USS Iowa - First of the Fast

Today we take a look at the USS Iowa, now home ported in Los Angeles, the first of Iowa class!
USS Iowa Museum video on the Turret 2 explosion: • We Remember Turret II
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[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :) USS Iowa Video on Turret 2 Explosion: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoHbhnuQd8qCZ7s

[@unemployed_history_major4795]

Drach, in regards to the plate stating 600ft depth required for full power, do you know the reasoning behind that? My guess based on a decade in the military would be environmental concerns. Full power could disturb the coral which would cause the Navy to be fined, or something to that effect. I also love the safety message of “notify your supervisor if missile fuel leaks”. Nothing has changed! The answer to every safety question is “notify your supervisor” 😂

[@baileyd5210]

Hi Drach as always thank you for all the excellent work. Not sure if you have covered this yet and it's not a question, more like a suggestion for a video. Using the following quotes Lord Selborne, the First Lord of the Admiralty (1904): "The substitution of oil for coal is impossible, because oil does not exist in this world in sufficient quantities. It must be reckoned only as a most valuable adjunct." Fisher wrote in 1902, "It is a gospel fact ... that a fleet with oil fuel will have an overwhelming strategic advantage over a coal fleet." As Churchill noted (1911), "the advantages conferred by liquid fuel were inestimable." But he also recognized that a switch would be difficult to implement: "To change the foundation of the navy from British coal to foreign oil was a formidable decision in itself." Finding and securing sources of oil threatened to be the most difficult part of the venture. We know the problems the Germans had in WW2, but it looks like a very interesting story for all the major navies

[@F-Man]

Drach, if the missile is leaking fuel, does the missile still know where it is by knowing where it isn’t? Seriously, now - what sorts of propellants were used on those missiles? I was always under the impression that they were solid fueled because it’s easily storable, but solid fuels can’t “leak” as such. Hydrogen peroxide? Hydrazine? Magical mystical Harpoon fluid? Or are they referring to a flavor of JP? 🧐

[@brendonbewersdorf986]

If the US Navy wasn't able to acquire the 20mm oerlikon or the bofors 40mm do you see there being a timeline where they would press the US army's 37mm M1 auto cannon into service in a navalized form? Or would they try to upgrade the 1.5inch Chicago piano?

[@colormedubious4747]

Nice vid! As often as we bemoan the scrapping of historically significant warships (I weep for our failure to save CV-6), it certainly seems that the United States has preserved an astonishing number of them. How do we compare to other nations in this regard, Drach?

[@hillogical]

I'll tell you who would weld a live ammunition box: I went to high school with a guy who almost blew up the welding shop. After graduation he enlisted in the US Navy ... as a welder.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

😬

[@marine76a]

Lesson learned hopefully

[@hillogical]

@@marine76a lol no. You have to remember that these jobs are largely done by young men ages 18-20. We're (I was US Army myself) given the keys to levels of destruction that normal people wouldn't even want, and expected to behave. Meanwhile, we are all the type of person who has so little disregard for our personal safety that we VOLUNTEERED for it.

[@VikingTeddy]

Every warning sign has a moron behind its inception.

[@jamesm3471]

What’s wrong with welding a live ammo box? Sometimes there just isn’t enough time to wait for it to die before you fire up that torch.

[@captainpotatoaim9381]

18:32 "who would weld a live ammunition box???" Lets be real, these rules exist because at some point, someone decided that it would be an excellent idea to do just that

[@jeffholloway3882]

Bingo

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

'muricans ?

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

Have you ever read the warning labels on a ladder?

[@shannonkohl68]

In their defense, was the box properly marked? I'm sure the likes of Drachinifel would have known exactly what it was when it wasn't labeled, but some kid fresh out of high school may not. So they marked it, and while they were at it, they made sure that everyone knew what was prohibited. Not a bad idea really.

[@blackdog542]

Have you ever read the warnings on a chainsaw? "Do not attempt to stop the chain with upper leg or genitals, severe injury or death will result" Hmm?

[@MilesStratton]

Hey Drach, USS Iowa employee here, that 20mm cartridge is actually a vulcan round for our CIWS installed on the 05 level 😀

[@stuartdollar9912]

@Fred brandon The recoil would be literally arm-breaking, I'm afraid.

[@stuartdollar9912]

@Fred brandon Yep. Pretty much the same thing. :)

[@HisCarlnessI]

@@stuartdollar9912 I mean, they've made a .50bmg pistol (not talking about the one Brandon Herrera showed off recently, an actual pistol.) Hard to have tooo much recoil when the gun is really heavy, mostly flips backwards, and mostly just shoots out unburnt powder.

