Key Points and Summary: The legendary Iowa-class battleships USS New Jersey (BB-62) and USS Iowa (BB-61) are undergoing much-needed overhauls to maintain their status as historical landmarks and floating museums.
-The USS New Jersey, with its storied combat history and 19 battle stars, is receiving $10 million in repairs, including repainting and hull maintenance, for the first time in 32 years.
-Meanwhile, the USS Iowa is tackling significant deck and corrosion issues, with synthetic decking under consideration.
-These refurbishments ensure the preservation of these naval icons, allowing future generations to honor their service in wars from WWII to the Gulf War.
The Iowa-Class Battleships New Jersey and Iowa Get Major Overhauls
The Iowa-class battleships USS New Jersey (BB-62) and the USS Iowa (BB-61) have recently received overhauls in United States shipyards. But the big battleships aren’t being reactivated again.
They are being overhauled just to keep them in tip-top order so that they can continue as museum pieces. However, those big 16-inch guns would still wreak havoc on an enemy during a seaborne amphibious landing. But these battlewagons are from a bygone era.
The Battleship New Jersey, “The Big J”
The battleship New Jersey (BB-62) has undergone more than $10 million of repairs in the same dry dock in Philadelphia that it was launched from during World War II. It has a storied history, having served in the Pacific Theater, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Persian Gulf War.
The New Jersey, known affectionately as “The Big J,” has the most battle stars of any US battleship in the history of the United States Navy. It was the only battleship used in Vietnam.
When she was reactivated in 1982, the battleship had four twin 5″/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mounts removed. She was outfitted with four Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) mounts for protection against missiles and aircraft. The New Jersey had eight Armored Box Launchers and four Quad Cell Launchers installed designed to fire Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, respectively.
In September 1999, the battleship New Jersey was towed from Bremerton, Washington, to the Philadelphia Ship Yard, where she remains a floating museum. She attracts more than 80,000 visitors annually.
The Battleship USS Iowa, (BB-61)
The battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) is the lead ship of her class and the only one of the Iowa class of battleships to serve in the Atlantic during World War II. She carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt from the US across the Atlantic to Mers El Kébir, Algeria, en route to a strategic conference in 1943 in Tehran with Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union.
The Iowa-class battleship USS New Jersey fires at positions near Beirut on 9 January 1984 during the Lebanese Civil War.
When transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, Iowa shelled beachheads at Kwajalein and Eniwetok prior to the Allied amphibious landings and screened aircraft carriers operating in the Marshall Islands.
She also served as Admiral William “Bull” Halsey’s flagship of the Third Fleet at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. The Iowa also served in Korea and was reactivated in 1984 as part of the Navy’s 600-ship plan. USS Iowa was finally stricken from the rolls in 1990 and has served as a floating museum in California.
Iowa-Class: A $10 Million Refurbishment for the “Big J”
The USS New Jersey has gotten a much-needed facelift. “The battleship will undergo routine maintenance, repairs, and repainting for the first time in 32 years, a job that will cost $10 million,” said Maritime-Executive.com.
“We’re way overdue and are moving forward now because it will be more expensive every year we wait,” Marshall Spevak, Homeport Alliance interim CEO, said to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He added that New Jersey was a dozen years past due for scheduled maintenance based on US Navy maintenance guidelines for inactive ships, which call for dry-docking repairs every 20 years.
An aerial starboard bow view of the battleship USS IOWA (BB 61) firing a 2,700-pound projectile from the barrel of a forward 16-inch gun during sea trials off the coast of Mississippi. The IOWA is scheduled to be recommissioned into the fleet on April 28, 1984, after completion of modernization/reactivation construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The upkeep cost for the big battlewagon is $10,000 a day. A behind (and under) the scenes look at how the refurbishing is done can be found here.
Preserving the USS Iowa (BB-61)
The battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) and the USS New Jersey have undergone repairs. While the New Jersey had her deck repaired, the Iowa’s deck is in need of significant repair. With a vast teak deck, replacing her entire deck is not a small cost. A possible replacement decking made from synthetic material to look like wood is under consideration.
Iowa-Class Battleship.
The ship also needs painting, corrosion control, and underwater hull preservation. The battleship USS Iowa has been repeatedly ranked among the top five museums in Southern California.
But wouldn’t it be great to hear those 16-inch guns fire a broadside one more time?
About the Author
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in other military publications.
