1938:
With being the the lead class of fast battleships the design plans began.
1940:
June 27 - Keel laid at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York
World War II:
1942:
August 27 - Sponsored by the Second Lady of the United States and wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Henry A. Wallace, helps launch the USS Iowa. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt attended the ceremony. Her sleek lines and raked bow foretells her high speed.
1943:
February 22 - USS Iowa was commissioned. The commanding officer was Captain John L. McCrea USN. She was the first ship of her class of battleship to be commissioned by the United States.
February 24 - To sea for shakedown in Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast.
July 9 - USS Iowa completed her post shakedown overhaul.
August 27 - USS Iowa left for Newfoundland and the North Atlantic for her first war patrol assignment, the Tirptiz Watch. The Tirpitz was a German battleship threatening Norwegian waters during WWII.
October 25 - USS Iowa was at the Norfolk Navy Yard for two weeks of maintenance in preparation to transport President Franklin Delano Rossevelt and his staff to North Africa for the Tehran Conference.
November 12 - USS Iowa was en route to North Africa for the Tehren Conference with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his staff on board for the secret meeting with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.
November 14 - at Roosevelt's request, the USS Iowa conducted an anti-aircraft drill to demonstrate her defensive capabilities. One of the escort ships that participated in the drill, destroyer USS William D. Porter, performed a torpedo drill. The Porter mistakenly discharged a live torpedo from one its tubes and the torpedo headed directly for USS Iowa. The Porter tried numerous times to signal Iowa via blinker light. When the crew of the USS Iowa did not respond the William D. Porter crew decided to break radio silence to warn the Iowa of the danger. Iowa made a hard right to avoid the torpedo and it exploded in the ships wake. When President Roosevelt learned of the incoming torpedo he asked his Secret service detail to move his wheelchair the side of the ship for a better view.
December 16 - With the completion of the conference USS Iowa returns President Roosevelt and his staff back to the United States.
1944:
January 2 - The USS Iowa traveled as the flagship to the Pacific of Battleship Division 7 and became a charter member of the famous Pacific Fleet Task Force. Her sister ship, USS New Jersey accompanied the USS Iowa.
January 7 - USS Iowa traveled through the Panama Canal . The second such battleship named USS Iowa to do so.
January 29 to February 3 - USS Iowa supported carrier air strikes made by Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman's Task Group 38.3 (TG 38.3) against Kwajalein and Eniwetok atolls.
February 16 - USS Iowa first fired her weapons in an attack on the Japanese naval base at Truk in the Carolina Islands.
February 21 - Underway with the Fast Carrier Task Force, TF 58 or TF 38, depending on whether it was part of the 5th Fleet or 3rd Fleet, while it conducted the first strikes against Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam in the Mariana Islands. During this action, Iowa, along with her sister shjip USS New Jersey, sank the Japanese light cruiser Katori, having escaped Truk the day before following Operation Hailstone, the US air attack on Truk.
March 18 - Flying the flag of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee, Commander Battleships, Pacific, USS Iowa fired her first shore bombardment against Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands. During this she received her first hit when she was struck by a 5 inch and a 6 inch Japanese projectiles. The 6 inch projectile hit turret 2 and the 5 inch hit the hull plating, neither caused significant damage to USS Iowa.
March 30 - USS Iowa participated in Task Group 58, supporting air strikes against Palau and Woleai Islands.
April 22 to 28 - USS Iowa supported air raids on Hollandia (now known as Jayapura), Aitape, and Wake Islands to support Army forces on Aitape and at Tanahmerah and Humboldt Bays in New Guinea.
April 29 and 30 - Iowa joined the Task Force's second strike on Truk.
May 1 - USS Iowa bombarded airfield, bombed the wharf and other enemy facilities at Ponape.
June 12 - Iowa protected the American carriers during air strikes on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Rota, and Pagan Island.
June 13 and 14 - Iowa was detached to bombard enemy installations on Saipan and Tinian.
June 19 - In an engagement known as the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Iowa, as part of the battle line of TF 58, helped repel four massive air raids launched by the Japanese Middle Fleet. This resulted in the almost complete destruction of Japanese carrier-based air-forces, with Iowa claiming the destruction of three enemy aircraft. Iowa then joined in the pursuit of the fleeing enemy fleet, shooting down one torpedo plane and assisting in splashing another.
