is a tri-laminate of steel coming in at a thickness of 18" in most areas.

33 knots is a low-end estimate (the speed of a ship is not only dependant on the machinery but on the ocean current as well). We had the New Jersey up to 40 knots while I was on her and that, with only 2 screws (normal operation)! Oh yeah, it's 887 feet and 4 inches- didn't want to leave that out, and the displacement (weight) is 49,000 tons- I still have trouble imagining that figure as I was often under her when she was on blocks in Long Beach Ship Yard.

The Iowa class Battleships are absolutely magnificent examples of what ships should be: gorgeous lines, they sit in the water beautifully and ride the waves like no other type of ship. It was a priviledge to searve aboard one.

The '89 incident was caused by bad powder (this powder had been in storage since WW2); the other "crap" was created by the Dept. of the Navy as a cover-up (this info is based on conversation with a very good friend who was my Master Chief aboard New Jersey and who transferred to recommission the Iowa and was on hand at the time of the incident and knew all involved). Apparently, the Navy paid it's way out of that and we haven't heard anymore about it.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Greg Collins