[@leopardone2386]

" This is of course a warship , NOT a floating hotel." *Sad Yamato noises.*

[@nick31092]

Heya Drach, former staff of the Battleship Iowa Museum here, wanted to add a couple fun tidbits that I used to say when doing my tours: -At 26:18 those three switches on the left side are respectively for the General, Chemical, and Collision alarms, and when the ship was first opened those alarms (unbeknownst to everyone) were still live! An early visitor pulled one of those switches and gave everyone a nice shock. We actually clipped the wires one deck below to prevent that from happening again. -Amidst your lovely analysis of the Iowa/Yamato models, at 35:05 you can see the bottom of a very large bell in the top-center of the picture. That is actually one of USS Iowa's original brass bells from 1943, that used to hang below the bridge. When Iowa was recommissioned in 1984 the crew petitioned the Navy's History and Heritage Command for their ship's original bell, and received it! Unfortunately, being the 1980s, the crew then went out and had the lovely brass bell *chromed*, which I'm sure must have made the History and Heritage Command very happy indeed. Somehow the Museum was able to convince the Command to lend us the bell again (perhaps they figured we couldn't do anything worse than what the poor thing has already suffered), and it's been displayed in the museum since it arrived in 2018. Loved the video!

[@zackakai5173]

"Who would weld a live ammunition box?" It's the "there's a story behind this sign" meme again 😂

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

I went to school with someone who spent his teens getting fired from a string of jobs for having silly "accidents" and trashing stuff, so having become unemployable, he joined the army. Need I say more ?

[@ronnielacher]

I volunteer on BB-64 Wisconsin. A one of the guys on board served on the Iowa when the turret exploded. Another guy is friends with the first firefighter who went into the turret.

[@idontcare9797]

I would really wish one of the guys who first entered would tell what they experienced. But I completely understand why they wouldn't want to.

[@ronnielacher]

@@idontcare9797 From what I heard, it was not a pretty scene.

[@idontcare9797]

@Ronnie Lacher I can't imagine those poor guys RIP. The accident is fascinating to me a morbid curiosity.

[@ronnielacher]

@@idontcare9797 I'd love to see Iowa a one of these days to pay respects. They didn't serve on the same ship that I volunteer on, but they served on the same class so it feels very personal to me.

[@becausereasons7541]

9:50 "This is a warship, not a floating hotel" I'm on the newer version of Iowa (SSN-797) and compared to what I've dealt with in the past this is DEFINATLY a floating hotel ;)

[@roshanpatel8026]

18:40 finally a pair of binoculars admiral rozhestvensky can’t throw overboard!

[@russelljohnson6267]

😂😂😂

[@nathanokun8801]

In the US Navy during WWII, ALL --repeat, ALL -- AP rounds, cruiser and battleship, had dye bags in their windscreens, one color issued to each ship in a taskforce. These had triangular cut-out holes near the tip of the windscreen, closed with thin plates that were torn off by water impact, letting water ram through the windscreen volume where the dye was. Around the bottom edge of the windscreen, just above where it is screwed onto the AP cap (for use to protect the shell nose against face-hardened plate impact), is a ring of small round holes going entirely around the shell nose, which are also made to blow out when water hits them, allowing the dye-colored water to come out in the splash, identifying who fired that shell. The Japanese used a similar system in WWII for tis Type 91/1 "AP" shells' being APC ijn large guns and SAP shells for cruiser-type shells. The difference here is that the windscreen and the entire tip of the pro0jecilte nose (SAP) or AP cap (APC) tears free on water impact, releasing the dye, with the flat-nosed remaining shell being able to move nose-first underwater near the surface for a long distance to try to hit the enemy ship below its belt armor . Dye-bag were also used by the French WWII RICHELIEU APC and DUNKERKUE SAPC shells (not sure about the cruisers or older battleships), though using a different and superior method to do this. The French realized that the usual US/Japanese dye-bag system did not work if the ship were directly hit (not good, is it?) or if the fight was at night or in bad, foggy weather. So, they put much larger dye bags in their windscreens, held in place by some internal braces nigh up in the windscreen (the French shells were the longest used by anyone being 5 calibers long, much of that being the windscreen length). At the base of the windscreen they reinforce it by a slightly-raised flat plate attached tightly to the conical upper face of the AP cap. This reinforcement was there to allow the addition of an HE-shell's impact nose fuze and explosive booster charge. On impact the booster charge would explode, creating a bright colored flash and smoke cloud on top of coloring the splash. No matter where it hit or when, if it was visible at all, you knew which ship fired that shell. These were called "K" rounds. Note that the flat reinforced windscreen base would make these shells act much like the Japanese Type 91 shells as to diving underwater for a long distance nose-first. However, I do not know if the French used the very long fuze delay that the Japanese did to allow a wide distance short of the target to still hit it. Amazingly the British never used dye bags for most of the period from WWI through the beginning of WWII, even though problems with several ships firing at a single target had happened many times. This finally changed when they learned about the French "K" method of marking shot hits after Dunkirk. Their design had their newer, longer "B"-length APC and 8" SAPC shells (uncapped 6" SAP. too"?), somewhat shorter than the French as to windscreen length, but not by a lot, modified to hold the enlarged dye bag and HE nose fuze/booster, though the heavy reinforcement used by the long windscreen of the French shells, including that flat base, were not used, just some heavier steel for the windscreen, adding 5 pounds to the shell. It was also called a "K" shell by the British.