July - Iowa remained off the Marianas supporting air strikes on the Palaus and landings on Guam.
August - USS Iowa's commanding officer was Captain Allan R. McCann USN.
September - USS Iowa participated in Fleet Admiral William F. "Bull Halsey's third fleet in support of carrier strikes against the Phillippine and Carolina Islands.
September 17 - As part of the third Fleet USS Iowa supported the landings on Peleliu.
October 10 - USS Iowa arrived off Okinawa for a series of air strikes on the Ryukyu Islands and Formosa.
October 18 - Iowa supported air strikes against Luzon.
October 20 - Iowa continued to support air strikes during General Douglas MacArthur's landing on Leyte on 20 October.
October 23 - USS Iowa headed for the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
October 25 - USS Iowa as part of Task Force 38 almost had the Northern Force of Japan within gun range when she learned of That the Japanese Central Force was attacking a group of American escort carriers off Samar. This threat to the American beachheads forced Task Force 38 to reverse course and steam to support the vulnerable escort carrier fleet. The fierce resistance put up by the 7th Fleet in the Battle off Samar had already caused the Japanese to retire and Iowa was denied action.
November - USS Iowa's commanding officer was changed to Captain James L. Holloway Jr., USN.
November 25 - Kamikaze attack on Third Fleet. USS Iowa claimed two Jills and a Judy.
December 17 - USS Iowa was at Ulithi for replenishment and maintenance in dry dock ABSD-2. While there she lost a sea plane that was washed overboard during a typhoon.
The storm took a serious toll on the USS Iowa and other ships in the fleet. As one crew member recounts, "It was a very scary night, the Iowa rolled to about a 45 degree angle at one point and we all held our breaths that it wouldn't happen again. As our luck went, it happened at meal time so you can imagine the condition of the deck in the mess hall."
24 ships were damaged. The destroyers Monoghan, Hull and Spence were sunk with a loss of 765 sailors. USS Iowa suffered damage to her shaft. This required her to return to the United States for an overhaul at Hunters Point Shipyard, San Francisco.
1945:
January 15 - USS Iowa was in dry dock until March. She underwent her first major overhaul since leaving the east coast. The modifications included: Bridge was enclosed and new search and fire controlled radar was installed.
March 19 - USS Iowa sailed for Okinawa.
April 15 - USS Iowa arrives at Okinawa to relieve her sister ship, USS New Jersey.
April 24 - Iowa supported carrier operations which aimed to establish and maintain air superiority for ground forces during their struggle for the island.
May 25 to June 13 - USS Iowa supported air strikes against Kyushu.
July - Commanding officer is changed to Captain Charles Wellborn Jr., USN
July 1 - USS Iowa sailed to Northern Honshu and Hokkaido
July 14 and 15 - USS Iowa accompanied by her sister ships, USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin, attacked Muroran and Hokkado inflicting significant damage on Nihon Steel Company and Wanishi Ironworks.
July 17 - USS Iowa serving as flag ship for Rear Admiral Oscar Badger and accompanied by her sister ships, USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin, the industrial city of Hitachi Miro was bombarded.
July 29 and 30 - USS Iowa bombarded the island of Kahoolawe.
August 27 - USS Iowa along with her sister ship, USS Missouri put into Sagami Bay to effect the surrender of Yokosuka naval district.
August 29 - USS Iowa along with her sister ship, USS Missouri, entered Tokyo Bay to support the landing of occupation forces set to take place on August 30.
September 2 - Japan officially signs the surrender on board USS Iowa's sister ship, USS Missouri. Iowa remained in Tokyo Bay as part of the occupying force. As part of the ongoing Operation Magic Carpet, she received homeward bound GIs and liberated US prisoners of war before departing for the United States.
September 20 - USS Iowa heads to the Untied States.
October 15 - USS Iowa arrives in Seattle, Washington, sailed to Long Beach, California to engage in training operations along the West Coast.
November - Commanding officer is changed to Captain Frederick I. Entwistle, USN.
December 16 - USS Iowa was in Morrell Drydock at Terminal Island Shipyard, Los Angeles, California.
Post World War II
1946:
January 27 - Arrived in Tokyo Bay to serve as flagship of Fifth Fleet.
