Was the Iowa class comeback of the 1980s just a big mistake?

That was it Iowa-Class battleships Comeback in the 1980s just a huge mistake? Hell no! No other warship in the US Navy The arsenal in the 1980s or since had the ability to withstand and dish out punishment, just like these fast battleships. In fact, with a displacement of 61,000 tons, a hull length of 887 feet 3 inches (270.43 m) and 16 inch (406 mm) guns, these warships were monsters; Her belt armor of 12.1 inches (307 mm), turret armor of 19.5 inches (495 mm), and turret armor of 17.3 inches (439 mm) made her difficult to crack.

But don’t worry, dear readers, this won’t be another debate about whether Iowa should be still in active service today. Instead, I will examine the combat performance of battle wagons from the 1980s and early 1990s to demonstrate why their recommissioning was a very good decision by U.S. Navy leadership.

USS New Jersey (BB-62) and the Lebanon campaign

All four of them Iowa-class battleships were returned to service at the direction of the US Congress in 1981, which was (perhaps not so coincidentally) the first year of the Presidency of Ronald Reagan and Reagan’s more vigorous defense policy. Last but not least, the ships had their already powerful 16-inch main gun arsenal enhanced even further Tomahawk cruise missile, Harpoon anti-ship missilesand the Phalanx melee weapon system).

It was the USS New Jersey (affectionately called “Big J”), ie the most decorated battleship always, This gave the Navy, the White House, and Congress the first real validation and return on their investment.

Like I did in a previous article about the proud history the USS New JerseyOn December 14, 1983, Big J fired eleven of her giant 16-inch projectiles at enemy positions inland Beirut, Lebanon, in retaliation for attacks by Syrian/Druze anti-aircraft batteries on U.S. reconnaissance aircraft. Two months later, Big J fired another 300 16-inch grenades at Shiite and Druze terrorist havens in the hills above Beirut. Annihilation of the commanding general of the Syrian Armed Forces in Lebanon and several other high-ranking officers.

USS Wisconsin (BB-64) and USS Missouri (BB-63) during Operation Desert Storm

The 1991 Gulf War (also known as Operation Desert Storm) proved to be the last battle hurrah for the Iowas, and they definitely went out with a bang.

New Jersey And Iowa Her sister ships “Mighty Mo” and USS missed this battle Wisconsin I had all the fun shooting at then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s troops occupying Kuwait. Saddam’s troops felt the wrath Missouri And Wisconsin on January 29, 1991, twelve days after the multinational coalition began using military force. As noted by Naval History and Heritage Command:

“(Guided missile frigate USS) Curts, With advanced sonar for mine avoidance, Missouri headed north. Weapons crews from Missouri sent 2,700-pound shells into an Iraqi command and control bunker near the Saudi border. It was the first time her 16-inch guns had been fired in combat off Korea since March 1953. Missouri gun crews returned to action on February 5 and silenced an Iraqi artillery battery with another ten rounds. Over a three-day period, Missouri bombarded Iraqi strongholds with 112 16-inch shells… Wisconsin, escorted by Nicholas, relieved Missouri on the 6th, answering her first call to gunfire support since March 1952. The last battleship to return to service sent 11 shells over 19 miles through space to destroy an Iraqi artillery battery in southern Kuwait.”

Along the way, Wisconsin made further military history by using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a reconnaissance aircraft in combat for the first time and then by shelling Iraqi targets and Iraqi boats used in raids along the Saudi coast. As noted by the Dark Seas YouTube channelsome of the Iraqi troops hit by shells actually began to surrender to the battleship’s drones (another historic first)!

Wisconsin On February 8, the turrets went to work again, blowing up artillery positions and bunkers near Khafji after the Iraqis were driven out of the city by Saudi and Qatari tanks. Missouri And Wisconsin changed positions on the gun line and used their 16-inch guns to destroy enemy targets and loosen defenses along Kuwait’s coast, leading to an amphibious assault that never took place. In addition to the physical damage caused by “Mighty Mo” and WisconsinThey accomplished a dual feat of psychological warfare: (1) the aforementioned call for troops to surrender and (2) requiring Saddam to commit a large portion of his manpower to an amphibious assault that never occurred, thereby enabling the U.S. Army General Norman Schwarzkopf famous “left hook” maneuver.

Where are they now?

Luckily all four Iowa-class battle wagons have been preserved for posterity and live on as floating museums. First of all, the “Big J” is poetically located in the waters of its namesake state, more specifically in Camden, New Jersey. To make a cool thing even cooler, the proud vessel recently underwent a $10 million restoration Project.

USS Wisconsin is the heart of the Nauticus Maritime Discovery Center in Norfolk, Virginia, and (arguably the most famous of the group, as it was immortalized as the city’s location Signing of the surrender of Imperial Japan) The Battleship Missouri Memorial is at Pearl HarborHawaii.

Last but not least, there is the tour that I can personally vouch for: I did toured the USS Iowa (BB-61) out in San Pedro (Port of Los Angeles/LA Harbor), California, several times since 2012 and I can guarantee that the tour will never be boring.