| Original caption: “Sixteen-inch guns of the USS Iowa firing during battle drill in the Pacific.” USS Iowa (BB-61) fires her main battery. This is during firing practice. Note the crewmembers covering their ears in the foreground. There are quad 40 millimeter (1.57 inch) Bofors L/60 mounts and 20 millimeter (.78 caliber) Oerlikon guns visible as well. Commissioned on February 22, 1943, USS Iowa commenced a shakedown cruise in the Atlantic until July 9. The ship was used to counter the Nazi German battleship Tirpitz from August 27 to October 25, 1943, and then it took United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945) to the Tehran Conference. The battleship was sent to the Pacific Fleet in January 1944. She sank Imperial Japanese Navy light cruiser Katori in her only surface engagement on February 16, and bombarded Mille Atoll on March 18, the 1st time she was struck by Japanese fire. A mark still remains on Turret 2. In support of Task Force 58’s air strikes against Palau and Woleai, followed by further strikes against Hollandia, Aitape, and Wake Islands, Iowa provided anti-aircraft protection for the carriers during March. She provided shore bombardment for the Aitape landings on April 22 and the Ponape landing on May 1. This photo was probably taken during practice on May 19, when Iowa expended 52-inch rounds in day and night exercises. In June, she shelled Saipan and Tinian, destroying a Japanese ammunition dump. Her guns shot down 3 Japanese planes during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the “Marianas Turkey Shoot.” In October, she escorted 3rd Fleet during strikes against the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and Luzon. On October 23-25, 1944, she participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest surface engagement in history. During the kamikaze attack on the 3rd Fleet on November 25, 1944, Iowa shot down 3 Japanese aircraft. After a yard overhaul, Iowa bombarded Okinawa in April. During air strikes on Kyushu in May, Iowa escorted the fast carriers. The battleship escorted the carriers during strikes on Hokkaido in mid-July before bombarding Japan. After the cessation of hostilities, Iowa escorted USS Missouri (BB-63) to the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. “The best battleship gun put into service,” the 16-Inch (406 Millimeter) 45 Caliber Mark 6 Naval Gun represented the pinnacle of United States Navy gunnery. The shell for this gun was progressively uprated from the Armor-Piercing Mark 5 Projectile (2,240 pounds, 1,016 kilograms) to the “super-heavy” Armor-Piercing Mark 8 Projectile (2,700 pounds, 1,224 kilograms). On the drawing board, the shell handling room was redesigned to handle these heavier shells. These guns also fired the Mark 27 High Capacity Shell (1,900 pounds, 862 kilograms) at shore bombardment targets. Each gun could elevate independently, as opposed to earlier “triple gun” battleship turrets, which could only train and elevate together. The guns were fired slightly staggered so that the flight envelopes of each shell would not overlap. A single gun, up to all 9, could be fired. The barrels had to be replaced after 290 shots due to nitrocellulose (NC) propellant buildup. This was reduced after World War II with a switch to smokeless powder diphenylamine (SPD). The other Iowa-class battleships had 2 quad Bofors on their Number 2 turret for the entirety of their World War II service, except the Iowa herself; her conning tower has an additional lower level due to her flagship duties, and this resulted in the turret mounting 3 Oerlikon guns instead, as the lower profile of those mounts would still allow for adequate forward visibility. Those mounts are visible at the extreme right center of this photo. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1634.jpg |
| Image Size | 821.22 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2912 x 2340 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 19, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Majuro |
| Country | Marshalls |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-80-G-59493 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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