March 25 - USS Iowa returned to Long Beach, California to operate along the west coast conduct drills, maneuvers and serve as Naval Reserve and midshipmen training cruises.
July - Commanding officer is changed to Captain Raymond D. Tarbuck USN
October - USS Iowa is overhauled at Puget Sound Navy Yard. She was installed with SK-2 radar and had many of her 20mm and 40mm mounts removed. All vertical surfaces were painted haze gray.
1947:
April - Captain Thomas M. Stokes, USN took command of USS Iowa.
1948:
March - Commanding Officer Captain Edward A. Solomons, USN
July 31 - The old battleship Nevada was selected as a target for a live fire exercise to be carried out by Iowa and other sea and air assets of the navy. The exercise began with separate shellings from a destroyer, heavy cruiser, and Iowa, but this did not sink the ship, and so Nevada was finished off with one aerial torpedo hit amidships, sinking her 65 miles from Pearl Harbor.
August - Commanding Officer Captain William F. Jennings, USN
September - Inactivation off USS Iowa begun at San Francisco.
1949:
January - Commanding Officer Captain Bennett M. Dodson, USN
March 24 - USS Iowa is placed out of commission and put in reserve.
1950 - North Korea invaded South Korea.
Korean War:
1951:
July 14 - As part of the naval mobilization, USS Iowa was reactivated.
August - Commanding Officer Captain William R. Smedberg III, USN
August 25 - USS Iowa is recommissioned due to the escalating hostilities in Korea.
1952:
March - USS Iowa sailed for Korean waters.
April 1 - USS Iowa steamed to the far east to relieve her sister ship, USS Wisconsin, and become flagship of Vice Admiral Robert T. Briscoe, Commander, Seventh Fleet, operating in support of United Nations Forces in Korea.
April 8 - USS Iowa conducted gun strikes against enemy supply routes in Wonson-Songjin area.
April 9 - Joined bomb line to strike enemy troop concentrations, supply areas and suspected gun positions in vicinity of Suwon Dan and Kojo.
April 13 - Bombardment in support of I ROK Corps, killing 100 enemy troops, destroying six gun emplacements and seriously damaging divisional headquarters.
April 14 - USS Iowa bombed warehouses, observation posts and railroad marshaling yards Wonsan Harbor, then steamed back to the bomb line to support UN forces in Kosong area.
April 20 - USS Iowa operated north of 38th Parallel, her bombardment closed four railroad tunnels near Tanchon.
April 25 and 26 - USS Iowa bombarded Chindong and Kosong.
May 25 - USS Iowa took action against North Korean industrial and rail transportation center at Chongjin. Not since her sister ship, USS MISSOURI, bombarded Chongjin in November 1950, had a battleship operated that far north. USS Iowa was just forty-eight miles from the Russian border. The USS IOWA effectively destroyed Chongjin's industrial center.
May 27 - USS Iowa bombarded Songjin, closing railroad tunnels and seriously damaging area bridges.
May 28 - USS Iowa was again on bomb line in support of I Corps, followed by gun strikes on islands in Wonsan harbor.
June 1 - USS Iowa steamed to for Sasebo and replenishment.
June - USS Iowa participated in gun strikes against Mayang-do, Tanchon, Chongjin, Chodo-Sokto and ports of Hungnam and Wonsan.
June 9 - USS Iowa's helicopter rescued downed pilots from USS Princeton.
July - Commanding Officer Captain Joshua W. Cooper, USN
August 20 - USS Iowa went to the aid of destroyer USS Thompson off Songjin, taking aboard her casualties and covering her escape to safer waters.
September 23 - With General Mark Clark, USA, Commander-In-chief of United Nations Forces on board USS Iowa observing the Iowa participated in gun strikes in Wonsan area, Iowa's gunfire destroyed a major ammunition dump.
September 25 - Iowa participated in gun Strikes against railroad and thirty-car train.
October 14 - Iowa participated in Operation Decoy, an attempt to draw enemy troops under fire at Kojo.
October 16 - USS Iowa provided anti-aircraft support for the USS Mount McKinley during Kojo action. During her Korean tour, the USS Iopwa steamed more than 40,000 miles.
October 17 - USS Iowa steamed to Norfolk, Virginia for overhaul, followed by training operations in the Caribbean.
