Naval War #2

HMS HOWE, Flagship of the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, passing through the Suez Canal on her way to join the British Pacific Fleet. In the foreground is an Egyptian felucca. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 2618)

Stokers playing cards on board HMS TRIBUNE. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 512)

An officer and a rating launch a dinghy from HMS FORTH. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 537)

Women's Royal Naval Service: WRNS officers being shown the sights of Quebec by a member of the Canadian Mounted Police Force after the first Quebec Conference. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 1277)

A signaler operating a 10-inch signal lamp on board a British warship. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 91)

Wives and sweethearts on board SS EMPIRE FAITH at a port in the north-west to visit before the ship heads out to sea again. Photo shows: Second Mate W J Lee, Second Engineer Arthur Bridgewater and Mrs Lee from Angus, Forfarshire listen to one of Third Engineer Tom Jackson's stories. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 755)

Naval rating drawing bread for his mess from the battleship's bakery. (Imperial War Museum photo TR 340)

Starboard broadside view of the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth conducting gunnery exercises. (Imperial War Museum)

Leslie Cole’s 1943 painting of the Allied amphibious attack on Pantelleria depicts the scene from the cruiser HMS Newfoundland, from which Admiral C.H.J. Harcourt flew his flag. (Imperial War Museum photo Art.IWM ART LD 3555)

A prototype X-craft churns along during trials. The British sent 10 X-craft midget submarines against the Tirpitz in September 1943. Two succeeded in depositing mines that damaged the battleship.

British seamen operate their X-craft in the cramped space available for the four-man crew. (Imperial War Museum)

Midget submarine HMS XE8 'Expunger', plies the waters of the harbor at Sydney, Australia, in 1945, built by Broadbent, sunk as target 1952, recovered 1973 and preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard, on loan from the Imperial War Museum.

British midget submarine XE9.

Midget submarine HMS Sprat.

Midget submarine HMS Stickleback X51.

Midget submarine HMS Shrimp.

British midget submarine XE7.

A veteran of Operations Torch (North Africa), Husky (Sicily), and Avalanche (Salerno, Italy), HMS Roberts fires on German positions in the vicinity of Sword Beach with its 15-inch guns.

A British landing craft burns after being hit by a German shell off Sword Beach.

British destroyer HMS Wessex at anchor, 10 May 1944. (Imperial War Museum photo FL 14221)

American battleships South Dakota and Alabama, and British battleship HMS Anson at sea, North Atlantic, 1943.

Prototype British midget submarine X-3 or X-4 gets underway during trials in 1942.

25-pdr field guns and 'Quads' being unloaded from a ship into a landing craft for transport ashore, 9 February 1942. (Imperial War Museum photo E8161)

Members of the South African Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve serving on board HMS Nelson. The group is sat on one of the 16 inch gun barrels of HMS Nelson. (Imperial War Museum photo A 4606)

On the night of 29-30 January 1943, a David and Goliath-type struggle took place between a Japanese submarine and two small ‘Bird’ class minesweepers, the HMNZS Kiwi and Moa.

Kiwi and Moa were patrolling one mile apart off Kamimbo Bay at the north-west end of Guadalcanal when the Japanese submarine was spotted. Kiwi quickly altered course and rushed to the attack with depth charges, dropping six, one of which fell in the wake of the submarine’s periscope. After a second round of depth charges the submarine was forced to surface, its motors disabled. The Japanese submarine I-1 then tried to escape in the darkness using her diesel engines, but her efforts were in vain. Both Kiwi and Moa began firing star shells and high explosives, with Kiwi scoring a direct hit. The submarine replied with her 5.5-inch 125mm gun and just missed both ships. Kiwi then rammed the submarine while shooting it with every gun it had. In a fierce action that lasted more than an hour, Kiwi rammed the submarine three times before the sub finally struck a reef and was wrecked.

As this watercolor by Official War Artist Russell Clarke shows, the Kiwi’s searchlight and signaling lamp were trained on the submarine for the entire battle. The searchlight was controlled by Leading Signalman Campbell Buchanan, who was eventually hit. Although mortally wounded, Buchanan remained at his post, dying of his wounds the following day (he received the US Navy Cross and a posthumous mention in dispatches). (Archives New Zealand)

The light cruisers USS St. Louis (CL-49) and HMNZS Leander (75) firing during the Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943. This is probably the battle's initial engagement, in which the Japanese light cruiser Jintsu was sunk by gunfire and torpedo hits and Leander was heavily damaged by a Japanese torpedo. (U.S. Navy photo 80-G-342763 via Naval History & Heritage Command)

Kongo class battleship.

