The U.S.S. Iowa left San Francisco bay last weekend, en route to her final mooring as a floating museum in Los Angeles:
SAN FRANCISCO — The USS Iowa — the iconic World War II-era battleship that once served as transport to President Franklin D. Roosevelt — left San Francisco Bay on Saturday on its way to its new home in Southern California.Man, that's one big ship. It approaches the bridge - coincidentally celebrating its 75th anniversary last weekend - at around 9:30 into the video.
Surrounded by pleasure boats and other vessels, the 887-foot long, 58,000-ton battlewagon was towed through the bay and passed under the Golden Gate Bridge at about 2:30 p.m.
The Iowa was the ship that was accidentally torpedoed while carrying President Roosevelt. The ship was warned, and dodged the errant fish, which exploded in her wake. The destroyer that launched the thing found that the ship main battery was aimed at her. I presume that the laundry was working overtime that night cleaning the crew's drawers ...
If the voyage goes to plan, she should arrive at her destination tomorrow.
Here you can find a very nice, very large picture of Iowa going under the bridge, shot from about sea level, showing the entire ship broadside.
ReplyDeleteMy roommate was a sailor on the Iowa, and I sailed on her briefly, back in my Navy days.
ReplyDeleteWonder if I can get one of those 16 inchers on my C&R license. Ammo's going to cost a fortune. But the good news is whatever you're shooting with one of those things, you only have to shoot it once.
ReplyDeleteTo rest now, Iowa. Thank you for your service, and to those who served aboard you as well.
Glad to see her saved, but why does she have to go to such a liberal enclave? At least she's not staying in San Francisco and pity that Pampanito isn't going with her. Both should go where real Americans are still a majority...like Texas.
ReplyDeleteTowed?
ReplyDeleteTowed?
The last operational fast battleship, the last vestige of the great Line-of-Battle Ships that dominated naval strategy for over two hundred years, has to be towed to her final berth?
No earthly language has words to describe how wrong that is.
Divemedic, that's maybe the coolest comment anyone's ever posted here.
ReplyDeleteWolfwalker, amen.
It didn't say she was being towed to Los Angeles. She may have just been towed out of the bay.
ReplyDeleteTechnically the U.S.S Iowa ceased to exist on 26 October 1990, since then this brave vessel has just been Iowa.
ReplyDeleteIowa earned nine battle stars for World War II service and two for Korean service.
Just, wow.
I can't count the number of times she has gone from U.S.S. Iowa to Iowa and back, but for 60+ years she was there to serve when we needed her. May we never again need her, and she rest forever as a reminder of what freedom costs.
I encourage everyone to look over her history and look closely at that last image of the water deflecting as her main batteries fire.
May her name shine forever. Iowa.
At least she's getting out of SFO... they don't deserve her!
ReplyDeleteI would imagine her engineering section has been relieved of any and all "hazardous" materials, including fuel/lubricants. I was stationed in Pearl when the Mighty Mo was towed in, and was actually sitting on top of a shipyard barge when she was pulled down the channel. Still have photos (they relaxed the security rules about cameras in the shipyard for that one day), had to back off the lens just to get pics of her. THAT was a memorable day!
ReplyDeleteI know that with today's carriers, the battleships are no longer needed. But, my word, when that 16" gun goes off so does mine!
ReplyDeleteOh, never mind. ;)