Post Korean War and Cold War:
1953:
July - USS Iowa had a new commanding officer, Captain Wayne R. Loud, USN. She also served as the flagship of Second Fleet, USS Iowa was a participant in Operation Mariner, a major NATO exercise in Northern Europe.
1954:
June - USS Iowa was on Midshipmen training cruise to rendezvous with three other Iowa class battleships in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
September - Commanding Officer Captain William C. Bryson, USN. USS Iowa became the flagship of Rear Admiral R. E. Libby, Commander, Battleship Cruiser Force, United States Atlantic Fleet.
1955:
January to April - USS Iowa visited Mediterranean, becoming first battleship in the Mediterranean since the war ended. Ports visited Gibraltar; Mers El Kebir, Oran; Genoa & Naples, Italy; Instanbul, Turkey; Athens, Greece; and Cannes, France.
June 1 - Midshipmen Cruise. USS Iowa visited Barcelonia, Spain and Portsmouth, England.
August - USS Iowa was in Norfolk, Virginia for a four-month overhaul , followed by training cruises and operational exercises.
November - Commanding Officer Captain John W. Ailes III, USN
December - USS Iowa was regunned for the first time.
1956:
April 13 to 15 - USS Iowa visited Havana, Cuba. While there the Iowa's baseball team played the University of Havana.
June - USS Iowa conducted Midshipmen Cruise Able 1956. Visited Guantanamo Bay, Bermuda, Portsmouth, England, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
December - Commanding Officer Captain F. Julian Becton USN
1957:
January - USS Iowa returned to Mediterranean for duty with the Sixth Fleet.
June 13 - The Iowa and her crew participated in International Naval Review off Hampton roads, Virginia.
September - Iowa participate in NATO's Operation strike Back in North Atlantic.
September 3 - Iowa sailed for Scotland for NATO's Operation Strikeback.
September 28 - Iowa returned to Norfolk.
October 22 - USS Iowa departed Hampton Roads for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
1958:
February 24 - USS Iowa was decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard.
1982:
September 1 - USS Iowa was towed from Philadelphia to New Orleans and Avondale Shipyard, Inc., for modernization and reactivation. She was then towed to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi for completion of work.
1984:
April - Commanding Officer Captain Gerald E. Gneckow, USN
April 28 - USS Iowa is recommissioned ahead of schedule and within budget.
April 30 - USS Iowa steamed to Autec Range for Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS) training.
May - The Iowa and her crew were in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training.
May 21 - USS Iowa was off Vieques island, Puerto Rico, for NGFS qualifications for her 16-inch and 5-inch batteries.
June 19 - The Iowa and her crew steamed to Caracas, Venezuela conducting a number of systems checks and gunnery exercises en route. USS Iowa also made stops at ports en route in support of "Naval Presence" operations designed to back-up friendly states in Central America and Caribbean.
July - Returned to Vieques Island for gunnery exercises.
August 8 - Underway to begin pacific Coast operations.
August 12 - USS Iowa sent 2 of her US Army UH-1 helicopters when medical and dental assistance was needed in Guatemala.
August 13 - Underwent SAR communications drill.
August 14 - USS Iowa engaged in surveillance of thirteen miles of Nicaraguan coast in conjunction with embassy contingency communication exercises.
August 26 - With the Nicaraguan surveillance completed USS Iowa returned to Balboa, Panama for the trip back through the canal.
September 17 - USS Iowa and her crew arrived in Norfolk, Virginia.
October - USS Iowa spent a week in New York.
November 1 to 20 - Participated in COMPUTEX 1-85 in Puerto Rican Operations area.
December - USS Iowa was in port in Norfolk, Virgina.
1985:
January - Sea Trials.
February - Underway for deployment in Central America. Completed several civic action and humanitarian projects in Costa Rica and Honduras. Participated in encounter exercises with Battleship Surface Action Group.
March - Engaged in Battle Force integrated training and post-shakedown availability training operating out of Norfolk. Off loaded ammunition at Yorktown's Naval Weapons Station.
April 26 - In dry dock at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va.
July 31 - Left dry dock to load gun ammunition while at Whiskey Island Anchorage in Hampton Roads. Afterward she demonstrated her Tomahawk Handling system. She then underwent ten days of sea trials and an ammunition unload at Yorktown.
August 22 - The USS Iowa and her crew received the Battenburg Cup Award as best all-around ship in Atlantic Fleet for 1984.