The Japanese super battleship Yamato, with 18.1-inch main guns, stirs a wake as it maneuvers during the battle off Samar. A Japanese heavy cruiser is visible of the Yamato’s port quarter.

After sustaining torpedo damage during the battle off Samar on October 25, 1944, the Japanese cruiser Chikuma maneuvers violently to avoid more damage.

Japanese battleship Nagato in its original configuration undergoing sea trials shortly after completion in 1920 (Taisho 9). It was the first battleship to be equipped with the world's largest 41cm (16-inch) guns at the time, and achieved a speed of 26.7 knots (49.4 km/h).

Japanese cruiser Mikuma smolders after being attacked by American dive bombers.

Japanese carrier under attack by B-17s, June 4, 1942.

Rear Admiral Robert Bostwick Carney, center with holster, Chief of Staff to Admiral William F. Halsey, is saluted by Vice Admiral Michitaro Tazuka, Commander, First Japanese Naval District, as he turns over the Yokosuka Naval Base to the U.S. Navy. 

While escorting a tanker convoy from Manila towards Balikpapan on 14 May 1944, Inazuma exploded after being struck by torpedoes launched by USS Bonefish (SS-223) in the Celebes Sea near Tawitawi at position 5°8’N 119°38’E / 5.133°N 119.633° / 5.133; 119.633. Her sister ship Hibiki rescued the 125 survivors, which did not include her captain, Commander Tokiwa. Picture of Inazuma underway on 24 March 1936.

Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No. 17, at Yokohama, 13 April, 1944, representative of three of the class of ships which sank the Bonefish (SS-223); Coast Defense Vessel No. 63, Coast Defense Vessel No. 75, and Coast Defense Vessel No. 207.

The Tirpitz constituted a “fleet in being” that tied up British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force resources delegated to countering the threat of the battleship sortieing from her Norwegian lair.

Tirpitz firing her main guns.

In addition to her own guns, the Tirpitz was protected by multiple anti-aircraft batteries and anti-submarine and anti-torpedo netting.

Obscured by camouflage netting, the German super battleship Tirpitz was nevertheless caught in the lens of a RAF reconnaissance aircraft while anchored in Aas Fjord in February 1942.

Original caption: “Canadian Fighter Gets Coast Guard Aid. Medical officers and supplies are sent from a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to HMCS Trillium. This recent gesture of the aid extended each other by United Nations’ fighting men occurred after the Canadian Corvette picked up 160 survivors of vessels torpedoed in the Atlantic.” (U.S. Coast Guard photograph #Lot-741-9. Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Original caption: “Canadian Fighter Gets Coast Guard Aid. Medical officers and supplies are sent from a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to HMCS Trillium. This recent gesture of the aid extended each other by United Nations’ fighting men occurred after the Canadian Corvette picked up 160 survivors of vessels torpedoed in the Atlantic.” (U.S. Coast Guard photograph #Lot-741-10. Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

The Royal Navy Majestic-class aircraft carriers HMS Magnificent (left) and HMS Powerful under construction at Harland and Wolff's Musgrave shipyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK). Both carriers would serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, Powerful as HMCS Bonaventure. 16 Nov 1944. (Imperial War Museum photo A 28022)

HMAS Australia, Australian Heavy Cruiser, 1928, at sea during operations in the vicinity of the Solomon Islands, 31 August 1942. Taken by a USS Wasp (CV-7) photographer. (Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives 80-G-12107)

George Gosse defuses a German mine at Bremen, April 1945. (Original IWM caption: Lieutenant George Gosse, RANVR, of Adelaide, Australia, removing the clock of the first pressure magnetic mine to be recovered at Bremen after rendering it safe under water. He is a member of a British Naval P Party, the "human minesweepers" who cleared Europe's liberated ports.) (Imperial War Museum photo A 30625)

HMAS Polaris, a requisitioned fishing trawler, while in service in Papua New Guinea, 1942. 

HMAS Adelaide, 1944.

HMAS Wagga (J315).

