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  • Iowa Commissioning

    Has anyone read any of the Iowa books like Glimpse of Hell or any of the ship condition reports back in the 80's? From reading some of the excerpts that are around, I was shocked at the reported condition of Iowa from the get go, i.e., not completely repaired, etc. From what I have read, she was put into service before she was ready and never fully repaired during her last service.
    Never given the same level of support as her sisters, "sunk" in war games with our allies navies. If you have read the same type of things and were involved with Iowa and know the true story of her last service, I think that would be interesting to read. Was she an "accident waiting to happen" all along?

  • #2
    A good person on this websight to ask that question is Rusty Battleship. But I will tell you that their are many conflicting stories about the Iowa.

    Take any opinions you recieve and attempt to make your own assesments. I know quite a few people did not feel that source was very accurate or fair.

    And no, I do not have first hand knowledge myself, only what I have read and researched on my own.

    Comment


    • #3
      It's difficult to know where to start. Probably with Congress. Receiving the task to reactivate all four of the Battleships, Congress refused to provide enough money unless two of them were done in a private shipyard.

      Needless to say, the shipyard that worked on both Iowa and Wisconsin found every shortcut they could though they had all of our engineering drawings to follow. Therefore, on my first inspection of Iowa in Norfolk, I wasn't too surprised of things I found not done or done poorly. But I was surprised at things done that did not need to be done.

      It was fortunate that a Supeships office was there to catch and correct some errors though a few slipped by. Also, I must give that shipyard forgiveness in some things as it was also Congress' favorite for building Spruance class Destroyers, Ticonderoga class Cruisers and Tarawa class assault ships. The amount of Navy work exceeded the availability of qualified workers, many of whom were welders from a bordering State that never struck an arc and were sent through a 2 week crash course in learning how to weld - sort of.

      So Iowa had to make quite a number of trips to Norfolk to have some corrections done or add on new items NAVSEA came up with, such as extra communication antennas, begin rip-out of small staterooms in way of a new Admiral's quarters, etc.

      I'm not going to go into any detail here (would take too long and would make muscle cramps in my memory cells). But Iowa was eventually brought up to specs and was only waiting for later changes by NAVSEA to provide Admiral's quarter and out of the weather vestibules to the bridge as was done on Wisconsin.

      The reason Iowa is in such bad condition now is because of the two years she spent at anchorage in Rhode Island with no power for dehumidification and over-side Impressed Current Cathodic Protection anodes. There are a number of other "Rhode Island" problems also but too many to mention here.
      Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

      Comment


      • #4
        IMO, I dont think the book does the ship justice, I've read through several passages in the book, and found quite a few things to question especially regulations wise in powder handling and the decriptions of the material state of the equipment. If those regulations were broken then it can hardly have been the ships fault or blame. In such instances the human factor bears complete and total responsibility. Iowa still held together better then any ship today ever could under such conditions. As I mentioned I dont agree with alot of exerts about the accident and neither do many others. I've also read exerts from the book that make no common sense at all. And seem to point not in one direction but in several. The only bad part is, they seem to contridict one another at every turn.

        Unfortunate as it may be, accidents can and do happen, even in the best regarded conditions and to the smartest individuals as well. Bless the 47, their families and their fellow crewmembers for they went down in history doing what they did best!
        Last edited by Dreadnought; 11 Mar 10,, 19:13.
        Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by RustyBattleship View Post
          It's difficult to know where to start. Probably with Congress. Receiving the task to reactivate all four of the Battleships, Congress refused to provide enough money unless two of them were done in a private shipyard.

          Needless to say, the shipyard that worked on both Iowa and Wisconsin found every shortcut they could though they had all of our engineering drawings to follow. Therefore, on my first inspection of Iowa in Norfolk, I wasn't too surprised of things I found not done or done poorly. But I was surprised at things done that did not need to be done.

          It was fortunate that a Supeships office was there to catch and correct some errors though a few slipped by. Also, I must give that shipyard forgiveness in some things as it was also Congress' favorite for building Spruance class Destroyers, Ticonderoga class Cruisers and Tarawa class assault ships. The amount of Navy work exceeded the availability of qualified workers, many of whom were welders from a bordering State that never struck an arc and were sent through a 2 week crash course in learning how to weld - sort of.

          So Iowa had to make quite a number of trips to Norfolk to have some corrections done or add on new items NAVSEA came up with, such as extra communication antennas, begin rip-out of small staterooms in way of a new Admiral's quarters, etc.

          I'm not going to go into any detail here (would take too long and would make muscle cramps in my memory cells). But Iowa was eventually brought up to specs and was only waiting for later changes by NAVSEA to provide Admiral's quarter and out of the weather vestibules to the bridge as was done on Wisconsin.

          The reason Iowa is in such bad condition now is because of the two years she spent at anchorage in Rhode Island with no power for dehumidification and over-side Impressed Current Cathodic Protection anodes. There are a number of other "Rhode Island" problems also but too many to mention here.
          Rusty: Thanks for the insight. Didn't Wisconsin have fire damage that was not repaired when she was in reserve?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Spence580 View Post
            Rusty: Thanks for the insight. Didn't Wisconsin have fire damage that was not repaired when she was in reserve?
            That is absolutely correct. One of her dehumidification machines overheated and started a large fire in the wardroom and adjoining spaces. It was for that reason that New Jersey was picked for Nam in '68 instead of Wisky.

