Iowa (Schiff, 1897)

Vorlage:Infobox ship imageVorlage:Infobox ship careerVorlage:Infobox ship careerVorlage:Infobox ship careerVorlage:Infobox ship class overviewVorlage:Infobox ship characteristics

USS Iowa (BB-4) was a United States Navy battleship. Launched in 1896, it was the first ship commissioned in honor of Iowa and was America's first seagoing battleship. Iowa saw substantial action in the Spanish–American War. While she was an improvement over the Vorlage:Sclass- because of a superior design, the warship became obsolete quickly in the first quarter of the 20th century and was used for target practice and sunk on 23 March 1923 in Panama Bay by a salvo of 14-inch shells.

Design

The low-freeboard Vorlage:Sclass- design

In the early 1880s, the United States Navy began to grapple with the question of coastal defense; the United States at that time had a significant isolationist streak and naval strategy had historically been grounded in commerce raiding. After building the interim armored vessels Vorlage:USS and Vorlage:USS, the navy requested funding for additional ships in 1887, and one vessel was authorized for the following year. Conflicting ideas about the vessel that would be built delayed construction and led the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin F. Tracy, to convene a Policy Board in January 1890. Tracy wanted to build sea-going battleships that could project American naval power overseas, though significant elements in the Navy and the United States Congress preferred shallow-draft coastal-defense ships.Vorlage:Sfn

The Board concluded that the distance between Europe and North America would hamper European naval attacks, but the power of the British Royal Navy and the possibility of future political developments warranted the construction of a powerful American battle fleet. The Policy Board issued a call for a fleet that would consist of eight first-class battleships, ten slightly smaller second-class battleships, and five third-class ships, along with substantial numbers of lesser craft to support them. The fleet would be tasked with defending the East Coast of the United States, which required an operational range that could cover as far south as the Caribbean Sea, as the Board had determined that any hostile power would need to seize advance bases there to effectively operate against the United States. The three vessels already authorized—Maine, Texas, and what became the armored cruiser Vorlage:USS fit in the third category, so larger and more powerful vessels would have to be built to meet the Board's recommendations.Vorlage:Sfn

Congress, dismayed by the Board's conclusions, nevertheless approved funding for three of the first-class battleships in April 1890, which became the Vorlage:Sclass-s. These were low-freeboard vessels intended for local, coastal defense. They were badly overweight when completed, and as a result suffered from serious problems, including belt armor that was fully submerged when the ships were fully loaded, a tendency to ship excessive amounts of water, and poor handling characteristics. Changes in the control of Congress in late 1890 led to delays for the next ship to be authorized until 19 July 1892, when funds were allocated for a "seagoing coastline battleship". The vessel was to be built with a displacement of around Vorlage:Convert.Vorlage:Sfn

The Policy Board had intended in its original plan that the seagoing ship would trade armor for greater range, but the Bureau of Construction and Repair (C&R), responsible for the design of the vessel, decided to reduce the gun armament compared to the Indianas to free up displacement for greater fuel storage. The Vorlage:Convert main battery of the Indiana class would be replaced with Vorlage:Convert guns, while some of the Vorlage:Convert secondary guns would be replaced with faster-firing Vorlage:Convert quick-firing guns. Weight would also be saved by the adoption of Harvey armor, which was significantly more effective than compound armor; a thinner belt could thus be used to achieve the same level of protection. The intention to use the new ship for long-range deployments required other changes, in addition to increased coal storage. Since the vessel would necessarily have to operate on the high seas, seaworthiness would have to be improved. This required a greater freeboard, so the ship that was to become Iowa was given a raised forecastle deck that extended from the bow to amidships. The hull was lengthened and displaced more than the Indianas. In addition, the heavy 8-inch gun turrets were moved closer together amidships, which reduced the amount of weight toward the ends of the ship, also contributing to improved sea-keeping.Vorlage:Sfn The arrangement also reduced blast interference between them and the 12-inch guns.Vorlage:Sfn

General characteristics and machinery

Top and profile illustration of the Iowa design

Iowa had a length at the waterline of Vorlage:Convert and an overall length of Vorlage:Convert. Her beam measured Vorlage:Convert and she had an average draft of Vorlage:Convert. She had a metacentric height of Vorlage:Convert and a righting arm of Vorlage:Convert. She displaced Vorlage:Convert as designed and up to Vorlage:Convert at full load. Steering was controlled with a single rudder; while steaming at Vorlage:Convert, she could make a 180-degree turn in Vorlage:Convert, and at a speed of Vorlage:Convert, she could make the turn in Vorlage:Convert.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

