Iowa Class Firepower...
|
|
There are 4 battleships that formed the Iowa Class. They were all constructed at the New York Navy Yard and the Philadelphia Navy Yard between 1940 and 1944. They were the last ever built for the United States Navy:
· USS Iowa BB-61
· USS New Jersey BB-62
· USS Missouri BB-63
· USS Wisconsin BB-64
|
USS Missouri BB-63
|
|
|
Two more Iowa Class Battleships were under construction in 1945:
· Illinois BB-65 Cancelled August 12, 1945
· Kentucky BB-66 Cancelled February 17, 1947
|
USS Wisconsin BB-64
|
|
Iowa Class Specifications:
· Displacement: 45,000 tons
· Length: 887 feet
· Beam: 108 feet (Panama Canal Lock Chamber width = 111 feet.)
· Draft: 28 feet 11 inches
· Guns: 9 16 inch guns in 3 turrets. (2 turrets on the bow and 1 turret on the stern.) Main gun capable of projecting a shell the size of a Volkswagen Beetle more than 20 miles to a target over the horizon.
· Missiles: refitted with Tomahawk and Harpoon missile launchers.
· Propulsion: 4 turbines producing 212,000 horsepower on 4 propeller shafts.
· Top Speed: Listed at 35 knots
· Range: 5, 000 miles at 30 knots; 15,000 miles at 17 knots.
· Crew: 65 Officers and 1,453 enlisted men.
|
USS Missouri BB-63 underway in Panama waters...
|
|
Another Class of Battleships was proposed during WW II The Montana Class
· Montana BB-67
· Ohio BB-68
· Maine BB-69
· New Hampshire BB-70
· Louisiana BB-71
The Montana Class Specifications:
· Length: 925 feet
· Beam: 121 Feet
· Displacement: 60,500 tons
The Montana Class would be 50% larger than the Iowa Class of Battleships. All work was cancelled on July 21, 1943.
|
It has been a real pleasure sharing little more about the Old Navy. In their day the battleship was indeed a very powerful ship., which I was a part of in my early career. The Battleship Sailors were a special breed.
click over to another page.....
You'll be glad you did! Take care and drop by again.
Hasta la Vista. I have to shove off now.
See you on the flip side.
|
Photo Credits: Author, US Navy, US Navy Historical and PCC Archives
|
 |
|
Sing and rejoice, tra-la-la, for fortune is smiling upon you!
|
|
|
|
|
|