[@TimeWizard23]

your comments on the container ships had me laughing way too loud! As always a very informative and humorous video.

[@hawkeye5955]

I thought he was going to say he was concerned the drifting cargo ships would collide with the Iowa.

[@coyote2792]

@@hawkeye5955 At least it's not Nebulous: Fleet Command where container ships are an actual existential threat to battleships

[@chaingun1701]

Someone please explain the joke.

[@nick31092]

@@chaingun1701 The Ever Given container ship that blocked the Suez Canal a couple years ago.

[@chaingun1701]

@@nick31092 ah, thanks

[@jeffpeterson9627]

I've visited several battleships but, by far, my favorite battleship tour was the USS North Carolina in Wilmington. The tour included the machinery spaces, the 16" magazines, and a 16" turret. It was also more authentic as a WW2 battleship as it was never modernized. It was an awesome experience.

[@CRAZYHORSE19682003]

The don't call her the Showboat for nothing :)

[@kuroinamida4630]

yeah, NC is the most left untouched from her WW2 Configuration of the 8 Museum Ships, from what i heard while the Iowas are a fun mix of 30s and 80s Tech.

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

I'm with you there. Great tour of a great ship. I loved all of the little shops and work areas. I'm a printer by trade and was fascinated by the ships print shop. I dont remember seeing the same on Yorktown. The laffey didn't have as much access to those areas that I can remember. But those are the only warships ive ever been on. So I can't speak for any of the others.

[@robertbrodie5183]

great resturant just across from it with a nice view of it

[@badcornflakes6374]

But.. the Iowa 😢

[@NewtypeCommander]

I must say, it was a pleasure to meet you Drach on the Iowa. For anyone reading this and thinking about touring the Iowa, I recommend booking one of the extra guided tours through the engineering spaces, weapons facilities, and/or the Presidential sections. With the engineering tour, the guides will briefly turn on the exhaust ventilation system to give you an idea of how loud it can be on battleship. Edit: also nearby the Iowa is the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, which includes a number naval artifacts such as a screw from both RMS Queen Mary and USS Canberra, and a mast from the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser USS Los Angeles.

[@Backwardlooking]

My father served aboard your‘cramped’ South Dakota in 1943 transferred from the Royal Navy to communicate with the Home Fleet. He thought it an improvement upon his Nelson and Queen Elizabeth Class quarters.

[@jamesonbetts1832]

Rozhesvensky would have quite some trouble throwing those binocs overboard!

[@michaelimbesi2314]

I think the very shallow water restrictions mentioned at about 23:00 are probably related to squat. When a ship is in shallow water and/or restricted channels, the water has to flow faster around it and it will experience a lifting force downward because of Bernoulli’s principle. This force can also cause the ship to trim. All of this combines to cause the ship’s draft to increase when moving relative to the draft if the ship was at rest. This effect can cause ships to run aground at high speeds in water that they could safely navigate at slower speeds. Once you add in the fact that ships heel outward as they turn and that that heel causes the outer turn of the bulge to move downward, you could have a scenario where a high speed turn in shallow water could potentially cause the turn of the bilge on the outboard side to be 35’ below the depth the keel is at when the ship is stationary (10’ of squat and 25’ from the heeling). That’s about 6 fathoms. For depths above that, I think the speed restrictions are largely to do with leaving enough margin that you have time to react to the water getting shallower if the ship happens to be approaching an uncharted shoal. It may also have some relation to the fact that waves (including the ship’s bow wave and stern wave) behave differently in shallow water than in deep water and avoiding this shallow water behavior might be important for handling and for keeping the wake small enough that it doesn’t negatively affect things on the shore.

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

Same thing that evergreen experienced, right?

[@theblackbear211]

I will also add, that the hydraulic impulses of the propellers interact with the bottom. As the water shallows it becomes quite apparent in the engine room... we referred to it as "Propeller Shake" in some vessels (I've experienced it in 30-50 fathoms)

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

@@theblackbear211 never experienced any of that but , to me it's fascinating.

[@robertslugg8361]

@@JamesThomas-gg6il I think Evergreen was more a side wind that they couldn't compensate for. There are some interesting KZbin vids of cargo and cruise ships in channels and the effect that the propellers have on the surrounding water, pulling from in front of the boat and loading up the area aft, such that large waves are created when the ship passes and the water returns to where it had been removed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJaUZ6doq5KCmrc Hmmmm, maybe Evergreen is evil. Drach onto something?

