A Tribute To The Iowa Class Battleships; Arguably History's Most Powerful And Famous. (1930's, Hitler)

[mwruckman]

These great ships were the last in a line of powerful gun bearing ships that leads from The British Ships of the Line like HMS Victory (Commanded by Nelson at Trafalgar), America's Old Ironsides (USS Constitution) and the (USS Constellation) to the British Dreadnauts like HMS Hood and the Pocket Battleship Bismarck. Air power and missiles marked the end of such magnificent ships.

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by JohnHAdams

The Yamato didn't serve so admirably during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Japanese had overpowering numbers, largely aided by the uncomparable Yamato. My uncle served on the American destroyer who, captained by a Cherokee Indian, charged the Yamato. Now that was a suicide mission.

One giant shell from the Yamato essentially cut the American destroyer in half and it quickly sank. But the Yamato had already started bugging out of there before it was able to sink the destroyer.

I'm certain there were many factors that affected the decision to bug out but history credits the bold move of the destroyer with the ultimate move.

Half of the surviving crew of the destroyer were to meet their demise over the next three days. Leyte Gulf was the largest shark fest in recorded history. With all of the blood in the water, it was mostly a matter of time before a shark started tugging on exposed bodies.

The survivors met every year, I assume they continue to do so though attendance surely shrinks due to the eternal tug of time.

Yes....my uncle and the rest of the survivors were quite proud of their participation in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. I believe it was the largest naval battle of WWII. The Japs managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It was essentially the last time they matched up on a par.

Ensign Randy Brown was his name and he was one of my favorite uncles, he was the Best Man at my fathers wedding. The fires of war often produce the calmest of men.

The personal connections are always interesting. I know you must have read many different accounts of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was a crucial turning point, as you say. I would recommend Retribution by Max Hastings if you want to read one more. I remember his mention of the Cherokee Indian destroyer skipper. He also has a fairly detailed account of the later sinking of the Yamato in that same book. Retribution is a fairly recent book, 2009 or 2010 if memory serves.

[JohnHAdams]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

The personal connections are always interesting. I know you must have read many different accounts of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was a crucial turning point, as you say. I would recommend Retribution by Max Hastings if you want to read one more. I remember his mention of the Cherokee Indian destroyer skipper. He also has a fairly detailed account of the later sinking of the Yamato in that same book. Retribution is a fairly recent book, 2009 or 2010 if memory serves.

Charge the Yamato!!!

Produced by Steven Spielberg

It could do well.

[plwhit]

Let us not forget the other famous ship of the line from the 1800's, HMS Victory.

In her time she was the Iowa class battleship of the seas.

[Sixx Foot Three]

Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA

You're welcome Naval ships and military weaponry are 2 of my favorite subjects.

I bet that it must had been awesome to have been a Gunners Mate on those Iowa class Battleships during WW2

[Nighteyes]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

To Pittson2sarasota: Thank you for your interesting thread and the amount of trouble you obviously went to in gathering all the information. Several years ago I took the self-guided tour of the battleship USS Alabama at Mobile, Alabama. Can you tell me how much larger the Iowa class ships were?

I can tell you that. I was present when the USS Alabama was first towed into Mobile Bay, and again at her Grand Opening as a WWII memorial. I have crawled through every bit of her hull, superstructure and armament that was open to the public -- and a few spaces that weren't quite ready.

Basically the Alabama, of the South Dakota-class (South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama) had the same main and secondary armament as the previous North Carolina-class battleships (North Carolina and Washington), and the subsequent Iowa-class battleships (Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri, and Wisconsin): Nine 16-inch 45-caliber guns, and all but the South Dakota carried 20 5-inch 38-caliber dual purpose guns (10x2) - the South Dakota had 16 5-inch 38-caliber dual purpose guns (8x2).

The Iowa-class battleships were longer overall, with additions to the foredeck (from the first turret forward) and amidships (the South Dakota-class ships had a single stack, while the Iowa-class ships had two). The extra deck space enabled the Iowa-class to carry additional AAA (eight additional quad-mount 40mm mounts). The additional length also allowed them to be marginally faster than the South Dakota-class ships

Here are the additional particulars:

South Dakota-Class
Overall length -- 680 feet
Beam -- 108 feet
Displacement -- 35,000 standard tons
Rated Top Speed -- 27 knots (regularly exceeded this by 3 to 4 knots)

Iowa-Class
Overall length -- 861 feet
Beam -- 108 feet
Displacement -- 45,000 standard tons
Rated Top Speed -- 31 knots (regularly exceeded this by at least 2 knots)

[JohnHAdams]

Originally Posted by plwhit

Let us not forget the other famous ship of the line from the 1800's, HMS Victory.

In her time she was the Iowa class battleship of the seas.

Oh man...those ships are beauties.

[Nighteyes]

Originally Posted by mwruckman

...and the Pocket Battleship Bismarck.

You might want to check that again. Bismarck was not a pocket battleship but a full-fledged battlewagon. She and her sister ship the Tirpitz were the biggest, baddest and fastest battleships of their time, with a standard displacement (in 1939-40) of over 41,000 tons, a main armament of eight 15-inch high-velocity guns in four turrets, and a top speed of around 30-31 knots.

There were three German ships that the Brits nicknamed "pocket battleships." The German name for these ships was PanzerSchiffe ("Armored Ships"). In size they were more like heavy cruisers, and in fact the German Navy re-classified them as such in 1940. Even so, they carried a very heavy armament - especially for cruisers - consisting of six 11-inch guns in two armored triple turrets. These three ships were:

Deutschland (later renamed Luetzow because of Hitler's superstitions)

Admiral Scheer, which completed a number of successful commerce-raiding cruises over large expanses of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Admiral Graf Spee, which was eventually scuttled in the River Plate near Montevideo Uruguay, after being chased and damaged by the cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles

[plwhit]

Originally Posted by 6 Foot 3

I bet that it must had been awesome to have been a Gunners Mate on those Iowa class Battleships during WW2

I think if your battle station was either in the turret or on the shell decks you might not say that....

[Cali BassMan]

I see the Iowa everyday, she's mothballed right across the river from where I work.....