August 27 - USS Iowa left for Ocean Safari as part of Battleship Surface Action Group providing protection for convoy of supply ships en route from Boston to Northern Europe.
September 20 - With Operation Ocean Safari completed USS Iowa rendezvoused with USS America Battle Group and Iowa went on through English Channel to Le Havre, France, then Copenhagen & Aarhus, Denmark and Oslo, Norway.
October 12 - USS Iowa steamed for the Baltic Sea to participate in Baltic Operations, or BALTOPS 85. She was part of the US Task Unit conducting multilateral exercises with allied vessels in the Baltic area.
October 18 - With BALTOPS 85 concluded with USS Iowa was in port at Kiel, West Germany.
October 26 - USS Iowa steamed to Norfolk, Virginia, conducting numerous drills/exercises en route.
November 5 - USS Iowa arrived in Norfolk for preparations for INSURV/UMI and final contract trials. In Central America as peaceful presence in support of friendly countries.
1986:
March - USS Iowa underwent her overdue InSurv inspection. The inspection, which Iowa ultimately failed, was conducted under the supervision of Rear Admiral John D. Bulkeley. Bulkeley found that the ship was unable to achieve her top speed of 33 kn (38 mph) during a full-power engine run, and recommended to the Chief of Naval Operations and Lehman that Iowa be taken out of service immediately. Rejecting this advice, Lehman instead instructed the leaders of the Atlantic Fleet to ensure that Iowa's deficiencies were corrected.
Afterward Iowa returned to the waters around Central America and conducted drills and exercises while providing a military presence to friendly nations.
April 25 - Commanding Officer Captain Larry Seaquist, USN.
July 4 - The USS Iowa carried President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan for Liberty Weekend's International Naval Review in Hudson River. President Reagan was the second President of the United States to be transported by the USS Iowa. This was also the first time the First Lady of the United States traveled on board the Iowa.
August - Underway along Florida coast and in Gulf of Mexico conducting operational and training exercises.
August 17 - USS Iowa steamed toward the North Atlantic and (NATO) Operation Northern Wedding.
September - The Iowa and her crew participated in Operation Northern Wedding off southern coast of Norway, Following operations at sea, USS Iowa visited Portsmouth, England and Bremerhaven, West Germany.
September 5 and 6 - Iowa fired her main guns at Cape Wrath range in Scotland in support of a simulated amphibious assault. firing a total of 19 16-inch (410 mm) shells and 32 5-inch (130 mm) shells during a 10-hour period and operating in rough seas. During the live fire exercise, a small number of Iowa marines were put ashore to monitor the fall of shot and advise the battleship of gunnery corrections.
October 2 - USS Iowa left for her return trip to the United States.
December - USS Iowa became the test bed for the Navy's RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The drone was designed to serve as an aerial spotter for the battleship's guns, thereby allowing the guns to be used against an enemy without the need for an airplane or helicopter spotter. Pioneer passed its tests and made its first deployment that same month aboard Iowa.
December 9 - The Iowa and her crew left for sea trials off Virginia Capes. First launch, flight and recovery of a Pioneer RPV were made.
December 14 - The USS Iowa fired her 1,000th round of 16-inch ammunition since being recommissioned in 1984.
1987:
January to September - Iowa operated in the waters in and around Central America and participated in several exercises.
January 9 - USS Iowa left Norfolk, Virginia and steamed to the Caribbean.
January 10 - The Iowa participated in exercise BLASTEX 1-87 in Caribbean.
January 18 - The USS Iowa conducted operations in Caribbean with port visits in Honduras, Columbia and Virgin Islands.
February 11 - Arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for ORI (Operational Readiness Inspection).
February 13 - Departed Guantanamo Bay for gunnery exercises at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico.
February 26 - USS Iowa and crew arrived in Norfolk, Virginia.
February 27 - USS Iowa was in restricted availability at Norfolk.
March - Conducted independent ship exercises.
March 30 - USS Iowa was in restricted availability at Norfolk.
April 25 - USS Iowa departed Norfolk, Virginia and steamed to the Caribbean.
May 4 - USS Iowa conducted SACEX in Puerto Rican operations area.
May 25 - Conducted independent ship exercises.
July 8 - USS Iowa participated in FLEETEX 3-87 in Western Atlantic.