Royal Australian Navy personnel inspecting a wrecked Japanese submarine and a wrecked ship in Yokosuka, Japan, September 1945. (Australian War Memorial photo 019157)

The Indian warship HMIS Sutlej leaves Hong Kong for Japan as part of the Allied forces of occupation. (Imperial War Museum photo IND 5225)

Royal Indian Naval personnel on board a landing craft during combined operations off Myebon, January 1945. (Imperial War Museum photo IND 4428)

HMIS Bombay in Sydney Harbour in 1942, probably shortly after she was commissioned in April. (Australian War Memorial photo 305827)

The Gallant Destroyers of D-Day. The big-gun battleships softened the German defenses and made for dramatic newsreel footage 60 years ago. But the spunky destroyers in the Normandy Invasion—including the Emmons (left) and Doyle (background right) in Dwight Shepler’s dramatic combat art—came within less than 1,000 yards from the shore, providing direct gunfire support for troops on the beach.

Washington and Enterprise (CV-6) transiting the Panama Canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic, early in October 1945. They were then en route to the U.S. East Coast to participate in Navy Day celebrations.

Aerial view of the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, photographed 2 Dec 1944.

Identifications to previous photo.

Shell bursts and splashes from the guns of the aircraft carrier Yorktown as Japanese torpedo bombers approach.

1909th Engineers Aviation Battalion (Negro) aboard LST-683. August 15, 1945. Note LCT-1006 on the deck of the LST.

The Panay, a U.S. Navy gunboat, was attacked by Japanese Navy aircraft while cruising in the Yangtze River near Nanking, December 12, 1937.

USS Alabama launching, at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 16 February 1942.

USS Alabama in the Pacific.

Alabama, circa November 1942, showing Measure 12 (dapple) camouflage she wore from her August 1942 commissioning until just prior to her Atlantic and North Sea combat service.

Alabama four months after her commissioning, with camouflage painting according to Measure 12. Some of the 40mm quadruple anti-aircraft gun mounts to be installed are still missing.

An aerial photo of Alabama taken at the same time as the previous photo. The SC radar antenna is carried on her foremast.

Alabama anchored in Casco Bay, Maine, in December 1942 or January 1943, six months after commissioning. Preparing for her combat service.

Alabama off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 7 February 1943, following post-shakedown availability and repainting.

Alabama underway in the Pacific with Task Force 58.2, circa 1943-44. Taken by a Essex (CV-9) photographer.

Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, during her shakedown period, circa December 1942. Note her Measure 12 (modified) camouflage scheme.

Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, during her shakedown period, circa December 1942.

Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, during her shakedown period, circa December 1942. Note her Measure 12 (modified) camouflage scheme.

Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, during her shakedown period, circa December 1942.

Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, during her shakedown period, circa December 1942.

Vought OS2U Kingfisher on catapult on rear of Alabama.

Arizona salvage operation, September 20, 1943.

Arizona before Pearl Harbor.

Arizona BB-39 looking forward. Rear gun turret and superstructure details, after her sinking, are easily visible.

Arizona, 17 February 1942.

Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox at his desk in 1940.

Allied warships of Bombarding Force 'O', supporting the landings in the Omaha area. The column is led by Texas (BB-35) (left) with HMS Glasgow, Arkansas (BB-33), FFS Georges Leygues and FFS Montcalm following.

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942: USS South Dakota firing her anti-aircraft guns at attacking Japanese planes during the action, 26 October 1942. A Japanese Type 97 Shipboard Attack Aircraft ("Kate") is at right, apparently leaving the area after having dropped its torpedo.

The transport ship, General W.P. Richardson, docked in New York, with veterans of the European war cheering on June 7, 1945. Many soldiers were veterans of the African campaign, Salerno, Anzio, Cassino and the winter warfare in Italy’s mountains.

USS Wasp (CV-7) underway in March 1942.

A great pre-war photo of the USS Winslow (DD-359). A member of the destroyer leader Porter class. Spent most of World War II on convoy escort in the Atlantic.

USS West Virginia (BB-48) En route to the west coast after she had been salvaged and given preliminary repairs at Pearl Harbor. 20 April 1943.

USS South Dakota (BB-57) underway with Task Force 17 in 1942.

USS Iowa (BB-61) raising her anchor, as she prepares to move from Bayonne, New Jersey, to Gravesend Bay, 29 March 1943.

