USS Iowa

Post 1980s refit:

* 9 x 16 in/50 cal guns
* 12 5 in/38 cal guns
* 32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk
* 16 x RGM-84 Harpoon
* 4 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS

The **USS Iowa (BB-61)** is an Iowa-class battleship, the lead ship of the class, and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named after the U.S. state of Iowa. Owing to the cancellation of the Montana-class battleships, Iowa is the last lead ship of any class of United States battleships and was the only ship of her class to serve in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.

## History

*Main Article: USS Iowa*

During World War II, she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Mers El Kébir, Algeria, en route to a conference of vital importance in 1943 in Tehran with Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. When transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, Iowa shelled beachheads at Kwajalein and Eniwetok in advance of Allied amphibious landings and screened aircraft carriers operating in the Marshall Islands. She also served as the Third Fleet flagship, flying Admiral William F. Halsey's flag at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.

During the Korean War, Iowa was involved in raids on the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan and operated in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to counter the recently expanded Soviet Navy. In April 1989, an explosion of undetermined origin wrecked her No. 2 gun turret, killing 47 sailors.

### Clone Wars

After the arrival of the Galactic Republic in mid 1991, and with the threat of a CIS invasion considered imminent, Iowa was quickly reactivated with her crippled secondary turret repaired only one month after entering dry dock.

After the arrival of the Separatists in early January and the commencement of the Terran campaign, Iowa was quickly deployed to assist in the Battle of New York, alongside her sister ship *USS Wisconsin*. During this battle, she would provide support for ground troops via her main battery, her secondary 5/38 turrets and several Tomahawk Missile strikes.

After this, she was sent across to Europe to make several good-willed visits to allied ports to solidify the recent Terran Accords. She, along with the *USS New Jersey*, would be to be decommissioned before the end of the Clone Wars in mid-1992, while *USS Missouri* and *USS Wisconsin* remained in service till the end of the war.

### Interwar Years

Shortly after the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Iowa was removed from the Naval Register, before being re-added in 1999 along with the other three Iowa’s to make sure that the requirements for naval fire support were satisfied.

She would remain in the reserve until 2012 when she would be donated for use as a museum ship, while the U.S. government made sure the ship remained in a condition to return to service if needed.

## Trivia

* Due to her popularity in Japan, the USS Iowa is one of the playable characters in the Japanese Gacha browsing game Kantai Collection.

## Apperances

* Rise of the Terran Alliance (first appearance)
* The Terran Alliance Strikes Back