USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

**USS *Wisconsin* (BB-64)** is an *Iowa*-class battleship and the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and launched on 7 December 1943 (the second anniversary of the Pearl Harbor raid), sponsored by Margaret Goodland, wife of Governor Walter Goodland of Wisconsin.

During her career, *Wisconsin* served in the Pacific theater of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. **add more info here** During the Korean War, *Wisconsin* shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned. She was reactivated in 1987; after a modernization program, she participated in Operation Desert Storm in January and February 1991.

*Wisconsin* was last decommissioned in 1991 after a total of 46 years of active service in the fleet, and having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, as well as a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War. She currently functions as a museum ship operated by Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. *Wisconsin* was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and was donated for permanent use as a museum ship. On 15 April 2010, the City of Norfolk officially took over ownership of the ship.

Throughout most of her life, she was paired with her sister, USS Illinois, a converted aircraft carrier.

## USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

### Construction

*Wisconsin* was one of the "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. She was the third of six completed ships of the *Iowa* class of battleships. Her keel was laid down on 25 January 1941, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was launched on 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Goodland, wife of Walter S. Goodland, the Governor of Wisconsin, and commissioned on 16 April 1944, with Captain Earl E. Stone in command.

*Wisconsin*'s main battery consisted of nine 16 in (406 mm)/50 cal Mark 7 guns, which could fire 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) armor-piercing shells some 20 mi (32 km). The secondary battery consisted of 20 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns in 10 twin turrets, which could fire at targets up to 10 mi (16 km) away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of allied aircraft carriers; to this end, *Wisconsin* was fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm antiaircraft guns to defend allied carriers from enemy airstrikes. When reactivated in 1987, *Wisconsin* had her 20 mm and 40 mm AA guns removed, and was outfitted with Phalanx CIWS mounts for protection against enemy missiles and aircraft, and armored box launchers and quad cell launchers designed to fire Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, respectively. *Wisconsin* and her sister ship *Missouri* were fitted with thicker transverse bulkhead armor, 14.5 inches (368 mm), compared to 11.3 inches (287 mm) in the first two ships of her class, the *Iowa* and *New Jersey*.

Although her keel was laid after USS *Missouri*'s, she was commissioned before *Missouri*'s commissioning date. Thus, *Wisconsin*'s construction began after *Missouri*'s, and finished earlier.

### Museum Ship (1992–present)

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the absence of a perceived threat to the United States came drastic cuts in the defense budget. The high cost of maintaining and operating battleships as part of the United States Navy's active fleet became uneconomical; as a result, *Wisconsin* was decommissioned on 30 September 1991 after 46 total years of active service, and joined the Reserve Fleet at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) on 12 January 1995, then on 15 October 1996, she was moved to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. On 7 December 2000, the battleship was towed from Portsmouth, Virginia, and berthed adjacent to Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk. On 16 April 2001 the battleship's weather decks were opened to the public by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, a U.S. Navy museum charged with *Wisconsin*'s interpretation and public visitation.

*Wisconsin* was considered to be named as one of two US Navy battleships to be maintained in the United States Navy reserve fleets in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 as shore-bombardment vessels. However, *Wisconsin* was not chosen with Iowa, in favor of leaving the USS Kentucky in service with Iowa being the only one to be maintained as a reserve ship. In addition, the cost of modernizing the battleships was estimated to be around $500 million for reactivation and $1.5 billion for a full modernization program.