USS Kidd (DD-661) en route to the Saipan Invasion, 12 June 1944. Anchored in the left background is the battleship USS Tennessee (BB-43), with a destroyer alongside and an escort carrier beyond. The photo was taken from USS New Mexico (BB-40).

Hulk of the battleship Kentucky being towed to a salvage yard, October 1958.

USS Hornet (CV-8) view taken 3 March 1941, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, quarter bow view, in drydock, under construction.

Taken from USS Hornet (CV-12) on 14 May 1945. Japanese plane exploding after being struck by gun fire of Task Group 58-1. USS Bennington in foreground.

USS Minneapolis (CA-36) en route to Pearl Harbor for repairs, circa January 1943. She had lost her bow when hit by Japanese torpedoes during the Battle of Tassafaronga, on 30 November 1942.

USS Stoddert (DD-302) (left) operating under radio command, circa 1931, following conversion to a target ship. Her control ship, USS Dent (DD-116), is steaming astern.

USS Borie DD-215 sinking after Battle with German U-405, 2 November 1943.

U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Evarts (DE-5) underway at sea, eastwards from Boston, Massachusetts on 19 August 1944. Evarts is wearing what appears to be Camouflage Measure 31 or 32, Design 10D. 

USS Swordfish (SS-193) at San Francisco Navy Yard, June 13, 1943.

USS Hollandia (CVE-97) arrives at Naval Air Station Alameda, on 29 November 1945. She was transporting 1100 servicemen home from Eniwetok and Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Magic Carpet.

Loading truck onto an LST.

Aboard a transport bringing Army troops from New Guinea to the Philippines. The early model 2½-ton truck has the insignia of the Chemical Corps on its hood and a personal insignia on the door.

DUKW loading onto LST 543.

Operation Tiger, the training exercise on Slapton Sands in Devon, England, spring 1944. In the foreground on the sand are rolls of mesh ‘Sommerfeld Tracking’ (named after German expatriate engineer, Kurt Joachim Sommerfeld), used to strengthen weak and viscous surfaces. In the center is an American M10 tank destroyer named “Bessie” equipped wading equipment that protected the engine from the ingress of water, and a Caterpillar D-8 bulldozer, used by the Allies in landings for clearing the beaches. LCT-27, LCT-[?]53, LST-325 in the background.

American sailors onboard a destroyer. Circa 1940. 

Both U.S. Navy servicemen and projectiles line the deck of the battleship USS New Mexico just prior to the invasion of Guam in July 1944. 

Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, American servicemen watch high-ranking Japanese and American officials sign the former's instrument of surrender, which finally brought the hostilities of World War II to an end. 

This aerial photograph made on day five of the invasion shows the immense power needed to break the back of Japanese Resistance on Iwo Jima, on March 17, 1945. Just off the beach, landing craft await their chance at the unloading area while small boats from the transports ply back and forth bring assault troops and returning wounded for treatment. Further out, the transports themselves faintly along the horizon, the protective screen of destroyers, destroyer escorts and cruisers can be seen. On the island, Marine tanks can be spotted moving through the rough terrain toward the first airfield at left. 

USS Maryland, BB-46, during construction. 

USS Maryland entering drydock at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard 10 July 1944, for torpedo (aerial) damage repair and the replacement of her bow after being struck by a Japanese aerial torpedo at Saipan. 

Bow view of USS Maryland (BB-46) off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, 5 August 1945. 

USS Tennessee (BB-43) training her guns on Okinawa, Ryukyu Island, defenses during invasion, as landing craft scurry to shore. 

Ex-USS New York (BB-34) is towed from Pearl Harbor to be sunk as a target, 6 July 1948. USS Conserver (ARS-39), at left, is the main towing ship, assisted by two harbor tugs on New York's port side. 

USS Enterprise (CV-6) operating in the Pacific, circa late June 1941. She is turning into the wind to recover aircraft. Note her "natural wood" flight deck stain and dark Measure One camouflage paint scheme. The flight deck was stained blue in July 1941, during camouflage experiments that gave her a unique deck stripe pattern. 

USS Enterprise at Ford Island in late May 1942 being readied for the Battle of Midway. 

USS Yorktown (CV-5) shown shortly after completion in 1937. The three sisters – Yorktown, Hornet, and Enterprise – bore the brunt of the early battles of the war in the Pacific. 

