Pacific Battleship Center

"Fear God and DREADNOUGHT" From our official Battleship IOWA timeline: October 26, 1990: Reductions in budgets and the high manning requirements, plus the large fuel expense of the battleships lead to all four Iowas being decommissioned during 1990-92, beginning with IOWA. Her sisters are retired soon after the first Persian Gulf War - New Jersey in February 1991 and Wisconsin in September 1991.... Missouri is retained with a reduced crew to attend the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1991, before being taken off the active role in March 1992. IOWA is mothballed at the Atlantic Fleet Reserve at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Ship's Deck Log 1000 Commenced decommissioning USS Iowa. 1050 Admiral Johnson, Vice Chief of Naval Operations reads the decommissioning directive. The commissioning pennant and national flag are lowered. The ship is decommissioned for the third and last time. A final paragraph is written by LT Dave Lopez: Like all sailors, we train to do our duty. Our prayer is that all the knowledge of our capabilities and readiness to respond will stay the hand of the foe. We do not forget the responsibilities incumbent on those who cherish freedom and draw strength in knowing the capabilities of these great ships to sail into harm’s way. REMEMBER: carriers were built to carry, cruisers were built to cruise, but only one ship was built to BATTLE. FEAR GOD AND DREADNOUGHT! Thirty years later, we're honored and grateful to be the custodians of this incredible ship. We're working hard to maintain her and preserve her legacy. Your contributions make a difference: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=N4EVZJB5PBANN Join us today!

Sunday Funday! Thought you might enjoy a little behind the scenes on our behind the scenes videos. Many of the spaces we’re showing you are tricky to access. We’re pretty sure sailors back in the day hustled up and down ladders much more quickly than our team did. In our defense this particular one is tough to negotiate because there’s a pipe that runs behind the top two rungs, so finding a foothold is hard. Battleship spelunking: not for the faint of heart! Side note: you ca...n see the condition of the decks and bulkheads in the background here. This area will most likely never be on any regular tour (for obvious reasons) so it’s not a priority, but it does point out exactly how much work it is to maintain a vessel of this size and scope. So when we say your contributions matter, we’re not kidding. Even small amounts make a difference! paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=N4EVZJB5PBANN See more

Back in June, we got a new weapon in the war against COVID - a disinfectant "gun." Our crew being what it is, we had to shoot an over-the-top video to demonstrate it. Silly battleship commando videos aside, it really is pretty great. We thought we'd pull out the video again (https://youtu.be/P6OICc8A370) to remind you of what we're doing to keep you safe while you're aboard. One tank of disinfectant will generously cover the entire tour route (every area in this video is open... for you to visit except the bridge - and you can peek in the window from the angle shown to see that). We go over the route hourly, we've got hand sanitizer stations set up at intervals, our crew wears masks, and we've even got masks for sale in our temporary gift shop on deck. So treat yourselves to a change of pace. Come visit Battleship IOWA this weekend. Get your tickets online to extend your touchless experience (pacificbattleship.com/museum_visit/museum_tours). And click here to support our ongoing efforts to preserve this marvel of engineering: pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online PS Did you know you also can help by liking our YouTube videos and subscribing to our channel? Completely free and it still helps us raise money. You can also become a plank owner for National Museum of the Surface Navy for free (there are perks, too): surfacenavymuseum.org

Your fall copy of The IOWAN, Battleship IOWA's quarterly newsletter, is here! Find out what's happening in all our departments and what's coming for the rest of the year. https://www.pacificbattleship.com/fall-newsletter-2020/ We're also introducing a new donate link for our annual appeal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=N4EVZJB5PBANN Share away!

We're firing a virtual broadside in honor of a legend. Happy 223rd birthday, USS Constitution! Huzzah to "Old Ironsides" from "The Big Stick!" One of the reasons we're so excited about our transition to the National Museum of the Surface Navy (NMSN) is that we get to showcase the history of renowned ships like CONSTITUTION and IOWA, and preserve the stories of their sailors. Join us on this journey: become a Plank Owner for NMSN today - it's free (surfacenavymuseum.org)!

Click here for this week's update from CEO Jonathan Williams: pacificbattleship.com/ceo-update-october-20-2020

Sometimes working late provides unexpected perks. Thanks to Troy Vail from our IT department for sharing these spectacular photos he took of our girl shrouded in fog Saturday night. Help preserve views like these by supporting Battleship IOWA today: pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online

Looking for a great way to finish out your weekend? Allow us to suggest a plan. 1) Tour Battleship IOWA this afternoon (pre-purchase tickets here: https://www.pacificbattleship.com/museum_visit/museum_tours/). We’re open 10-4 daily. 2) Hit one of the many fantastic Downtown San Pedro for an early dinner. (Take out and socially distanced outdoor dining available.)... 3) Come back to the ship for a free showing of the movie Up at the DRIVE IN THEATRE the Port of LA, Councilman Joe Buscaino, and Little Italy LA have set up in our parking lot! (Tickets: https://bit.ly/35dj31x) Fun for the whole family and a welcome break from 2020. As always, go here to help keep Battleship IOWA Museum open: pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online

You may have heard that we got some great news from LA County this week. Check out the press release they sent after the decision... then head over to surfacenavymuseum.org and become a plank owner (it's free!) to be a part of this journey from its outset.

Ah, the life of a battleship sailor. How's your week going? We're looking forward to the weekend. We'll be open for tours (get tickets: pacificbattleship.com/museum_visit/museum_tours) daily from 10-4 and we expect to see a lot of our ops team out working on all sorts of interesting and adventurous projects. If maintaining a battleship sounds like fun to you, join them! pacificbattleship.com/get-involved/volunteer You can also help fund their efforts with a donation: pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online

This week's update from CEO Jonathan Williams. Birthday wishes for the navy, good news about National Museum of the Surface Navy, Amazon Prime Day, and more! Give it a look. And while you're on the website, feel free to drop by the donate page and give us a little love! pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, US NAVY! From all of us at Battleship IOWA, thanks for keeping our nation safe for 245 years. Here’s to many more! HOOYAH!... Want to celebrate the Navy today? Become a plank owner for the National Museum of the Surface Navy! surfacenavymuseum.org It’s free!

Rounding out a few days of 16 gun maintenance trivia... What is happening here? Guesses in the comments. Go! Then come see this mind-blowing vessel in person. Get tickets here: pacificbattleship.com/museum_visit/museum_tours and go here to help us preserve it: pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online (Answer to the question in the comments.)

A couple of days ago, we posted a picture and asked you to tell us what the item in it was. Clever souls that we knew you were, most of you correctly identified it as a bore brush for cleaning the barrel of a 16" gun. Here is one in action. Click here to support the preservation of our naval heritage aboard Battleship IOWA. pacificbattleship.com/donate/donate-online