Her hull featured a tumblehome shape, the only time an American battleship was designed that way. She was fitted with a ram bow, a customary feature of capital ships of the period. It had much greater freeboard than the Indianas, providing her with significantly better sea-keeping qualities. She was completed with a single heavy military mast fitted with fighting tops, which was placed atop the forward conning tower. A large derrick was placed abreast the aft funnel to handle the boats carried aboard. She had a crew of 36 officers and 540 enlisted men.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

The ship was powered by a pair of 3-cylinder, vertical triple-expansion steam engines that each drove a screw propeller. Steam was provided by five coal burning fire-tube boilers; three were double-ended boilers while the other two were single-ended versions. The boilers produced steam at Vorlage:Convert. They were ducted into a pair of very tall funnels; these were adopted to improve draft to the boilers. Like the Indiana class, Iowa was fitted for forced draft, and she had mechanical hoists to remove ash from the boiler rooms. The propulsion system was rated to produce Vorlage:Convert for a top speed of Vorlage:Convert, though on speed trials she reached Vorlage:Cvt and a maximum speed of Vorlage:Convert. Coal storage amounted to Vorlage:Convert. At a speed of 10 knots, she could steam for Vorlage:Convert.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

Armament

Iowas forward main battery turret; one of her secondary turrets is visible at right

Iowa was armed with a main battery of four [[12"/35 caliber gun|Vorlage:Cvt/35 caliber guns]] mounted in two twin-gun turrets that were mounted on the centerline, one forward and the other aft of the superstructure.Vorlage:Sfn The built-up guns were the Mark II type, which were placed in elliptical Mark III turrets. The training gear was hydraulically operated, but elevation was hand-operated only. The gun mounts allowed elevation to 14 degrees and depression to −5 degrees; to reload the guns, they had to be returned to 3 degrees elevation. The ammunition hoists that retrieved shells and propellant charges from the magazines were also hydraulically operated. The guns fired an Vorlage:Cvt shell with a Vorlage:Cvt charge of brown powder. Muzzle velocity was Vorlage:Cvt, and at the muzzle, the shells could penetrate up to Vorlage:Cvt of mild steel; at a range of Vorlage:Cvt, their penetration capability fell to Vorlage:Cvt. The average rate of fire was one shot every five minutes, though fresh, well-trained crews could achieve rates as fast as one shot every three minutes.Vorlage:Sfn

The primary armament was supported by a secondary battery of eight [[8"/35 caliber gun|Vorlage:Cvt/35 cal guns]] that were carried in four twin-gun wing turrets. Two were placed on either side of the ship, abreast of the funnels. Since the 12-inch guns had a long reloading time, the 8-inch guns were incorporated to increase the number of weapons that could defeat light armor.Vorlage:Sfn The 8-inch guns were the Mark IV version, which had a rate of fire one one shot per minute. They had a muzzle velocity of Vorlage:Cvt, firing Vorlage:Cvt armor-piercing shells. They were initially supplied with brown powder charges, but after the advent of smokeless powder, new, smokeless charges were adopted that increased the rate of fire by twenty seconds. Mounted in Mark VIII turrets with a range of elevation from −7 to 13 degrees, reloading was fixed at 0 degrees.Vorlage:Sfn

Six [[4"/40 caliber gun|Vorlage:Cvt/40 cal quick-firing guns]] rounded out the secondary battery; these were intended to use their high rate of fire, coupled with high-explosive shells to damage unarmored parts of enemy warships. Four of these were placed in individual casemates in the forecastle deck, two in sponsons in the bow and the other two located amidships. The remaining two guns were in open shielded mounts on the aft superstructure, superfiring over the rear main battery turret.Vorlage:Sfn They fired a Vorlage:Cvt high-explosive shell at a muzzle velocity of Vorlage:Cvt.Vorlage:Sfn For defense against torpedo boats, the ship carrid a battery of twenty [[QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss|Vorlage:Cvt 6-pounder Hotchkiss gun]]s and four [[QF 1 pounder pom-pom|Vorlage:Cvt 1-pounder gun]]s These guns were dispersed around the ship in a variety of individual mounts, including in the fighting top of the military mast, the superstructure, and in sponsons in the hull. She also carried four M1895 Colt–Browning machine guns chambered in 6mm Lee Navy.Vorlage:Sfn