USS Yorktown (CV-5) in Dry Dock # 1 at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 29 May 1942, receiving urgent repairs for damage received in the Battle of Coral Sea. She left Pearl Harbor the next day to participate in the Battle of Midway. Note the raised 20-mm/70-cal Oerlikon AA mounts beneath the forward edge of the flight deck. The CXAM radar antenna is in the "down" position, and is therefore out of sight. USS West Virginia (BB-48), sunk in the 7 December 1941 Japanese air attack, is being salvaged in the left distance. 

When the Yorktown was damaged, Fletcher transferred his flag to the USS Astoria (CA 34). Here he is seen boarding the cruiser. 

View of the underside of Yorktown’s flight deck structure, showing the impact hole made by the Japanese bomb that struck the ship amidships during the Battle of the Coral Sea. A patch over the flight deck’s broken wooden planking is visible within the hole. Note structural beam in lower part of the photo, distorted by the bomb’s passage. 

U.S. Coast Guardsman Fireman 1st Class Charles Tyner displaying his helmet, damaged by large shrapnel during the invasion of Southern France, 1944. 

U.S. Navy Bosun’s chair. 

U.S. Navy shipmates are seen burying a fallen comrade at sea. 

Pre-war appearance of USS West Virginia, August 1935. Note the open-mounted 5-inch L/51 gun and the minesweeping gear abreast her B turret, also the awning stanchions and stretchers, and the bow anchor. 

USS West Virginia, October 1944, as rebuilt, rejoining the fleet off the Philippines. 

USS William J. Pattison (APD-104), a high-speed transport. 

USS Essex departing San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 15 April 1944. 

USS South Dakota in Puget Sound, Washington, United States, 21 August 1944. 

USS Enterprise being pushed by tug boats, New York, United States, 17 October 1945. 

Ernest Borgnine as Lieutenant Commander McHale in "McHale's Navy" in 1963. Borgnine joined the United States Navy in October 1935, after graduation from high school, until he was honorably discharged in October of 1941. In January 1942, he reenlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he patrolled the Atlantic Coast on an antisubmarine warfare ship, the USS Sylph (PY-12).

USS Missouri in the Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal, 13 October 1945. 

Henry Fonda (1905-1982) Lt. jg U.S. Navy 1943-45 World War II. Fonda was already a movie star when he enlisted saying, "I don't want to be in a fake war in a studio." Fonda served as a Quartermaster 3rd Class on the destroyer USS Satterlee. He was later commissioned as a Lieutenant jg in Air Combat Intelligence in the Pacific and was awarded the Bronze Star. He was in 106 films and won an Oscar for On Golden Pond. 

Miles Davis King carrying a loaded magazine for a 20-mm gun aboard CVE USS Tulagi en route to France, August 1944. 

USS Langley in heavy seas in the South China Sea in the morning of 13 January 1945. Note the trailing USS Washington riding the storm much better. 

New Mexico class battleship USS Idaho, 1943: she was fortunate in not being at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, but as a result was not as extensively modernized as those ships requiring significant repair. She served throughout the Pacific campaign, mainly in shore bombardment roles. 

The Iowa (BB-61) and Indiana (BB-58) (background) underway, possibly during the Marshall Islands Campaign. This 1944 photo shows Iowa in her anti-submarine camouflage measure, applied in December or in early January 1944 with Navy Blue (5-N) and Light Grey (5-L) and Deck Blue (20-B) horizontal surfaces. Highly visible in this view are the fine forward hull lines for a higher speed than the preceding South Dakota-class battleships. Consequently her #1 turret had little depth for torpedo protection. Note the 20mm gallery atop #2 turret. 

Japanese aircraft being shot down as it attempted to attack escort carrier USS Kitkun Bay, near Marianas Islands, June 1944. 

USS Enterprise gunnery crews practice with their 20mm anti-aircraft guns off Hawaii, May 1942. 

Replacement aircraft for Espiritu Santo crowd the flight deck of the escort carrier USS Kwajalein as she steams from San Pedro, California, United States, 19 July 1944. 

USS Missouri (left) and USS Iowa (right) off Japan, 20 August 1945. 

USS Missouri and USS Iowa en route to Japan, August 1945. 