July 26 - Arrive Yorktown Naval Weapons Center for loading ammunition.
July 28 - USS Iowa arrived in Norfolk, Virginia. Once again she was in Service Restricted Availability, or SRA.
August 17 - Conducted independent ship exercises.
September 10 - USS Iowa left Norfolk steamed to the Mediterranean.
September 20 - The Iowa entered the Mediterranean, INCHOP to joined the Sixth Fleet.
September 22 - USS Iowa participated in Exercise Display Determination.
October 8 - USS Iowa visited the port of Istanbul.
October 22 - OUTCHOP, USS Iowa detached from the Sixth Fleet.
October 26 - USS Iowa and her crew began North Sea operations.
October 30 - The Iowa arrived in Trondheim, Norway.
November 8 - INCHOP.
November 25 - USS Iowa as part of Operation Earnest Will, transited the Suez Canal set sail for the Persian Gulf, which at the time was one of the battlefields of the first Gulf War.
The presence of US naval vessels in the gulf was in response to a formal petition from Kuwait, whose ships were being raided by Iranian forces who were attempting to cut off weapons shipments from the United States and Europe to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, via Kuwaiti territory. This phase of the war would later be called the "Tanker War" phase of the Iran-Iraq War. Iowa and other vessels operating in the gulf were assigned to escort Kuwaiti tankers from Kuwaiti ports to the open sea, but because US law forbade military escorts for civilian ships flying a foreign flag, the tankers escorted by the United States were re-flagged as US merchant vessels and assigned American names. For the remainder of the year Iowa escorted Kuwaiti gas and oil tankers re-flagged as US merchant ships from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
December 4 - The Iowa and crew arrived Diego Garcia to commence Persian Gulf Presence Operations.
December 7 - USS Iowa departed Diego Garcia for operations in the Indian Ocean and North Arabian Sea.
1988:
January 1 - USS Iowa was in the Gulf of Oman. Operations included escorting convoys through the southern Strait of Hormuz and protecting convoy assembly areas off Masirah Island and Muscat, Oman.
February 20 - Iowa departed from the Persian Gulf, transited the Suez Canal, and set sail for the United States.
February 29 - OUTCHOP
March 10 - USS Iowa and crew arrived in Norfolk, Virginia. Underwent routine maintenance. In service restricted availability.
April 20 - She participated in the annual Fleet Week celebrations before returning to Norfolk for an overhaul.
April 21 to 25 - The Iowa and her crew celebrated "Fleet Week".
April 25 - With the conclusion of "Fleet Week" the Iowa and her crew steamed to Yorktown Naval Weapons Station for off load of ammunition, prior-to entering Norfolk Naval shipyard for SRA. (April to August).
May - Commanding Officer Captain Fred P. Moosally, USN.
August 25 - After the overhaul, Moosally took Iowa on a shakedown cruise around Chesapeake Bay. Encountering difficulty in conning the ship through shallow water, Moosally narrowly missed colliding with the frigate Moinester, destroyer Farragut, and the cruiser South Carolina before running aground in soft mud outside the bay's main ship channel near the Thimble Shoals. After one hour, Iowa was able to extricate herself without damage and return to port.
August to September - Iowa continued with sea trials
October 7 - Steamed to Port Everglades, Florida for port visit.
October 9 to 11 - Visited Port Everglades, Florida.
October 13 - Arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training.
November 28 - Conducted gunnery exercises at Vieques Island.
December 7 - Arrived in Norfolk, Virginia.
1989:
January 20 - Steamed to St. Martin, operating with units of the standing Naval Forces, Atlantic.
January 26 - USS IOWA fired the longest 16-inch round in history at Vieques Island. The projectile traveled 23.4 NM for a first round hit on target.
February 1 - Steamed to New Orleans for port visit.
February 5 to 9 - Visiting Port of New Orleans.
March 16 - Arrived in Norfolk, Virginia.
April 10 - Embark Commander, Second Fleet.
April 13 - Underway, FLEETEX 3-89.
