USS Iowa (BB-61) Battleship Tour

very cool. props to the vets for sharing and to those wanting to listen to them. many of those guys deserve to come home and be worshiped like members of the rolling stones. most of what they go through gets minimalized and forgotten. cool to see things like this and the nods they got during the super bowl.

history channel stuff like this used to be able to pull me in for an entire night or weekend. not so much anymore with small boys but I still love it.

 

Totally second that recommendation - battleships are bad-ass. There's quite a few options depending on where you are in the US. I've crawled around the USS Alabama, which is in Mobile, AL (oddly enough) and the USS New Jersey, which is surprisingly in New Jersey (Camden to be exact). The Alabama is a South Dakota class, which preceded the Iowa class ships (which the New Jersey is as well). The Iowa class were 200 feet longer and are some amazing ships. If you do have the chance to go into one of the main guns or engine rooms it's even crazier. That picture of the bridge I believe is the combat bridge, but there were also 2-3 other places to steer the ship. That's ~1.5 foot thick steel around the combat bridge - nothing was getting through that! However, wouldn't want to be on the ship when that was really needed...

If you like the battleships, I also recommend touring a flat top as well. The USS Intrepid is cool in NYC, and also has a Space Shuttle (the Enterprise), SR-71 and Concord on display, and in San Diego the USS Midway is impressive as well.

Wish more people took the time to understand and appreciate our military history. Last time I was on one of the ships I asked the officer of the deck (he was a cool old vet) permission to come aboard while facing the flag before stepping off the brow onto the quarterdeck and he straightened up, winked, granted my request and shook my hand. Coming from a long line of vets it's always nice to follow some traditions, even if it's not technically required on museum ships. And the vets are treasure troves of information and great with kids. One vet on the New Jersey talked to my 10 year-old son for over 15 minutes and answered every question with total focus. My son was in heaven!

*(Note - there's an error purposefully included somewhere in the above descriptions - let's see how fast any other military geeks pick it up.)

 

Here's the view off the bridge of the USS New Jersey. Wouldn't want to be on the Ben Franklin Bridge (or anywhere in the greater Philly area) if that thing let loose!



And here's a young hotshot gunner on the USS Intrepid. He loved the gun emplacements!

 

As a kid I visited the USS North Carolina that started a fascination with WWII ships (one that unfortunately died with college, career and RL). Rekindled when I took my kids on the New Jersey about 15 yrs ago... truly impressive ship, but much of it was closed/off-limits. It was disappointing how little we actually got to see.

A few years after our New Jersey trip, I took my son's scout troop to the Buffalo Naval Park and we all got to stay overnight on the last Cleveland class cruiser (USS Little Rock), were able to tour a Fletcher class destroyer (USS Sullivans) and a sub (USS Croaker). The Cruiser was incredible... it was converted to a guided missile cruiser in the 50's. We had the run of almost the entire ship and saw all sorts of things that were off limits to the regular daily tour groups.

 

Years back during fleet week in NYC I got to board the Missouri
no tour but standing on the deck was something to see.
The intrepid is worth touring as well as the sub & destroyer
next to it.
I took a bus tour of Norfolk naval base when I was in virginia

 

I am going to be in San Diego in a couple of weeks and enjoy military history. Besides the Midway, what else is there that I should take in?

 

Great write up & photos
Oh, and if you think we get a bit geeky on this site about the best amp or dac, check this out:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/baddest.htm

 

USS Iowa is great, been on her twice now. Once during fleet week with some friends and then on Christmas Eve last year as a stop from work when there was hardly anyone visiting. Did the USS Midway tour back in late November and thought it was a bit too touristy and crowded especially when you walk down the narrow doorways.

USS Iowa you get left alone, you can explore it on your own time and really get to soak in the history of the ship without getting rushed along. The steel was so thick on the USS Iowa was also so thick that once you get inside, the cell reception pretty much is gone. I enjoyed that since I got to actually enjoy the ship without distractions.

 

If you go over to Coronado there's a great beach to walk around (easiest reference point is the Hotel Del). As a bonus there are frequently helos, jets and Ospreys flying around and always a few ships on the horizon. If you get lucky you can sometimes see the students from BUD/S training running the beach or paddling the waves. Just don't walk too far south on the beach as you'll get turned around by guards at the amphibious base. There are also a good number of ships of all shapes and sizes there in San Diego bay.

The following link is from a company that does amphibious tours in SD, but it includes a pretty good summary of the military sites in the area - https://www.sealtours.com/san-diego/military-history/.

 

Great Pictures, the Iowa-class is my favorite battleship, sad they're not competitive anymore.... I did visit USS Missouri when I visited Hawaii, fun to be standing on the spot where Japan surrendered in WWII.... And those who haven't should watch "Under Siege", the movie featuring USS Missouri, including firing its main gun....
I'm living in Korsor, Denmark, the town with one of Denmarks two Naval Bases, home to the most powerful ships in the Danish Navy (yes I know, just three Frigates....), visiting each year with my kids when they have their yearly open house....