Destroyer Escort USS Fiske broken in two and sinking in the North Atlantic after being torpedoed by German submarine U-804, 2 August 1944. 

Diagram of U.S. battleship 16-inch gun turret. 

Diagram of U.S. 5-inch gun turret. 

Diagram of U.S. 40mm quad anti-aircraft gun mount. 

Diagram of U.S. 40mm twin anti-aircraft gun mount. 

Diagram of U.S. 20mm anti-aircraft gun mount. 

USS Hornet (CV-8), as completed, 27 October 1941. 

USS Hornet (CV-8) photographed circa late 1941, soon after completion, probably at a U.S. east coast port. Note flight deck overhang and large crane stowed in the small boat area. A ferry boat and "Eagle Boat" (PE) are in the background. 

The damaged U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) with the destroyer USS Mustin (DD-413) alongside, during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, at 1155, 26 October 1942. The photo was taken by a cameraman on a TBM Avenger from Hornet. 

USS Hornet after commissioning, Norfolk Navy Yard, 19 November 1941. 

USS Hornet, Norfolk Navy Yard, 28 February 1942. 

USS Hornet, Norfolk Navy Yard, 28 February 1942, looking forward from island along starboard side of flight deck with Grumman F4F fighters and Curtiss SBC dive bombers. 

USS Hornet arriving at Pearl Harbor after the Doolittle Raid, April 1942. 

USS Hornet entering Pearl Harbor, 26 May 1942. 

U.S. Task Force 17 maneuvering to evade attack by Japanese planes in the Second Battle of Santa Cruz. Taken by a plane from the aircraft carrier Hornet. 

USS Hornet being abandoned 26 October 1942 as seen from Russell (DD-414). 

USS Hornet being abandoned 26 October 1942 as seen from Russell (DD-414). 

The heavy cruiser USS Northampton (CA-26) (right) attempting to tow the aircraft carrier USS Hornet after the latter had been damaged by Japanese air attacks on 26 October 1942 during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. 

USS Idaho photographed in 1934, following modernization. 

USS Idaho in 1936 following her 1931-34 modernization at the Norfolk Navy Yard. 

USS Idaho underway at sea, circa the mid-1930s. 

USS Idaho before World War II with New Mexico in the background. Note the searchlights on the platforms beside the funnel. 

USS Idaho anchored in Hvaeldefjord, Iceland, October 1941. 

USS Idaho after her first wartime modification, December 1942. She looks similar to the Mississippi, but her casemate guns have been removed. 

USS Idaho after her modification, seen on 3 January 1943. She carries her SK radar antenna on the foremast. Her SRa antenna is mounted on top of her aft tower superstructure. Note the single 5-inch turrets amidships. Only Idaho was so armed. 

USS Idaho in 1943 after her last modifications. Note the enlarged structure carrying the 5-inch L/38 single-mounts. The SRa radar antenna is mounted above the bridge. She has a very narrow base for her stabilized rangefinders. Note the unusual funnel cap. 

USS Idaho bombarding Iwo Jima, circa late February 1945. For the full story of the Idaho, see The Big Spud: The U.S.S. Idaho in World War II: A War Diary by a Member of its VO Squadron by William Schumann, published by Merriam Press, 2008. 

USS Wisconsin alongside the hulk of the Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor, 11 November 1944. 

The Iowa class (BB-61 / 66) inboard profile. 

Keel laying ceremony for the Iowa (BB-61), as seen on 27 June 1940 at the New York Navy Yard. Shipyard Superintendents, foremen and chargemen who will lead the yard workers on the project look on as Rear Admiral C. H. Woodward, Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair Bu C & R) drives the first rivet. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Looking Aft From About Frame 101. 30 September 1940. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Looking Forward From About FR 106. 30 September 1940. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Looking Forward From About Bulkhead III. 30 December 1940. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) under construction at the New York Navy Yard looking aft from about midship. 27 June 1941. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Midship Looking Aft. 3 October 1941. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Midship Looking Forward. 3 October 1941. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Looking Forward from About Midship. 3 July 1942. 

Mrs. Henry A. Wallace, wife of the Vice President, holds the christening bottle and her daughter, Miss Jean Wallace (her maid of honor) hold her bouquet at the launching stand for Iowa at New York Naval Yard on 27 August 1942. 