April 19 - During a gunnery exercise off the coast of Puerto Rico an explosion ripped through the Number Two 16 inch gun turret and killed 47 crewmen. A gunner's mate in the powder magazine room quickly flooded the No. 2 powder magazine and prevented catastrophic damage to the ship.At first, Naval Investigative Service (N.I.S., later renamed Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS) investigators theorized that Clayton Hartwig, who died in the explosion, caused the incident in a suicide attempt after the end of an alleged affair with another sailor. To support this claim, naval officials pointed to several different factors, including Hartwig's life insurance policy, which named Kendall Truitt as the sole beneficiary in the event of his death. The presence of unexplained materials inside Turret 2 and his mental state, which was alleged to be unstable.
Although the Navy was satisfied with the investigation and its results, others were unconvinced and amid increasing criticism, congress forced the Navy to reopen the investigation. This second investigation, handled by independent investigators, was hampered by the fact that most of the original debris from Iowa had been cleaned up or otherwise disposed of by the Navy before and after the first investigation, but it did uncover evidence pointing to an unintentional powder explosion rather than an intentional act of sabotage.
While Iowa was undergoing modernization in the early, her sister ship USS New Jersey had been dispatched to Lebanon to provide offshore fire support. At the time, New Jersey was the only commissioned battleship anywhere in the world, and it was found that, in an effort to get another battleship commissioned to relieve New Jersey, the modernization of Iowa was stepped up, leaving her in poor condition when she recommissioned. It was also determined that Captain Fred Moosally was more concerned with the maintenance of the missiles than the training and manning of the guns.
Powder from the same lot as the one under investigation from the 1989 explosion was tested at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. Spontaneous combustion was achieved with the powder, which had been originally milled in the 1930's and improperly stored in a barge at the Navy's Yorktown, Virginia Naval Weapons Station during an earlier dry-docking of Iowa. As it degrades, gunpowder gives off ether gas, which is highly flammable and could be ignited by a spark. This revelation resulted in a shift in the Navy's position on the incident, and Admiral Frank Kelso, the Chief of Naval Operations at the time, publicly apologized to the Hartwig family, concluding that there was no real evidence to support the claim that he had intentionally killed the other sailors. Iowa captain Fred Moosally was severely criticized for his handling of the matter, and as a result of the incident the Navy changed the powder-handling procedures for its battleships. The incident remains the surface Navy's equal worst loss of life during peacetime operations since the USS Maine (ACR-1) exploded in 1898, surpassing the loss of life incurred from the attack of an Iraqi Air Force jet on the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Stark.
April 22 - Arrived in Norfolk, Virginia.
May 30 to June 2 - Ammunition loaded at Whisky Island Anchorage.
June 7 - Underway for Northern Europe and Mediterranean. During this deployment, USS IOWA traveled 30,983 NM and crossed eight time zones. Port visits included: Kiel, West Germany; Portsmouth, England: Rota, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; Gibraltar; Marseille, France; Antalya, Turkey; Gaeta, Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; Haifa, Israel; Alexandria, Egypt; Ajaccio, Corsica; Augusta Bay, Sicily; Naples, Italy and Palma, Mallorca.
July to August 1 - Restricted availability, Marseille, France. Cut short one week due to contingency operations in the Mediterranean, off the Lebanese coast.
August 15 - Embark Commander, United States Sixth Fleet.
September 16 - Exercise Display Determination, 1989.
November 17 - Sixth Fleet departs USS IOWA, flag returned to USS Belknap.
November 26 - Steamed to Norfolk, Virginia. During this transit, last 16-inch round fired, giving USS Iowa a total of 2,873 rounds fired since 1984 recommissioning. Since the Iowa's initial commissioning date in 1943, a total of 11,834 16-inch rounds fired.
December 7 - USS Iowa and crew arrived in Norfolk, Virginia.
1990:
January 4 - Turret Two memorial plaque unveiled.
January 16 - SRA at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
February 20 - Nuclear Weapons closeout Inspection.
April 17 - Return to Naval Base Norfolk.
April 19 - Turret Two Memorial Service. Memorial plaque dedicated.
May - Commanding Officer Captain John P. Moorse, USN.
May 25 - Marine Detachment deactivates.
June 22 to July 6 - Midshipmen summer training.
October 26 - USS Iowa is decommissioned.
Post Cold War:
1991:
Soviet Union collapses and the Cold War ends.
1995:
January - USS Iowa is struck the Naval Register.
1996:
Section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act required the United States Navy to reinstate to the Naval Vessel Register two of the Iowa-class battleships that had been struck by the Navy.