[@alexandermonro6768]

Also, passing at speed close to the sea bottom is likely to stir up sand, mud, and other stuff that you would prefer not to suck into the condenser cooling water intakes. Interesting that this means that an Iowa class BB couldn't pass through the Dover Straights at full speed, at least not at all states of the tide.

[@Drmartin18]

Fun fact for you Drach, the number 1 turret guns are left in their lowered position because the screw jacks to raise them are so worn out that they cannot actually lift them anymore. and also, one of the barrels on the number 1 gun had a loose cap on it when i was there in 2019, so if you smacked the cap, you could hear it reverberate down the barrel and back up

[@dapawaz8310]

I had the chance to check out USS Iowa when she was at Port of Richmond. The first thing that struck me was the sheer size of an Iowa class ship. When you realize they were designed with drafting tables and slide rules and the incredible amount of hard and often dangerous work constructing them, it's humbling.

[@rickallen848]

When one of the cruise ships docks next to the Iowa, it looks small.

[@battleoid2411]

​@@rickallen848 that's because, especially these days, civilian ships are typically much larger than warships. Compare container ships to even a Ford class carrier, there are many commercial ships that will dwarf it and that's one of the largest warships ever built. In Iowa's case, they wanted a ship that could throw 9 16" shells out to the horizon, and so she's as big as she needs to be to that while protecting herself and maintaining a decent speed

[@micnorton9487]

​@@rickallen848 Yeah those cruise ships are weird,, makes sense to put the swimming pools inside but the huge courtyard INSIDE a ship is just,, odd..

[@melodiehutchins2499]

​@@micnorton9487I don't think people who take trips on cruise ships like to actually feel like they're on a ship. By my reckoning it makes no sense either.

[@micnorton9487]

@@melodiehutchins2499 But THAT'S what I don't understand,, WHY not just go to a big hotel in Vegas or Florida or whatever?

[@harrybenson9983]

While in the Navy back in 1974 a buddy of mine and I snuck aboard the Iowa in the Philadelphia shipyard. Iowa, and Wisconsin, at the time were mothballed in the same location. All we could do was wander around on the main deck because without tools every hatch and door was sealed off by various means. Even if we got inside, without flashlights you couldn't go very far inside the ship. We were impressed with the size of the ship because at the time we served on a guided missile destroyer. Impressive ships.

[@seanmalloy7249]

When I was working out on Point Loma in San DIego, I got sent to Norfolk to set up a training computer on the Iowa; the person I was working with was Larry Bond, the developer of the naval miniatures game "Harpoon". For such a large ship, I was surprised by how little space was devoted to accommodating the crew. I'm 6'5", and if I was careful about where I stood, I could stand upright, but spent most of my time aboard hunched over to keep my head below the level of the pipework that made up the overhead. It gave me a new respect for the stories my father had told me about how, when he was assigned to a new ship, he always wore his helmet outside his cabin until he learned where all the low overheads were.

[@codyaltman40]

​@@seanmalloy7249thanks for sharing your story. In regards to the ship not having enough room, im pretty sure people were just smaller in general back then.

[@DethOnHigh]

I got to help paint the Missouri the year before she opened to the public. They asked for volunteers from my battalion to pitch in one Saturday. Kinda funny seeing a bunch of us grunts working on a Navy ship.

[@davidbryden7904]

I love that Drach pronounced Los Angeles correctly! I've lived in California ALL my life, and nobody says it right!😂

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Nicely done. And thank you for the classy way you handled the Turret II accident. Much appreciated. 👍🙏

[@leroyc88]

i got to visit her in 2016 and was cheeky enough that the guy in charge of the crew who were sorting out the deck boards allowed one of them to show me around the Engine room, Machine shop and a few other places.

[@alexkarman4679]

Regarding the missile fuel leak instructions plaque, I suspect the reason that "Tell supervisor" comes before "Evacuate personnel" is because otherwise, everyone would ASSUME that someone else must have reported the fuel leak to the Supervisor, and therefore, no one actually reported the fuel leak to the supervisor.

[@jimpollard9392]

"WHO WOULD WELD A LIVE AMMUNITION BOX?" ...You haven't been around that many sailors, have you...

[@masterskrain2630]

18:40. Finally, a set of binoculars that even Admiral Rozhestvensky couldn't throw at the Kamchatka!

[@Isolder74]

He’d find a way.