Mrs. Henry A. Wallace and her daughter, Miss Jean Wallace moments before christening the Iowa (BB-61). 

Mrs. Henry A. Wallace christens the Iowa (BB-61). 

Mrs. Wallace and Miss Wallace; the woman on the left is more than likely Mrs. James D. LaCron. 

Iowa (BB-61) is launched at New York Naval Yard on 27 August 1942. Sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Wallace, wife of the Vice President. Her sleek lines and raked bow foretells her high speed. 

Past the ways following Iowa's launching, and waiting for the tugs to move her to dock, 27 August 1942. 

Iowa (BB-61) being moved into dock soon after launching, if not the same day. 

Hoisting one of the Iowa's nine 16”/50 Mark VII main battery guns on board, while she was fitting out, at the New York Navy Yard, circa Autumn 1942. Another gun is still on the pier, at the bottom of the photo. 

A welder at work on one of the turrets of the Iowa (BB-61), while she was fitting out at the New York Navy Yard, circa Fall 1942. 

Workmen installing the Iowa's forward 16”/50 gun turrets, while she was fitting out at the New York Navy Yard, circa Autumn 1942. View looks aft and to port, with the number two turret in the center of the view and the forward fire control tower at left. Note “Moto Crane” in lower left. 

The type of view a kamikaze pilot could expect without the gun bursts. Iowa (BB-61) shortly before commissioning. She is still without her Secondary Battery Director Fire Control radars (MK.4) and her SG surface search radar atop the main mast. Also some of her Mk.2, quadruple 40mm mounts still have to be fitted. Note the antenna trunks on the Flag Bridge level in front of her aft stack. Atop Spot 2 radar equipment Mk.8 with “Old Glory” above it. On that same level, between the stack and spot 2, a left - and right hand and loading machine. P/S of her stack two 36-Inch searchlights. The covered objects in the tubs are Mk.51 directors & Director Mk.51 Mod.2 with Gun Sight Mk.14 Mod.2. If you look at the 5” turrets, you will notice that the sight housings are two on the left side and one on the right. The turrets actually have two on the right, and one on the left. The small round tube sticking up in front of the captains hatch, a periscope, should be to the left of centerline.

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard looking forward from about Frame 90. 15 January 1943. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) in the New York Navy Yard Looking Aft From About Frame 120. 15 January 1943. 

The 20mm gun crew in action on the forecastle of the Iowa (BB-61), probably during her shakedown period in the late winter and spring of 1943. Note the gunner using Mark 14 lead-computing gun sight mounted on the 20mm gun at right. 

A June 1943 Division of Naval Intelligence, Identification and Characteristics Section print of a 7 April 1943 photo of USS Iowa (BB-61). 

A June 1943 Division of Naval Intelligence, Identification and Characteristics section print of a 7 April 1943 photo of USS Iowa (BB-61). 

Iowa seen on shakedown cruise blowing out soot out of the large rear stack. Note the top of one of the 5in/38cal mounts in the foreground at left and part of two of the six 40mm Bofors mounts located between the stacks, May 1943. 

USS Iowa (BB-61) performing anti-aircraft practice. Visible are a 20mm Oerlikon gun tub and 5in/38cal gun mounts, May 1943. 

Aerial view of the U.S. Navy Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts. In the left foreground is the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61), which had entered dry dock after a grounding on 16 July 1943. In the right foreground is the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) and a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, either USS Baltimore (CA-68) or USS Boston (CA-69). Five Benson/Gleaves-class destroyers are visible (one in the floating dry dock), a single Fletcher-class destroyer (dark camouflage) and the Free French destroyer Le Fantasque. On the opposite side of the pier with the floating dry dock at the top of the picture is the troop transport USS Wakefield (AP-21). 

A U.S. Navy Iowa-class battleship at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, in 1943. USS Iowa (BB-61) was damaged by grounding in Casco Bay on 16 July 1943 and was repaired at Boston. 

The Iowa's conning tower section seen at Boston Navy Yard after some minor refit (including the vertical strakes on the sides for wind deflection.) At the center of the image is one of the four 5in/38cal gun directors. Note the armor thickness visible at the hatch and also the direct vision slots. Note also one of the ship’s bells is visible, November 1943. 