As was standard practice for capital ships of the era, Iowa carried four above-water, Vorlage:Convert torpedo tubes in her hull, two on each broadside. These launched the Howell torpedo,Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn which had a range of Vorlage:Convert and traveled at a speed of Vorlage:Convert. They carried a Vorlage:Cvt warhead.Vorlage:Sfn

Armor

Iowa was protected with Harvey armor, which was fabricated with a new type of process that produced steel that was significantly stronger than traditional compound armor. The main armor belt was Vorlage:Cvt thick in the central portion, where it protected the magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. It extended from Vorlage:Cvt above the waterline and Vorlage:Cvt below the line, and it extended for a length of Vorlage:Cvt of the hull. The belt tapered to Vorlage:Cvt at the lower edge. At either end of the belt, angled bulkheads that were 12 in thick connected the belt to the barbettes for the main battery turrets. She had a Vorlage:Cvt thick armor deck that was level with the top edge of the belt. On either end of the belt, the deck sloped down on the sides and was increased slightly to Vorlage:Cvt to provide the bow and stern with a measure of protection against light guns. Above the belt was a thinner strake of armor that was Vorlage:Cvt thick where it protected the 4-inch guns and reduced to Vorlage:Cvt where it covered the 57 mm and 37 mm guns.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

Iowas main battery turrets were protected with Vorlage:Cvt on the sides and 2 in thick crowns; the rears of the turrets were Vorlage:Cvt thick, with the greater weight being used balance the turret. Their barbettes were also 15 in thick on the exposed sides and reduced to Vorlage:Cvt where it was protected by the belt. The secondary turrets had 8 in on the outboard sides and Vorlage:Cvt on the inboard sides, where they were less vulnerable. They also had 2-inch roofs. Their barbettes were 8 in thick. Her conning tower had Vorlage:Cvt thick sides.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

Service history

Iowa at her launching on 16 June 1897

The keel for Iowa was laid down on 5 August 1893 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia. Her completed hull was launched on 28 March 1896, and after completing fitting out, the vessel was commissioned into service on 16 June 1897. Captain William T. Sampson served as the ship's first commanding officer. Iowa got underway to begin her shakedown cruise on 13 July, steaming first to Newport, Rhode Island from 16 July to 11 August, moving to Provincetown, Massachusetts the next day. She next departed on 14 August for Portland, Maine, where she stayed from 16 to 23 August, before sailing for Bar Harbor, Maine the next day, where she spent the rest of the month. She then steamed south to Virginia, visiting Hampton Roads from 12 to 16 September, Newport News from 16 to 19 September, a second stop at Hampton Roads from the 16th to the 19th, and finally Yorktown from 27 September to 4 October. Iowa then sailed back north for a second visit to Provincetown that lasted from 12 to 14 October and then moved to Boston, staying there from 15 to 22 October.Vorlage:Sfn

She made one last port call, in Tompkinsville, New York, from 24 to 29 October, before entering the New York Navy Yard for repairs that lasted from 29 October to 5 January 1898. After emerging from the dry dock, Iowa sailed for Virginia, alternating between Hampton Roads and Newport News through mid-January, before departing for Key West, Florida. She then spent the next month and a half cruising between Key West and the Dry Tortugas to the west. During this period, Maine exploded and sank in Havana, Cuba; the accidental explosion was initially blamed on a deliberately detonated Spanish naval mine. Sampson was appointed to serve as President of the Board of Inquiry that was sent to investigate the sinking, so Captain Robley D. Evans took his place as Iowas commander on 24 March. The ship remained in the Florida Keys through 22 April, by which time the Spanish–American War had broken out.Vorlage:Sfn