[@panzsan2]

The missile deck was definitely my favorite part of my visit. The combination of hard steel plates everywhere and massive missile containers made it feel like something out of a sci-fiction film

[@empath69]

26:42 Not easy from this angle, but: Starboard side: Bravo - Zulu - ?(end-on)Lima? - Oscar - Papa - Alpha Port side: November - ?(obstructed)? - ?(mostly obscured)Papa or Juliet? - Mike

[@leohelen1858]

Honestly this is the only comment I've seen that took a guess at it so far

[@allmachtsdaggl5109]

I think it is Bravo Zulu India Oscar Papa Alpha, third flag looks like it has a black dot on the yellow, but i am not sure

[@starbishop4916]

"This is a warship, not a hotel" Yamato: Crying intensifies. Also, this video taught me that the most unrealistic part of the Battleship movie wasn't drifting a battleship into a broadside, it was a few guys carrying a 1600lb shell by hand to another turret.

[@GearGuardianGaming]

the "drift into a broadside" was an easter egg from the last pirates of the carribean movie. that one was a lot more believable. doing that to an iowa class bb? chain would snap faster than you could say "oops". they could have at least made the shell move believable by using a cart...would take 3 ppl to push it for sure.

[@starbishop4916]

@@GearGuardianGaming Oh I know. It's a fun movie but not what I would call realistic in the least. I was just poking fun at the idea that the one thing everyone in the movie notices and says isn't possible is not the only bit of unrealistic cinema, but nobody even thinks about how heavy that shell was that something like 3 people carried by hand hundreds of feet.

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

"Yamato: Crying intensifies." French predreadnought _Suffren:_ Oui, oui, I know the feeling...

[@kennymccormick9973]

But it was cool though

[@dragonmaster3030]

​@@vikkimcdonough6153tirpitz shuddering behind an island be like

[@douglasstrother6584]

The SS Lane Victory (further down at Berth #52 @ the end of Miner St.) is also a treat.

[@fouraces9137]

You can almost imagine Drach talking them into rotating the rear turret towards the Evergreen ships.Then Drach inside the turret bore sighting down one of the barrels :) Great vid thanks.

[@chaingun1701]

I don't get the joke about the evergreen ships. Please explain.

[@HL_Eminence]

Quick interesting side note. My father, before he started his career of being a commercial airline captain he flew flights for the navy and delivered the AAI RQ-2 Pioneer drone for the Iowa back in the 80's. I'm not sure how accurate this is, but he told me while they were testing the Pioneer drone out to spot the fall of shot miles away they allowed him to stay and watch the 16 inch cannons fire on an test island. Very cool stuff. I can't wait for the Midway video. I've been on her two times and it's always worth it. Truly a magnificent ship. My father passed recently but I have fond memories of him and I touring the Midway.

[@NewtypeCommander]

That's an excellent story. And funny you mention those drones the Iowas used in their late careers. On the day I visited Iowa, one guides in the fire control rooms told a story on how The USS Missouri, during the First Gulf War, took part in the first ever surrender to a drone when Iraqi forces spotted the Missouri's drone and decided to raise the white flag because they knew they were in firing range of Missouri's 16-inch guns.

[@lioninwinter9316]

My father had a Midshpiman cruise in about 1948 on the Missouri. He talked about holystoning the teak decks. Also doing target practice with the 16 in guns. The "computer would cause the shots to deviate from the towed barge, while the actual spread of shot was reported. His group deliberately "dialed out" this feature. 3 plunging practice shels struck the towed target barge and (of course) demolished it. End of target practice! 😂😂

[@ditto1958]

On ammunition- my dad taught me about that when I was a lad. He’d been in the Korean War, and in training they were shown the difference between 30-06 and 50 bmg. It’s pretty impressive how much more destructive the 50 is than the 30.

[@CharlesStearman]

Regarding the speed limits vs. depth under keel, I've read that when the bottom of a ship is close to the seabed its turning circle and stopping distance are increased, which is another reason for keeping the speed down. This is is a particular problem with very deep-draft ships such as fully loaded supertankers.

[@01Bouwhuis]

Like the wing in ground effect?

[@gerhardlottering2617]

Visited Iowa during a stop over in LA. Had one of the best days of my life. Started asking questions and ended up being given an extended tour of the ship. The ship is only surpassed by its brilliant crew.

[@DethOnHigh]

Being a native of Iowa, I remember the campaign to save her over the years. At one point they looked into bringing her up the Mississippi and mooring her in Dubuque or Davenport. The problem was the cost of moving her through the lock & dam system to get here here as well as her being able to clear the many bridges. There was even a proposal to bring her up as far as possible and then haul her out of the water and move her over land the rest of the way, and even potentially to putting her in one of the reservoirs on the Des Moines River (Saylorville Lake or Lake Red Rock)

[@adarkstarz]

Thanks for the information... I thought it was impossible to get her to Iowa...or even close

[@SonOfAB_tch2ndClass]

Thanks to the citizens of Iowa helping to raise money to save the ship Los Angeles was able to purchase it and gives you a discount if you are a citizen of Iowa.

[@clinthowe7629]

Haul her out of the water, and move her overland! 😂😂😂 this thing weighs almost 49,000 tons, we’re not talking about portaging a dinghy. 😊 where there’s a will, there’s a way, i’m sure. peace.

