ain't she a beauty?

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

while in virginia on my last business trip, i got the opportunity to see this.

welcome to the uss wisconsin, the last number battleship in the usa (Although Wisconsin (BB-64) is numerically the highest numbered US battleship built, she was actually completed before USS Missouri (BB-63), making Missouri the last completed US battleship).

the anchors weigh 32,000 pounds each btw.

ribbons she earned

this is a shell fired by one of those 16" guns ( 2,700 lb)

flag flown on the stern

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

flag being lowed and replaced

one of the many 5" guns on her. 5" guns were normally what destroyers carried as their main armament in ww2.

tomahawk or harpoon missile bays - these were installed in the refurbishment of the 80's

view aft at the rear gun turret

view from the flag forward

pics were resized to 1024x768.

from wikipedia:

USS Wisconsin (BB-64) ("Wisky" or "WisKy") is an Iowa-class battleship, 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.

(charles note - the nickname wisky is from the bow being replaced with the one from the never completed kentucky when the wisconsin ran over a destroyer in the 50's).

During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated 1 August 1986 and modernized as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and participated in the 1991 Gulf War.

Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991, having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, and a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the 1991 Gulf War, and currently functions as a museum ship operated by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum at Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was struck from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and is currently awaiting donation for permanent use as a museum ship.

Displacement: 45,000 tons

Length: 887.2 ft (270 m)

Beam: 108.2 ft (33 m)

Draft: 28.9 ft (8.8 m)

Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)

Complement: 1,921 officers and men

Armament: 1943:

9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns

20 × 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns

80 x 40 mm 56 cal. anti-aircraft guns

49 x 20 mm 70 cal. anti-aircraft guns

1983:

9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns

12 × 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns

32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles

16 x RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-Ship missiles

4 x 20 mm/76 cal. Phalanx CIWS

wiki link

last note: the deck is covered in teak, which totals over 4 acres!

the monster guns fired in the korean war

[Mags 112]

That's one impressive ship, Charles.

[William33 110]

Pretty awesome ship. Sad to see the demise of the battleship.

[Amby 490]

very cool charles!

this one is in evansville but I've never actually went to see it http://www.lstmemorial.org/Progress.htm

[Alex+R 0]

Wow. It really is majestic. Thanks, Charles!

[amiquechu 0]

Think they'd let you bring it to some place like Party Cove at Lake of the Ozarks? It'd be a big hit down there.

[Scott & Lai 12]

while in virginia on my last business trip, i got the opportunity to see this.

welcome to the uss wisconsin, the last number battleship in the usa (Although Wisconsin (BB-64) is numerically the highest numbered US battleship built, she was actually completed before USS Missouri (BB-63), making Missouri the last completed US battleship).

Speaking of the Missouri, Lai and I got to tour her when we went to Hawaii last year; here are a few photos:

Taken from the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. Notice she is listing slightly to starboard. She developed a serious leak last year, which is being repaired.

Lai in front of one of Missouri's 16-inch shells, and one of Arizona's 14-inch shells. In the background are the canisters which contained the gun powder for the 16-inch guns.

One of the two forward gun turrets. We got to go inside and see the inner workings

The spot where Japan formally surrendered. I was standing at the same place as General MacArthur.

Notice the rainbow over the Arizona Memorial

I own a piece of the Missouri's teak decking The original decking is being replaced since it is decaying.

Edited April 13, 2008 by Scott & Lai

[SqdnGuns 21]

Pretty awesome ship. Sad to see the demise of the battleship.

The Battleship was awesome and they served their purpose. The carrier has been the NEW Capital Ship since the end of WWII.

FYI..........for those who have no idea why the Marine Corps emblem is on the 5-inch gun, they were usually manned by the Marine Detachments that served aboard the battleships.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Nice ship! It reminds me of the USS Texas (BB-35), which I toured a number of years ago at San Jacinto. Although the USS Texas is a much older ship, first commissioned on March 12, 1914 and eventually decomissioned on June 18, 1946.

If you're interested in finding out any more info about this ship, you can go to the official website or the Wikipedia entry as well. It's too bad battleships no longer have a useful function, but it seems there's really no place for them in today's modern navy.

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

Pretty awesome ship. Sad to see the demise of the battleship.

The Battleship was awesome and they served their purpose. The carrier has been the NEW Capital Ship since the end of WWII.

FYI..........for those who have no idea why the Marine Corps emblem is on the 5-inch gun, they were usually manned by the Marine Detachments that served aboard the battleships.

i thought that was the case.

while showing this thread to nessa and explaining about the uss arizona monument in the background of one of scott's pics, i ran across this pic on wikipedia. it shows the arizona quite clearly in the water underneath the memorial.

[rebeccajo 14]

That shot of the memorial is awesome.

[Leafgal 3]

Scott that is awesome you have a piece of the original deck.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

The fourth picture in your first post in an amazing photo Charles

[Ban Hammer 13,343]

I own a piece of the Missouri's teak decking The original decking is being replaced since it is decaying.

any way for others to get one of those? do they have an online store?