USS Iowa, BB-61 in distance dwarfs nearby railroad tankers

Last weekend Super-Spouse and I visited the USS Iowa Battleship as she sat in the docks of Richmond, California, being prepared to be towed south towards her new home in the Port of Los Angeles as a floating museum. I say the “last battleship”, because of all the battleships to have ever been built (that are not resting at the bottom of the sea), the Iowa is the last functional “Big Stick”, and is just now emerging from the Naval Reserve Fleet to be donated as a museum. Her sister ships USS Wisconsin (BB64), USS Missouri (BB63), and USS New Jersey (BB62) have already opened to the public as attractions in Norfolk VA, Pearl Harbor HI and Camden NJ respectively. This isn’t really the end of her official career however, as congress has ordered that the Iowa be maintained in such a way that if needed in a national emergency, the ship can be returned to active duty.  Continue reading USS Iowa BB61, a visit to the Last Battleship