USS Iowa Visits Pompey 1989 [Archive] - World Naval Ships Forums

Don Boyer

28-11-2009, 17:37

Beautiful shots of the graceful lady in the happy days when all four of the Iowas sailed once again. This was the year before Iowa's tragic turret 2 powder accident that killed 47 crewmen. The navy tried desperately to blame a suspected off-kilter sailor, but ended up eating their words (as usual) as they could prove nothing other than the system failed somewhere along the line, allowing powder to ignite.

Iowa remains tied up at Suisan Bay, east of San Francisco, awaiting her fate. Several cities I understand are vying to acquire her as a memorial but nothing definite is in place. The enormous expense of maintaining a vessel like the Iowa, even stationary, has been a deterrent in these days of extreme fiscal restraint -- those major corporate contributions that help establish a memorial, as in the case of the Missouri, just aren't out there now.

The Missouri is in Pearl Harbor, the New Jersey is in her home state and the Wisconsin is in Norfolk, Virginia. Only the Missouri is opened for tours of areas inside the ship (and she is currently in drydock for painting and repairs to the salt-water induction piping and other small areas that are leaking). The current date for Missouri's return is stated as January 7, 2010. (I will be there, camera in hand!)

These old girls refuse to fade away. The US Congress has mandated that they shall be maintained in a manner allowing for re-activation in a national emergency. Funny how for almost 50 years now, pundits have pontificated on the "death of the battleship" yet, from over the horizon.... :)

Regards

designeraccd

29-11-2009, 02:08

Amazing and unusual that the modernized Iowas got better looking in their final configuration besides being even more powerful and effective ships. When I was able to visit Wisconsin (named after my home state) at Nauticus, I was very impressed to finally get to see her clearly and walk her decks (in 90 F humid heat with a soon to be replaced hip!). She exudes power and elegance to my Industrial Designers' eyes. I had previously seen her through the SMOG alongside the Missouri at Naval Station Long Beach, CA not long before they deployed to the Gulf.

Truly magnificent ships that our hobbled industrial base cannot, as I understand it, reproduce today even if we wanted to. Now that is sad.

Thanks for those fine shots of Iowa! DFO ;):D

John Odom

29-11-2009, 13:08

Don't even get me started on the industrial erosion! When we needed a replacement heat exchanger for a power plant that is 25 miles up the road, and was built in Chattanooga, we had to go to Korea to get one made!

I am told that even our new carriers and subs have significant foreign content that cannot be made here.

Our industrial capacity won WWII. It is gone.

Hump

20-12-2009, 13:09

Hi all,
This is my first post here, I hope I've got it right. The first is a picture of the Iowa practice firing her guns I hope you like them. I had to resize them, they are still fairly large but a great background for you Desktop. Same for the other two.
Hump

John Odom

20-12-2009, 13:31

Beautiful photos of a great ship!

NASAAN101

20-12-2009, 14:32

Guys,
I really Hope she finds a forever home, she and her three sisters are one of a kind, that for dang sure.. RIP all four of you girls..
Nikki

Old Seaman

01-10-2010, 17:19

Maybe it should be posted here.

Here is the pic of USS Iowa before striking on Beirut. This photo was taken from the Internet.

melbreak

07-10-2010, 16:03

Hi Guys,
Ah that brings back a happy memory! I made the trip down from Manchester (overnight by car) to visit the Iowa, and was amazed at the size of the queue that was waiting to go onboard! After waiting many happy hours about 3 I think ( whilst waiting HMS Tiger was towed past us on her way to the breakers, another sad memory!!) I got onboard, Wow was I impressed!! Although you were only allowed on the maindeck I was suitable overawed, I bought 2 baseball caps (of the ship) from the make shift store on the Quarterdeck, one for my son and one for me, we still have them! I was so struck by the size and beauty of these magnificent vessels, I have since made various journeys to the USA to visit WISCONSIN in Virginia, MISSOURI and ARIZONA in Hawaii, TEXAS in La Porte Texas, ALABAMA in Mobile AL and NORTH CAROLINA in Wilmington NC ! Does this make me a Battleship Nut!!! My wife thinks so!! Now that just leaves the NEW JERSEY!
Darling what are we doing for a holiday next year? I was wondering.........................
:)

Don Boyer

07-10-2010, 23:53

Melbreak:

You could mention to the wife the wonders of the night life in San Francisco, the seafood, the beautiful coastline, and slip Suisan Bay in later! :eek:

And then ther is that trip to Massachusetts for the fine fall weather!

