Today they began moving the USS Iowa Battleship from the Suisun Bay "ghost fleet" near San Francisco to get her ready for her move to Southern Cal...Sorry for the bad quality of the photo, but just wanted to share this as it certainly falls into the "you don't see this every day" category !!!
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Last edited by johnnyrace; 12-10-2011, 07:25 PM. -
Re: OT USS IOWA
I am so glad they are saving her....now I am wondering what other famous ships are going to the scrap yard.....from USATODAY...
ABOARD THE USS IOWA – This World War II-era battleship, whose speed, armor and 16-inch guns made its name as "The Big Stick" of the U.S. Navy, began the first leg of its final mission Thursday, departing a mothball mooring in Suisun Bay, Calif., toward a new home as a museum in Los Angeles.
By Bob Riha Jr.,, USA TODAY
Out of retirement for now: Tugboats tow the USS Iowa, the last battleship from WWII era, away from the naval ghost fleet Thursday in Benicia, Calif.
EnlargeCloseBy Bob Riha Jr.,, USA TODAY
Out of retirement for now: Tugboats tow the USS Iowa, the last battleship from WWII era, away from the naval ghost fleet Thursday in Benicia, Calif.
The Iowa, which represents the peak of naval military power in an era from Franklin Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush, was nudged by tugs from its decade-long spot amid the Navy's fleet of retired ships.
In a carefully timed maneuver, the ship towed at a seasonal extreme high tide, the only way short of dredging that would allow the ship to pass beneath three bridges, one of which didn't exist when it was sent to storage in 2001.
The Iowa, the lead ship of its class of the biggest, fastest and most powerful battleships ever to sail, is also the last battleship to find a permanent spot for retirement. Its sister ships are museums: the Missouri, at Pearl Harbor; the Wisconsin, in Norfolk, Va., and the New Jersey, in Camden. The Navy no longer has battleships in its fleet.
"This is the world's last battleship's final voyage," said Robert Kent, president of the Pacific Battleship Center, after signing papers allowing the group to take custody of the ship from the U.S. government early Thursday, just hours before the scheduled noon departure.
"There are no more," said Kent, standing on the ship's warped wooden main deck. "This is the close of a chapter, the chapter of battleships."
The Iowa traveled about 5 miles through shallow shoals to the Port of Benicia docks. Along the way, people watched from bridges. Up to 20 smaller boats, sailed alongside, people waving. A single-engine propeller plane buzzed the ship.
After an overnight stop, the Iowa is to be towed today to a pier at Richmond, Calif., where it will undergo an exterior scraping, including the hull, and repainting, said Kent, a military historian.
When that work is finished in January, it will be towed down the California coast to the Port of Los Angeles, where the city has provided a permanent spot for use as a museum and, it is hoped, tourist anchor for future waterfront development.
The Iowa, in retirement since 1990, was one of the scores of ships that are anchored and rusting in Suisun Bay, a shallow northern extension of San Francisco Bay. The federal government has reached agreement with environmental groups, which contend the ghost fleet is a toxic waste site, to remove the ships over several years. Most are to be towed away and cut up for scrap.
The Pacific Battleship Center has raised about $5million, including $3million from the state of Iowa, toward establishing the museum, Kent said. It hopes to raise another $5 million. -
Re: OT USS IOWA
The Iowa is pretty much the only significant historical ship that was still stored in Suisun Bay...Not trying to belittle the transports or Victory ships there, but that's about all that's left aside from a couple oddities .Last edited by johnnyrace; 10-27-2011, 09:39 PM.Comment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
I overflew the Iowa in Suisin Bay a couple years ago flying with a friend in his Lancair Legacy. Even from a distance an Iowa class Battleship is a truly impressive sight. From the air you can really see the beautiful shape of the deck where she gets bulky amidship, the superstructure and the massive turrets, it was awesome. I am glad to hear she is finding a permanent home - clear sailing to USS Iowa.Last edited by JLKnolla; 10-27-2011, 10:29 PM.Comment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
Nice. I'm glad you got a shot of it. I'm glad it didn't get turned into scrap like so many did.Originally posted by johnnyrace View PostComment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
johnnyrace - Thanks very much for posting this. I drive over the Benecia bridge most every Sunday visiting family in the Bay Area, and I always sneak a look at the Iowa sitting at the end of her row. Glad to hear she's being saved, and will not be that far away.Mark Johnson
Strega Fan since 1997Comment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
My wife and I went out to "meet" the Iowa, when they floated her in to Suisun Bay a few years ago...
When she was in the Carquinez Straight she was met with several Fireboats and Tugs, giving her the traditional water cannon (monitor) salute...