[@ryanh2621]

​@@clinthowe7629 not to mention the hillarity of seeing something that big moving down the road

[@DethOnHigh]

​@@adarkstarz Possible, yes. Cost effective, no. If they brought her up the Mississippi, they'd have to cut her masts and upper works off so she'd fit under the numerous bridges. Another issue was getting her into the locks under tow plus maneuvering her in general would require several tugs the entire way.

[@selachianseas999]

Interesting how while both South Dakota and Iowa were specifically outfitted as flagships, they didn't seem to be selected as such over the other fast battleships - Lee of course favored USS Washington, while both Spruance and Halsey seemed to spend more time on USS New Jersey.

[@theblackbear211]

3,450 yards... just about 350 yards closer that Warspite, Barham, and Valiant were when they opened fire at Cape Matapan. Sobering thought that.

[@paulfollo8172]

Every time I see one of your videos, I feel very happy that we still have all four of the Iowa‘s and the many other warships of the United States preserved. To cut up these great ships for scrap is an unforgivable waste, and a terrible loss of our history.

[@davesaslaw7410]

O, those beloved Drachinisms. This time, as casual as can be, at 8:47 he says: we're 'leaving the shadow of the guns.... (going below)...."after, of course, a quick glare at our nemisis". That's why we love ya, man. Carry on. #priceless

[@cdfe3388]

I’ve taken my kids to the Iowa twice, though she’s a bit harder to reach since we escaped California. Both she and the Midway are awesome museum ships.

[@sothisisbasicallyhow4696]

I grew up in Huntington Beach, just a dozen or so miles south of where the Iowa museum is docked, and visited her a few times, even performed aboard her with my choir once. Absolutely gorgeous ship. I’m really glad relics like her are still afloat for us youngsters to admire.

[@JeffreyAu1]

As a former US Navy Gunners Mate, I actually found the neatest piece of equipment on the ship to be the optical range finder. Nice to see they have one that still works. It looks like you were having a fun time with it. I'd love to see a video of Drach using it while on a sound powered phone. As he reports the distance, you could see the nearest 5 inch 38 training and elevating towards the target!

[@robwong4349]

Excellent video. Have always admired the sleekness of these marvelous vessels. Retired Navy Engineering Duty Officer. I've been fortunate enough to have been aboard all four Iowa class battleships at one time or another while they were in commission in the 1980s/1990. FYI, both USS New Jersey and USS Missouri were reactivated in the 1980s just a short distance away at the now closed Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

[@DanielsPolitics1]

27:15 I think this is a classic “raise alarm first”. There is a very good reason you raise the alarm before fighting fire or tackling a spill. If you die that’s all very unfortunate, but it’s essential that the alarm is raised before you do do.

[@MisterW0lfe]

that ready ammunition box sign is a clear lineage of safety briefings that have been birthed from some sailor's boneheaddedness

[@plantfeeder6677]

I visited Iowa back in 2013 just when she became a museum. Was the Marine sitting there at the top of the gangplank when you went aboard? If so I hope you stopped, saluted, and said, "Sir, Permission to Come Aboard, Sir?". They love it when you do that!

[@seanmalloy7249]

Back many years ago, when I had flown to Boston for the M Technology Association conference, I took a day out to go visit the USS Constitution. I was disappointed to see that, of my tour group, I was the only one to stop at the top of the gangway, face aft, remove my hat, and then turn to the lieutenant (in period uniform) manning the gangway to request permission to come aboard. He was startled for a moment -- I guess that knowing the proper protocol for coming aboard a commissioned warship is no longer well-known -- and then granted permission. But growing up as a Navy brat caused some things to stick.

[@73split]

I was very fortunate to witness the Iowa shooting her guns when I was on the USS Midway. She was part of our battle group and did a demonstration for us. I pity anyone who was ever caught on her deck when her main guns fired, I highly doubt they would survive.

[@CRAZYHORSE19682003]

At 11:19 you say, you have this motorized hoist which runs along this rail. Just for clarification it was not motorized propulsion along the rail, that was 100% muscle power. Even for the 2700 pound shells, when you had them connected to the monorails it was muscle power that moved those shells along the rail. The canisters and shells would be balanced so well that it was not hard to move them that way.

[@kielbasamage]

As someone whose grandpa served on the Iowa, it's always a treat to get more videos on her. Also, if anyone knows who to ask about getting a replacement piece of deck for a plaque, that would be great.

[@CRAZYHORSE19682003]

The hatches for loading and unloading shells and powder are called strike down hatches.

[@camrontabler7543]

Must have missed seeing Drach by a few days. It is a great tour and the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable.

[@johngregory4801]

I'm disappointed they don't have a model of Space Battleship Yamato as well!

[@arctictiger8690]

Visited her twice, Iowa's an amazing ship

[@mgabriel2636]

Drach, Thanks so much for the effort you put into these presentations!