Alex Mandel

08-10-2010, 22:07

Melbreak,
SALUTE! - and thank you for sharing your story... i understand you very well i think! :-)
I was born and grew up in the Soviet Union - being a "fan" of the US and British Navies... not an "easy" situation for 70s- 80s! So i reviewed, hundreds of times, a few photos in my father's reference books on the World Navies (a kind of Soviet Janes' - as my Dad was a Soviet Navy officer in late 60s - early 70s)... and saw there some photos of the US battleships.
And, although i knew that they still exists and even are reactivated again (the time was early 80s), it seemed very obvious to me then that i will never see them "in person"... so to look at their photos was almost the same as to look at the photos of the Mars surface or so - something that exists, even can be photographed, but for sure you will never see it yourself.
Naturally i couldn't even imagine then how times will change, and couldn't even dream that i will see one of these magnificent ships myself once!
But it happened... when i visited the USA in 2004, we (my American friend and I) went to Camden, NJ, to visit the USS New Jersey... and it was a THRILL, absolutely !!! :-)

Later i was also lucky to visit Great Britain, and some great British ships - including the HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and SS Great Britain... but that was a different story. :-)

Long Life to all the preserved American, British and other historic ships! :-) We need them... and the generations after us will need them too.. if even right now many of them they are too young, silly and careles yet to understand that...

tim lewin

09-10-2010, 20:26

Dear Alex,
In this cae you will appreciate that 70 years on from the Arctic convoy dramas there is now a part, actually more than a part, of HMS Belfast that is forever, Russian; we salute our Russian friends for what they are, forget the politics, we are friends of the highest quality.
Cheers
tim

Alex Mandel

09-10-2010, 21:46

Dear Tim,
Thank you for your kind comment! I'm living now in the Ukraine not Russia, but i agree of course - it was good that Russians contributed so kindly with a refit of the HMS Belfast, truly a great historic ship... I visited her in 2005 and was very much impressed how beautifully she is preserved, both outside and inside - particularly the life aboard, with all that wax crewmembers in different compartments... also still remember the wax CAT(!) lying in small bed under a blanket! - did you see it?... :-)

neil t

23-08-2011, 19:20

The USS Iowa visited Pompey twice, 21st Sept 1986, and again on 3rd July 1989, she didn't visit in 88! :)

astraltrader

23-08-2011, 20:39

The USS Iowa visited Pompey twice, 21st Sept 1986, and again on 3rd July 1989, she didn't visit in 1988! :)

Thanks for this information Neil - I expect Alan got the year slightly out with 1988 when it should have been 1989.

In view of this I have changed the year of the thread title accordingly! :)

neil t

23-08-2011, 20:58

No problems Terry, i know it's easy to get confused. Great pics of her from 'The Towers' at Gosport though:)

vettenatic95

29-08-2011, 20:00

I always thought this was a most awesome observation.

"You Americans do not realize what formidable warships you have in these four battleships. We have concluded after careful analysis that these magnificent vessels are in fact the most to be feared in your entire naval arsenal. When engaged in combat we could throw everything we have at those ships and all our firepower would just bounce off or be of little effect. Then we are exhausted, we will detect you coming over the horizon and then you will sink us."

-Soviet Fleet Admiral Sergei I. Gorshkov,1985- Quote after watching the Iowa in a NATO exercise

brian james

31-08-2011, 22:03

I have an old Pic.... circa 1945 of Iowa in the Hunters Point Navy Yard Drydock

Don Boyer

01-09-2011, 14:58

Brian, excellent picture of Iowa at the end of the war. Looks like they are about ready to replace her feathered Atlantic camo scheme for standard navy gray (she had the same paint scheme throughout the war) and the foremast is probably being upgraded to the latest radar fit.

For modeling and ship ID enthusiasts, the clear shot of the bridge shows the extra conning tower level fitted to Iowa, which precluded installation of a quad 40 mm. on top of turret two.

Thanks for posting that shot -- will add to the ol' BB Collection!

sierra hotel

01-09-2011, 20:32

Hello everyone,

Thought I would like to share some of my scanned slides that were taken on a sunny day in July 1989, from a block of flats in Gosport.
Please excuse the window reflections.

Regards
Alan

Splendid images....those days are gone when you could just zip your little boats all around so close..... security boats would run you down now. She looks to be underway at VERY low steam....betcha those tugs had an experience...

astraltrader

01-09-2011, 22:37

I agree with you Don, it is interesting to see how the ship changed in the 40 or so years after the end of WW2.

The second shot was taken during Nato firing exercises in 1985.

.

Teuchter

02-09-2011, 06:53

Excellent photos Terry - show lots of changes!

BlackBat242

02-09-2011, 08:43

Splendid images....those days are gone when you could just zip your little boats all around so close..... security boats would run you down now. She looks to be underway at VERY low steam....betcha those tugs had an experience...

If you look very closely, you can see a line running from a fixture on the aft deck of the tug in front of her at an angle up to just under the now-empty 40mm gun tub on the tip of Iowa's bow.

This is not an artifact of the slide because, while it is very faint, it is present in all 3 shots.

It is much too thin to be a tow-line, I expect it would be a telephone line, and the fixture on the tug includes a constant-tension reel to keep it from snapping or dropping into the water.

brian james

02-09-2011, 21:04

Three 'old pics ' I have of USS Iowa...Pic1...circa 1941 launching her Kingfisher..Pic2..Iowa turret being installed..Pic3..Iowa in Norfolk Drydock Circa 1952?...

Surfgun

02-09-2011, 21:48

The last image must be from the 80's or 90's (modern sensors and weapons like CIWS & Cruise Missiles).