There was a mini airshow, with KC-10's and a few other military and civilian aircraft...
We followed her into Suisun and grabbed a few shots, as they anchored her to the Mothball Fleet..
We are sad to see her leave the Bay Area....but the socialist pukes (Feinstein, Boxer, Dellums, Pelosi, Miller, Brown, et al) that have destroyed the military heritage of the SF Bay Area and California..don't deserve her!
But I digress...
She is the Last of her kind, built when sea power was everything... she spawned a class of ships bearing her name, as the IOWA class battleships, built in her likeness...Naval history was re-written when she was produced. Let us remember the names of her sister ships, the USS New Jersey, the USS Missouri, the USS Wisconsin.
And if it's any consolation, she and her sister ships were defeated, by AIRPOWER. The very warbirds we now cherish, were part of their demise. When these modern floating fortress's were built, she and her foriegn counter parts were largely defeated by the next historic military acheivement...vast air armada's of Torpedo planes, Dive bombers, Bombers...etc, many based off Aircraft Carriers...even so, all four Iowa class ships survived the war and all are part of museums in New Jersey, Hawaii, Virginia, and now Southern California...
And time marches on, nothing lasts forever!Attached FilesComment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
Dang, I was hoping to see the Iowa leave. Does anyone know where in SF they are moving it to? I knew she was leaving but couldn't find any info when. Had I known, I would have taken the day off.
WillComment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
Had a chance to fly over the USS Missouri off of Molokai, HI back in '98 when it was being towed to Pear Harbor. Was very cool.Attached FilesDBComment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
I've walked the decks of both Wisconsin and Missouri as well as the 2nd Lexington from WWII. They are all impressive and give such a profound sense of history. The Missouri in particular brought me to my knees. To stand in the spot where the bloodiest war in history came to a close, to know those decks witnessed the flyover of every Allied plane that could take to the air, and to feel them still reverberating to the notes of 'The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, has Ended' played by the massed bands of the British fleet, as all the Allied flags were simultaneously lowered at sunset....
These ships aren't memorials to history, they ARE part of history and deserve better than what the Iowa got from the Bay area. I'm glad she is going to a place where she'll be appreciated.Comment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
Very well said. I too have walked the deck of the Missouri at her berth on battleship row in Pearl Harbor. The sense of history on that ship is palpable. Particulary moving to me is the fact that Missouri is berthed approximately 1/4 mile from the USS Arizona memorial. Amazing to realize that the two naval vessels most associate with the beginning and end of the United States participation in WWII are located so close to each other....Originally posted by 440_Magnum View PostMark Johnson
Strega Fan since 1997Comment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
One other ship to grace the Suisun anchorage, although not nearly as historic, in a military way, would have been the Glomar Explorer.Originally posted by johnnyrace View Post
The vessell Howard Hughes built to support the secret recovery of a russian sub that had been lost...I believe in the Pacific somewhere...
I have spent many an hour anchored alongside her, fishing for Sturgeon and Striped Bass...One time in particular, while waiting for a bite.. a couple of CH-46's with at least ten armed helicopter escorts, flew to the mothball fleet from the east..circled the Glomar several times then landed on the old Okinawa..which was a helicopter carrier...anyway these choppers all circled while the Sea Nights(?) landed and offloaded troops one ship at a time...then they all flew away to the west...and in two hours all returned, circled the area, landed one at a time to recover the troops and then all flew back to the east...????
It was a rather good show!
They drug her off to the Gulf of Mexico, to actually do some of the geological research she was alleged to have been built for...and I think she is still in service in that roll...I haven't heard..
But to your main point...the Iowa is the only ship in the Mothball Fleet, I can recall that had big guns on her...there have been lots of other ship with machine guns...empty missile tubes...old Phalanx mounts etc..BUt only the Iowa had the big stuff...Comment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
Bud,
I have spent a lot of time on the hook there myself. I remember on old heli carrier well. Someone had a old brown recliner on one of the starboard side decks. I always thought that would be a great place to sit and enjoy a beer.
Check this link out, these guys snuck in one night and got some great pictures.
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Re: OT USS IOWA
Back in the 90's I visited my brother when he was stationed at Bremerton. He took us to see the mothballed fleet that was there and lo' and behold there were two Iowa class battleships sitting beside each other. There were alot of other ships there, but I can't name one now! I had thought that watching the Carl Vinson sail under the Golden Gate and dock at Alameda was cool, but seeing those two old gals just sitting there at Bremerton topped it.
KevinComment
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Re: OT USS IOWA
That is a really cool link. It would be fun to do that some time. Risky as all get out, but fascinating at the same time
WillComment
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