[@DeusEx1977]

Saw the Iowa back in the 80s when she stopped off in Bremerhafen. She was an amazing sight.

[@georgehughes8698]

I had the honor of standing Sentry over the remains of the sailors from that explosion while I was stationed in Norfolk.

[@lkzhang820]

Interestingly when I visited USS Iowa last year （late May），I found out that the Harpoon ASM exhibited onboard the museum ship was indeed an air launch version （AGM-84 instead of RGM-84）.

[@matthewrobinson4323]

This brings back a lot of memories. My dad worked in the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WW2 & helped build one of the Iowa's. I don't remember which one. Also, when my family and I lived in San Diego, one day as I was driving south on the I 5, I glanced over to see NAS North Island, and to my delight I saw an Iowa tied up instead of a flattop. What a beautiful ship! Low, lean, and obviously a war ship! Sort of like a WW 2 vintage tin can on steroids. Again, I don't know which one she was... but I was in love.

[@tomdolan9761]

USS Missouri was built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

[@matthewrobinson4323]

@@tomdolan9761 Thanks.

[@dungareenavy5970]

Steamed with that ship near Puerto Rico and saw some great views of it steaming through the islands there.. Had a buddy stationed on it and was able to go aboard a couple of times while it was in commission. Was stationed at Norfolk when the turret blew up. Amazing ship! Thanks Drach!

[@craigbytwerk4210]

Thanks for your Iowa video. I watch regularly but on my non-logged-in Roku account. I got an impromptu tour of the Iowa at Norfolk in the 1980s. It was a "new" member of Ronald Reagan's 600 ship navy and the sailor who guided us had been aboard since its "de-mothballing". He said moss was growing in the joints of the teak decking we came aboard so your imaging of the plywood is interesting. A month later I saw a picture of Iowa in Time magazine patrolling off the coast of Nicaragua. I feel privileged to have walked the decks of a WWII icon.

[@Khornebrzrkr1]

I had the opportunity to stay overnight and do merit badges on the New Jersey with scouts on two different occasions. Very cool ships!

[@greenseaships]

Drach didn't get his package. Evergreen will never hear the end of it.

[@cliff8669]

USS Iowa was the last ship my Father served on. He took his retirement as a Chief Petty Officer in the mid 80's. I have some aerial photographs of Iowa while she was in Richmond Calif getting prepped for her tow to LA. I was taking flight training at Oakland and did a low 1000 ft orbit over Iowa to get the photos. CFI had the controls for that bit.

[@pauloconnor5931]

Saw the Iowa when I boarded a Princess Cruise ship about five years ago. Prior to that, the last time I saw her was while my destroyer was operating with her in mid 1984. Was kind if sad to see this magnificent ship welded to the pier.

[@user-zd9ex2bn7q]

My dad served on Iowa in Korea and the new Jersey in Vietnam I'm very proud of him for this

[@Scarheart76]

I am so glad these lovely girls are still around for the public to visit.

[@boydgrandy5769]

A large vessel moving at speed in shallow water tends to sit down because of a venturi effect, where below the hull the water pressure lowers. This effect promotes grounding at excess speeds, which is bad for the ship and the careers of the OOD, the Nvigator, and the CO.

[@theexile4546]

"Who would weld a live ammunition box?!" Likely the same fella caught on camera welding on a trailer hauling hay next to a gas pump

[@anarionelendili8961]

Very much enjoyed the demonstration of the rangefinders. The rest of the video obviously, too, but it was a very nice demonstration.

[@JWalker6541]

Great video! I visited IOWA back in 2016. I hope one day that they'll be able to move her to a better nearby location. She is somewhat difficult to get to currently, and the adjacent areas are almost completely taken up by various commercial port facilities or cruise ship terminals. As such, the public is generally unable to view the battleship from the surrounding areas. If they could move IOWA to, say, Long Beach down near the QUEEN MARY, I suspect she'd catch a lot more eyeballs from locals and tourists, as well as get a ton more publicity and visitors.

[@CornballLyric]

Thank you very much for the fantastic guided tour of the Iowa. I'm never going to be able to travel to America to see it myself so it was very much appreciated and well done 👏.

[@MrIluvbutts]

Don't say that you could probably get over here in a couple years hit me up if you want some Help I live in the area

[@CornballLyric]

@@MrIluvbutts Thank you very much 😊

[@tonysimi5763]

Wonderful! I use to sail by the Iowa as she was anchored for many years in Northern California delta. Nice to see her cared for

[@zotfotpiq]

RANGEfinder. Like my old camera. It uses exactly that method to focus but I never made the connection until now. It's funny the difference between reading/hearing something and seeing it in practice. Thanks for another great video, Drach!