WGVSr

02-09-2011, 22:22

Terry:
Great pics, although I don't know that I'd want to be one of the guys lazing on the foc'sle if they decided to touch off a round or 6. Note a sister on the far beam and the difference in photography over the years. The '45 picture was likely taken with a 4x5 Speed Graphic and the '85 with a modern [for then] film camera, probably a 35mm, and a fairly wide angle lens. To my eyes, the old 4 x 5s looked much richer than the new emulsions which I always thought looked kind of sterile.
Bill

astraltrader

03-09-2011, 13:04

Thanks Bill much appreciated. :)

brian james

03-09-2011, 21:21

Iowa and Wisconsin in mothballs...Date...???

BlackBat242

04-09-2011, 08:43

That picture was taken sometime in the 1970s or early 1980s before Iowa was moved to drydock for re-activation.

The clue is the Essex-class carrier tied up at the left of the photo. You can see the island and the starboard deck-edge elevator folded-up in the stowed position.

That elevator was a feature of the SCB-27C and SCB 125 modernizations.

7 ships got SCB-27C & SCB-125, the first decommissioned was CVA-31 Bon Homme Richard, on 2 July 1971.

7 ships got SCB-27A & SCB-125, the first decommissioned was CVS-15 Randolph, on 13 February 1969.

There were 4 modernized Essex-class carriers still in mothballs as late as 1989, when they were all stricken from the inventory and preservation maintenance was discontinued.

brian james

07-09-2011, 03:39

Actual pic from the Inquiry of the turret explosion aboard USS Iowa in 1989...

alan.gamblin

07-09-2011, 06:38

Hello everybody,

So I got the date wrong, oh well! sorry about that.:o
Found this article on another website that is kind of relevant.....

http://www.presstelegram.com/breakingnews/ci_18835025

Hope this link works.

Kind regards
Alan

brian james

07-09-2011, 07:25

Great news Alan,I hope she remains in as good a shape as Big Mo......

ted short

18-09-2011, 12:16

Iowa and Wisconsin in mothballs...Date...???

nice picture Brian thanks for sharing
Ted

Don Boyer

18-09-2011, 18:24

If you look very closely, you can see a line running from a fixture on the aft deck of the tug in front of her at an angle up to just under the now-empty 40mm gun tub on the tip of Iowa's bow.

This is not an artifact of the slide because, while it is very faint, it is present in all 3 shots.

It is much too thin to be a tow-line, I expect it would be a telephone line, and the fixture on the tug includes a constant-tension reel to keep it from snapping or dropping into the water.

BB242: Did you work for NSA or the NRO?? -- took me forever to find the thin line you were referring to!! :) Took some sharp eyes to notice that, although Iowa carried two 20mm at tip of bow, no 40mm. I must need new glasses.

Also, regarding Terry's earlier photos that Bill commented on, the battleship in the left background is either Indiana, Massachusetts or Alabama. Only Iowa and New Jersey were at sea in '43' and New Jersey carried the Measure 21 camouflage, not a dazzle pattern.

mapalmiere

05-03-2012, 13:23

Very good pics here, I departed the IOWA one month before it made this port visit. I was a crewmember however, (EM2(SW) to be exact), on her first visit to Pompey back in 1986.
I'll always cherish my memories of that visit, to quote the author " two peoples seperated by a common language".

Remember this my Jolly Jack Tar Brothers , we as Americans and Brits have gone toe to toe twice in our history, all the rest have been back to back and we made the world a better place every time. "Greenies Rule"

Marty A. Palmiere EMC(SW) USN (ret.)

mapalmiere

05-03-2012, 13:27

Three 'old pics ' I have of USS Iowa...Pic1...circa 1941 launching her Kingfisher..Pic2..Iowa turret being installed..Pic3..Iowa in Norfolk Drydock Circa 1952?...

The last pic is taken in drydock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Norfolk, VA.) in the 1986 time frame.

ChrisV71

05-03-2012, 13:44

Iowa and Wisconsin in mothballs...Date...???

The Essex on the left is the Shangri-La (CVS-38) which was mothballed in Philadelphia from 1971 until 1988, when she was towed off for scrap. The Lexington got a lot of spare parts off of her in 1985 during her last Phily overhaul. I heard from people that were on the Lex during that timeframe that someone was killed by an armored hatch when the counterweight cable broke while he was going through the hatch. After that, they didn't allow any more Lex crewmembers on Shangri-La to strip parts.

Stealthman

20-05-2012, 18:41

I went aboard Iowa during her first visit to Pompey in 1986. I've always been an Iowa class nut and it was truly an experience I'll always remember. She entered Portsmouth Harbour to be greeted by crowds as big as those that welcomed the Task Force home after the Falklands, and I still have a copy of the local newspaper that had a large colour picture on the front cover with the words 'Hi Iowa'.
I approached a senior officer at the bow and asked if I could have a look at the areas of the ship that had been modified during the reactivation refit for modelling purposes? He called a sailor over and said 'give this a guy a tour', and what a tour it was, i'll always remember sitting in the Captain's chair on the bridge with my Iowa baseball cap on!!