Iowa Class BBs

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Armament: x9 16" guns in three turrets, x12 5" high angle guns in 6 turrets, x4 quad Harpoon SSM launchers, x8 quad Tomahawk cruise missile launchers, x4 20mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS.

Class: BB 61 USS Iowa, BB62 USS New Jersey, BB 63 USS Missouri, BB64 USS Wisconsin.

The U.S Navy's Iowa Class Battleships were launched between 1942 and 1944 as fast escorts for the Essex class fleet carriers. Since the war Iowa has seen service in the Korean war in the 1950's, and the New Jersey off Vietnam in the 1960's.The four ships of the class had been lucky to evade the scrapyards, unlike other ships of the North Carolina and South Dakota classes. After the Vietnam war, all the Iowa class were again laid up in mothballs only to be re-activated in the 1980's and armed with modern cruise missile, and many other weapon systems and sensors. The Iowa class proved to be very useful in the Gulf war of 1992 where the Missouri and Wisconsin rained Tomahawk cruise missiles on Baghdad destroying many weapons sites and other military installations. The Iowa class may be over 50 years old but nonetheless they are very capable warships which carry a multitude of weaponry. This includes the famous Harpoon anti-ship missile, the long range Tomahawk cruise missile system. And of course, the largest guns in service in any navy around the world today, the Mk 7 16" gun that can hurl a two ton shell ranges exceeding 30km. The shells can penetrate up to 15m, yes fifteen metres (no this isn't a typing error!) of Steel Reinforced Concrete, - perfect for amphibious fire support. The ship's self defence compromises of the 20mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS which can fire 6000 depleted Uranium slogs per minute. Electronic Counter Measures or ECM are also carried to confuse the latest generation of anti-ship missiles. Submarine defence is the 3 SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III AWS Helicopter carried aboard the ship, but there is no room for a hangar, the Iowas like the Super-Carrier's main defence against Submarines lies in it's escorting Cruisers, Destroyers, Frigates and Submarines as Iowas usually form the center-piece of a Surface Action Group (SAG). But unfortunately all four Iowa class BBs have once again been mothballed probably for the last time. This is rather sad for Battleship fans such as myself, if you're like me and hate the thought of these awesome ships rusting away in mothballs, complain to U.S Congress.