The National Defense Authorization Act laid out for the maintenance of Iowa while she was in the "mothball fleet".
1998:
September - Towed to the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island.
1999:
January - The Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act required the United States Secretary of the Navy to list and maintain the USS Iowa and USS Wisconsin on the Naval Vessel Register. The Act also required the Secretary of the Navy to strike the USS New Jersey from the Naval Vessel Register and transfer the battleship to a not-for-profit entity in accordance with section 7306 of Title 10, United States Code. It also required the transferee to locate the battleship in the State of New Jersey. The Navy made the switch, allowing New Jersey to open as a museum ship in her namesake state.
21st Century:
2001:
March - USS Iowa was towed from Rhode Island to began her journey through the Panama Canal to California.
April 21 - USS Iowa arrived in Suisun Bay near San Francisco and joined the reserve fleet there, where she remained in reserve until struck again from the Naval Vessel Register.
2006:
March 17 - The Secretary of the Navy exercised his authority to strike USS Iowa and USS Wisconsin from the NVR, which cleared the way for both ships to be donated for use as museum ships, but the United States Congress remained "deeply concerned" over the loss of the naval surface gunfire support that the battleships provided, and noted that "navy efforts to improve upon, much less replace, this capability have been highly problematic."[53] As a partial consequence, Congress passed Pub.L. 109–163, the National Defense Authorization Act, requiring that the battleships be kept and maintained in a state of readiness should they ever be needed again. Congress ordered that measures be implemented to ensure that, if need be, Iowa could be returned to active duty. These measures closely mirrored the original three conditions that the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 laid out for the maintenance of Iowa while she was in the "mothball fleet".
2007:
March - The Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square (HSMPS) of Vallejo, site of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and a Stockton group submitted proposals. The HSMPS, which had attempted to place the ship in San Francisco, supported the Mare Island—Vallejo site.
October - The Navy informed HSMPS that they were the only viable candidate to acquire Iowa, and their application would be further reviewed after evidence was presented that financing was in place, and when the Stockton and San Francisco groups withdrew or failed to submit a final application respectively.
2009:
April 25 - Iowa Senate Resolution No. 19 was approved, endorsing HSMPS as USS Iowa's custodian and supporting the battleship's placement at Mare Island.
2010:
February - The Pacific Battleship Center (PBC) was behind efforts to have the ship berthed in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. The Port of Los Angeles (which includes the San Pedro area) rejected a proposal by the PBC to berth the battleship at its facilities because the battleship was not yet available.
April 12 - The Governor of Iowa signed into law Bill SJR2007, which officially formed a 10-member committee to raise about $5 million for the group awarded the USS Iowa. The statement supporting the Vallejo group in the original Iowa State Senate's version SR19 was struck in favor of supporting any group actually awarded the battleship
May 13 - The Navy announced it would reopen the bidding process, citing HSMPS's lack of progress as the reason.
May 24 - The Federal Register officially reopened the bidding process for the USS Iowa to a California-based city or non-profit organization.
November 18 - The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners voted unanimously on a resolution to support Berth 87 as the future home of the USS Iowa, clearing the way for The Pacific Battleship Center to send its completed application to the Navy.
2011:
September 6 - The USS Iowa was awarded to Pacific Battleship Center for placement at the Port of Los Angeles. After rehabilitation at the Port of Richmond, California.
October - The ship was designated to be towed to and berthed in the Port of Los Angeles.
December 10 - The USS Iowa was open for weekend tours. The Battleship Expo at the Port of Richmond included shipboard access and other exhibits such as 16-inch shells, a short film about the battleship, and other exhibits.
2012:
May 26 - The USS Iowa began her journey to the Port of Los Angeles, under tow by tugboats.
June 9 - After being anchored off the Southern California coast to have her hull scrubbed to remove any invasive species or contaminants, she was permanently anchored in San Pedro at Berth 87, along the Main Channel, directly south of the World Cruise Center.
July 7 - The museum opened to the public.
Info source:
USS Iowa, BB61: General Characteristics, Statistics, Battleship of Presidents and Sister Ships
Previous articles about battleships named USS Iowa:
USS Iowa 1868 - 1883
USS Iowa, BB4
USS Iowa, BB4: A Service of Silver, A Tribute to the USS Iowa
USS Iowa BB53: The battleship that almost was.
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