Battleships - USA: Books - Iowa Class (BB-61 - BB-66) (1/2)

Battleships of the Iowa Class: A Design and Operational History

The four battleships of the Iowa class, the crowning achievement of US battleship construction, had exceptionally long careers and each in their way left a distinctive mark not only on the US Navy but on naval history at large.
Built as the ultimate American battleship and designed to engage the major units of the Japanese and German fleets, the class were commissioned in the closing stages of World War II, the beginning of half a century of service during which individual units saw action in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War and finally the Gulf War.
As such these vessels are symbolic of the primacy of US seapower during the Cold War, and the preservation of all four of these mighty vessels as museum ships is testament not only to their enduring fascination, but also to the immense technical, financial, military and political resources wielded by the United States during the second half of the twentieth century.

This superb new book includes a general introduction providing the context and design history of the entire class; detailed and extensively illustrated information on specifications, equipment and modifications; and comprehensive coverage of the construction, career, operations and preservation of each unit.
The author covers all the significant events in the life of each ship, including Missouri in Tokyo Bay, New Jersey off Vietnam and Lebanon, Wisconsin's collision with the destroyer Eaton, the Iowa turret explosion and many others.

Lavishly illustrated with more than 600 photos (many in colour), 35 spectacular CG artworks and six maps, this beautifully produced work is the ultimate volume on the ultimate battleship class and a fitting souvenir of these four ships, now all preserved for posterity.

US Fast Battleships 1938-91 - The Iowa Class (Osprey)

In 1938, the United States abandoned the constraints imposed by the Washington Teaty and began work on a new class of super-battleships.

This book covers the design, construction, and employment of the four Iowa-class battleships, the largest in the American fleet. During World War II, they served as guards for the aircraft carriers and their bombardments provided cover for the numerous landings in the Pacific. At the war's end, the Japanese signed their surrender on the decks of an Iowa-class battleship, the USS Missouri. After World War II, the ships continued to serve, providing support during Korea, Vietnam, and even the first Gulf War.

The Battleship USS Iowa (Anatomy of the Ship)

USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship in one of the most famous classes of battleships ever commissioned into the US Navy. Transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, the Iowa first fired her guns in anger in the Marshall Islands campaign, and sunk her first enemy ship, the Katori.
The Iowa went on to serve across a number of pivotal Pacific War campaigns, including at the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf.
The ship ended the war spending several months bombarding the Japanese Home Islands before the surrender in August 1945.

After taking part in the Korea War, the Iowa was decommissioned in 1958, before being briefly reactivated in the 1980s as part of President Reagan's 600-Ship Navy Plan. After being decommissioned a second and final time in 1990, the Iowa is now a museum ship in Los Angeles.

This new addition to the Anatomy of the Ship series is illustrated with contemporary photographs, scaled plans of the ship and hundreds of superb 3D illustrations which bring every detail of this historic battleship to life.

USS Iowa (BB-61) - The Story of "The Big Stick" from 1940 to the Present (Legends of Warfare)

The USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship in the United States Navy's last, and most battle-worthy, battleship class, which also included the New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
This volume explores Iowa's design, construction, launching, and commissioning, as well as its extensive wartime activities in both World War II and Korea. Also covered are its post-Korea years in the reserve "mothball fleet," recommissioning in 1984, and coverage of the tragic 1989 turret explosion that killed forty-seven sailors.

The carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published, are reproduced in remarkable clarity, and coupled with descriptive and informative captions, this book puts the reader on the deck of this historic warship throughout her history.