            On my inspection of Wisky in dry dock in Philly, an excellent job was done restoring the damaged areas though a lot of extra modifications were also done under the close eye of the Navy via Supships.
            Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

            Comment


            • #7
              My understanding from reading was that Wisconsin took the longest of the four to get back in service in the 80's because the fire damage was not repaired until she went into dry dock in the 80's. If true, I wonder why the Navy waited to repair her.

              In regards to the Iowa, the funds for Turret 2 repairs were provided but, the work was never done and the parts are stored in the turret, which is sealed.

              I truly appreciate the knowledge here. It is difficult to find someone who served or had hands on experience with these fine ships, no matter the class.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by RustyBattleship View Post
                That is absolutely correct. One of her dehumidification machines overheated and started a large fire in the wardroom and adjoining spaces. It was for that reason that New Jersey was picked for Nam in '68 instead of Wisky.

                On my inspection of Wisky in dry dock in Philly, an excellent job was done restoring the damaged areas though a lot of extra modifications were also done under the close eye of the Navy via Supships.
                *Rusty, Was not another contributing factor to New Jersey being picked for Vietnam service being the fact that she was regunned prior to being mothballed in 1957?
                Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Spence580 View Post
                  My understanding from reading was that Wisconsin took the longest of the four to get back in service in the 80's because the fire damage was not repaired until she went into dry dock in the 80's. If true, I wonder why the Navy waited to repair her.

                  In regards to the Iowa, the funds for Turret 2 repairs were provided but, the work was never done and the parts are stored in the turret, which is sealed.

                  I truly appreciate the knowledge here. It is difficult to find someone who served or had hands on experience with these fine ships, no matter the class.
                  From what I have read a majority of the equipment from turret #2 was indeed repaired in Louisville and stored both onboard the ship and landside and the turret sealed. The turrets training and elevating mechanisms were not damaged on the machinery pan during the turret explosion from what the reports stated.
                  Last edited by Dreadnought; 12 Mar 10,, 03:49.
                  Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Dreadnought View Post
                    *Rusty, Was not another contributing factor to New Jersey being picked for Vietnam service being the fact that she was regunned prior to being mothballed in 1957?
                    and New Jersey in Vietnam lead to her being picked first in the 80's because she was in the best shape of the four at that time?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Spence580 View Post
                      and New Jersey in Vietnam lead to her being picked first in the 80's because she was in the best shape of the four at that time?
                      *That is what I understand. If you look at the pic of the three of them together in Philly Navy Yard in 1967, the New Jersey is in between sisters Iowa and Wisconsin. Muir shows a picture in his one book of them moving Wisconsin out into the Delaware River in order to get New Jersey out from between the two and into drydock #3 I believe. The carrier Antietam CV-36 is in the background. New Jersey was updated for Vietnam, radars changed, troughs in the heads removed, 40mm quads removed, electronic counter measures added and other updates. New Jersey was the first for updates in 1982 because not only was she updated in 67-68 but great care was taken by her crew in 1969 to preserve her in mothballs when her career ended for the third time in late 1969 at Puget Sound Naval Yard and then towed to Bremerton to join Missouri.

                      *Below was her plaque.
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                      Last edited by Dreadnought; 12 Mar 10,, 04:16.
                      Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                      • #12
                        I think New Jersey had air conditioning installed before she was deployed to Nam.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          That's a great photo! Thank you for posting that.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Spence580 View Post
                            I think New Jersey had air conditioning installed before she was deployed to Nam.
                            She only had a bunch of package air units for Nam. We had to pull all of them out, put in eight duplex air conditioning machines and all new ductwork.

                            This was far in excess of the 365 million Congress authorized because a Congressman doesn't know the difference between a window fan and a true air conditioning compressor (plus doubling up on the Tomahawk and Harpoon launchers).

                            Read my book and the chapter "Calling All Battleships" to get the full story of how we did it, 2 months early and under "budget" making a legal profit at that.

                            Thanks to the enovative financial tactics of Captain Gildea (LBNSY commanding officer at the time) and Commander Pickering (later retiring as a full Captain and the last C.O. of LBNSY).
                            Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

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                            • #15
                              New Jersey and Missouri sitting side by side tied up at NIS pier Pugent Sound Navy Yard 1981. Note mothballed state of both ships (enclosures, bridge sealed up) and Mo is still carrying her 40mm's under the igloos where New Jersey had them removed for the Vietnam tour and other updates such as the main mast or ("spot" 1) Mo is pretty much nude compared to New Jersey's ECM suite.
                              New Jersey is also carrying the Monopole cage antenna on her bow where as Mo has not recieved one yet and wont until she gets updated in 1983 with the other two sisters. Last but not lease both New Jersey's and Missouri's bulwark match at this time. They wont after the refit.
                              Attached Files
                              Last edited by Dreadnought; 12 Mar 10,, 18:46.
                              Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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