The Iowa's conning tower section seen at Boston Navy Yard after some minor refit (including the vertical strakes on the sides for wind deflection.) Note that all the types of weapons are visible here - 20mm, 40mm, 5in/38cal, and the rear of one of the 16in/50cal turrets (note the 20mm gun tub on top of this turret and the floater nets mounted there too.) November 1943. 

Looking aft from the forward fire control tower, during the Iowa’s (BB-61) shakedown period, 1943. Carrier in the distance may be Lexington (CV-16). 

The 24th Surgeon General of the Navy, RADM Clifford A. Swanson, then Captain, served his duty at sea during World War II aboard the battleship Iowa (BB-61) from 1943 to 1944. He subsequently advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral, 2 December 1946 for temporary service while serving as Surgeon General and Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery from 1946 to 1951. 

Iowa church service at sea in the Atlantic. 

Drawing prepared by the Bureau of Ships for Camouflage Measure 32, Design 7A intended for battleships of the Iowa class (BB-61 / 66). No ship is known to have worn this scheme. This plan, showing the ship’s starboard side, superstructure and turret ends, and exposed decks, is dated 19 January 1944, and was approved by Captain Logan McKee, USN. Note: Missouri (BB-63) wore MS 32 / 22D. 

Drawing prepared by the Bureau of Ships for Camouflage Measure 32, Design 7A intended for battleships of the Iowa class (BB-61 / 66). No ship is known to have worn this scheme. This plan, showing the ship’s port side, is dated 19 January 1944, and was approved by Captain Logan McKee, USN. Note: The other BB-61 / 64 class battleships were not painted in any Measure 31-32-33 series camouflage design. 

Iowa (BB-61) underway at sea during the Marshalls Operation, 24 January 1944. She is wearing Camouflage Measure 32, Design 1B. In the left distance, also painted in Camouflage Measure 32 (possibly Design 11D), is Indiana (BB-58). This image has been cropped to emphasize the ships and their camouflage patterns. 

USS Iowa (BB-61). An OS2U Kingfisher is launched off the starboard catapult while the port one is preparing to launch in the same direction. There is also a third one resting on a dolly on the deck. Note the many manned 20mm Oerlikons on the aft deck, mid 1944. 

16-inch guns of the USS Iowa firing during battle drill in the Pacific. 1944. 

The U.S. Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) at a Pacific anchorage in 1944, wearing Camouflage Measure 32, Design 1B. Note the stern of an old “flushdecker” destroyer on the right. 

Captain James Lemuel Holloway, Jr. assumed command of the battleship Iowa (BB-61), flagship of Battleship Division 7, in November 1944. Under his command, Iowa took part in attacks on Luzon later that month, shooting down many enemy aircraft, and participated in strikes on the Japanese homeland from March to July 1945. For commanding Iowa during these operations, he received a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit, with the following citation: “With his vessel operating as flagship of several important striking and covering forces...Holloway rendered distinguished service throughout the intensive actions and, by his brilliant leadership and outstanding skill, contributed materially to the extensive and costly damage inflicted on the enemy.” Holloway operated his battleship with characteristic flair, recalled Rear Admiral Ralph Kirk James, who had been the maintenance officer responsible for repair work on damaged ships at Manus when Iowa arrived at that base to fix shafting problems on 25 December 1944. “Jimmy Holloway was charging up the harbor with this big battleship, the biggest I’d seen, and I was getting more and more nervous.” Alarmed, James warned Holloway to reduce his speed before entering the drydock. “‘Oh no,’ [Holloway] said...He got the ship just about halfway into the dry dock when he ordered full speed astern. The Iowa shook like a damned destroyer and stopped just where she was supposed to be.” Unfortunately, the backwash from the engine reversal swept away the drydock support blocks from underneath the ship, and James and his crew had to spend an extra three hours resetting the blocks before Iowa could dock. Afterward, James discovered a grey streak in his hair. “I can tell you the moment it was born: when Holloway pulled his high-speed throttle-jockey stunt on me.”

Iowa at sea with Task Force 38 in December 1944. 

Lt.Cdr. C.F. Jacobs, formerly a leading magazine illustrative photographer, with his F-16 camera aboard the USS Iowa (BB-61). December 1944. 

View of battleship USS Iowa in Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Drydock No. 4, San Francisco, looking northeast, undergoing repairs and modernization after being damaged during Typhoon Cobra. 1945.