[@SonOfAB_tch2ndClass]

9:23 Yes Yamato we are looking at you

[@ranekeisenkralle8265]

23:22 This sign is a bit of a surprise to me. Because it indicates that people were at least partially aware of a certain hydrodynamic phenomenon that decades later damaged an ocean liner: The Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1992. The phenomenon is called the Squat-Effect and causes a ship's draft to increase quite substantially if moving too fast in shallow water due to a pressure-difference in the water below the ship. In certain ways it bears some similarity with the Bank Effect which - ironically enough - you also indirectly hinted at when you referenced a certain container ship blocking a certain canal not too long ago.

[@drtidrow]

6:28 The W-19 shell, for when you absolutely want to delete an enemy capital ship... or capital, for that matter.

[@rutabagasteu]

I served for 4 years on a US Navy DDG as an ET. We loaded ammo from the pier via hand,pick up a safety capped 5"/54 round. Then carry them to whichever of two gun mounts they were going to. A few of my shipmates were absolutely certain the crew mess decks were slanted towards the stern, which got the rest of to laugh. A chief petty officer stated rather loudly that could only be tested in port. Not while we were in a storm in the North Atlantic !

[@owenkelly1689]

I asked a steward about the wood decking last weekend when I visited the Iowa. He said that it was teak but that has been replaced with fir and fir will be used to complete the repairs under the plywood sections.

[@spaceghostohio7989]

We were in the shipyards ( Ingalls in Pascagoula ) when they brought her out of mothballs in the early 80's. Right across the pier from us.

[@johnfoster3895]

The horrific christmas tree of an antenna you at ~8:25 is called a Discone/Discage antenna used for HF (long haul) communication. I was an ET onboard USS Hermitage (LSD-34) and we had the same antenna that I worked on.

[@lamwen03]

Regarding the fuel leak, the order is correct. 1st quick limit to damage. 2nd Report upstairs ( in case 1 doesn't work in time. 3 warn personnel in the area. Kind of like the rules for a fire, report it first, THEN try to fight it if possible.

[@DJP-ph7yj]

Some high up views of surface rust show the grand lady could do with some corrective paint action. Hopefully she's attended to. Good presentation. Thanks for showing of the museums efforts in your views here.

[@Ganiscol]

Aww. 😞 The CIWS Phalanx is way too magnificent of a system to just glance over it!

[@empath69]

Not the right timeframe for this channel, sadly.

[@ryanrusch3976]

What a beautiful ship, and might I add, an actually well set up museum which I cannot say for alot of museums.

[@Skipping2HellPHX]

In the winter USS Iowa will do tours of the engineering spaces!

[@johnfisher9692]

Thanks Drach Now we know how to make an area proof against Drach sneaking in, just put bells everywhere :)

[@erikgranqvist3680]

Old SLR cameras worked as the demonstrated rangefinder. You worked the camera untill the pictures matched, and then you were in focus.

[@grathian]

17:29 The protrusion on the right side of the 5"/38 is not a rangefinder, it is the trainer's telescope. There are two on the other side, for the pointer and for the checker. 19:00 aka "the Big Eyes". Never know a pair to be useful at night, they were usually fogged up on every ship I served on. Best used for viewing bikinis on the cruise ship ahead of us during the long passage thru the Old Bahama Channel to and from Gitmo. 24:50 ans 26:02 That is not a periscope, it is the Mk 40 main battery fire control director.

[@tooFarGonexk4he4tu3s]

Drachinifel: turns the range-finder Evergreen: "I sense danger"

[@DavidLopez-nc5pq]

Delightful tour, thanks for sharing

[@marine76a]

Great work as always

[@Wolfeson28]

27:15 Aside from the fact that steps B and C are probably assumed to take place simultaneously, like you said, there's also the fact that I'm guessing the "ignition sources" it refers to would be mostly large pieces of equipment or major electrical connections that would take significant time to move/disable. As I understand it, for a potentially major ship-endangering casualty like harpoon fuel leakage, notifying someone in command and ensuring that the ship's full damage control capabilities are brought to bear asap is absolutely a top priority. I've heard both Jingles and Sub Brief (a guy who served on USN submarines during the 1990s and early 2000s and runs a naval-themed channel) make comments like that based on their experiences and training.

[@harrykoppers209]

Notice the deck on the stern; it's the original teak. Further forward the teak had deteriorated by the 80s, so it was replaced with Douglas fir, which rotted quickly-ish. Thus the temporary plywood. They're redecking as funds allow (with Douglas fir, alas. Teak is precious nowadays.)

[@paulsmodels]

Thanks for the tour! That was cool.

[@aldenconsolver3428]

Excellent (as always).

[@antonalerte1189]

I was just aboard this month while on a trip. Impressive ship!

[@matty1619]

I know everyone thinks that Iowa is full of nothing but corn, soybeans and pigs. But our class of battleship can sure throw a hell of a lot of freedom down range!!!