Spanish–American War

Iowa seen from the stern, c. 1898

On 22 April, President William McKinley declared a blockade of western Cuba and three days later, Congress declared war on Spain, retroactively effective as of 21 April. Sampson had by this time taken command of the North Atlantic Squadron, which Iowa joined; she took part in the blockade operation from 22 April to 1 May before returning to Key West to replenish fuel. By that time, Sampson had been informed that a Spanish squadron of four armored cruisers and three torpedo boats commanded by Rear Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete had crossed the Atlantic to attack the blockade squadron; he gathered his ships on 4 May to search for them. Sampson had at his disposal his flagship, New York, Iowa, Vorlage:USS, and the unprotected cruiser Vorlage:USS, and these ships were soon reinforced by the unprotected cruiser Vorlage:USS and the monitors Vorlage:USS and Vorlage:USS, and later the armored cruiser Vorlage:USS.Vorlage:Sfn

The Americans searched the harbor at Puerto Rico on 12 May, but found no Spanish warships, and so bombarded the port, focusing their fire on Castillo San Felipe del Morro, an old coastal fortress. Iowa led the American line of battle on several passes in front of the fort, and she was struck once by a Spanish shell that wounded three men and inflicted minor splinter damage to the ship. During her last 12-inch salvo, one of her forward guns inflicted blast damage to the deck and parts of the superstructure. One man was killed aboard Brooklyn and three more were wounded aboard other vessels, but none of the ships was seriously damaged by Spanish fire; American shelling was equally ineffective. Assuming that Cervera was headed for Havana, Sampson took his squadron there, but while en route he learned that the Spanish had been coaling in Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies. Sampson instead decided to take his ships back to Key West, arriving there on 18 May, while Cervera reached Santiago de Cuba the following day. Sampson detached Iowa to reinforce the Flying Squadron under Commodore Winfield Scott Schley, which was conducting the blockade of Cuba. She joined the squadron off Cienfuegos on 22 May.Vorlage:Sfn

The Flying Squadron, which by then consisted of Iowa, Texas, the battleship Vorlage:USS, New York, Brooklyn, the unprotected cruiser Vorlage:USS, and several gunboats, auxiliary cruisers, and supporting vessels, spent the next week patrolling off the coast of Cuba, searching for Cervera's squadron. On the morning of 29 May, lookouts aboard Marblehead reported spotting the Spanish cruiser Vorlage:Ship in the roadstead outside Santiago de Cuba. The American squadron converged on the port over the next two days and prepared for action; Iowa coaled at sea on 30 May during this period. Schley made an initial attack on the afternoon of 31 May; he led the line with his flagship Massachusetts, followed by the protected cruiser Vorlage:USS, and then Iowa on a pass in front of Cervera's ships, opening fire at long range at 14:05. The American shells fell short and they gradually shifted their fire, but they failed to score any hits, though Evans noted that he believed they had inflicted splinter damage. Spanish return fire was similarly inaccurate, and both sides had checked fire by 15:10, by which time the American ships had broken off.Vorlage:Sfn

The next day, Sampson arrived on the scene and boarded New York to take command of the blockade. The approach to Santiago de Cuba was guarded by coastal artillery and mines, which prevented Sampson's ships from breaking into the inner harbor without taking serious damage. But the American squadron was too powerful for the Spanish to attempt to break out. Both sides spent the next month in the resulting stalemate; the Americans preferred to wait until ground forces could attack the port from the land side and seize the coastal batteries. During this period, Iowa withdrew to Guantánamo Bay from 18 to 28 June, which had been seized by American forces by that time. She returned to bombard the coastal fortifications on 1 and 2 July in company with Indiana and the battleship Vorlage:USS. By early July, American troops were beginning to approach the hills outside Santiago de Cuba, threatening the coastal batteries that protected Cervera's ships, and prompting the Spanish command to order him to attempt a break out. Cervera did not believe he possessed a significant chance of success, as his ships were in poor condition by that time and most of his ships' crews were poorly trained. He nevertheless complied with the directive and sent a gunboat to surreptitiously clear a path in the minefield on the night of 2 July.Vorlage:Sfn

Battle of Santiago de Cuba

Iowas crewmen watch the U.S. fleet's gunfire during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

At 08:45 on 3 July, Cervera sortied with his flag aboard the cruiser Vorlage:Ship, followed by Cristóbal Colón, Vorlage:Ship and Vorlage:Ship and the destroyers Vorlage:Ship and Vorlage:Ship. Iowa was in her blockade station, steaming at about Vorlage:Convert when her men were called from their quarters for the morning inspection at 09:15. The Spaniards cleared the roadstead at 09:35; luckily for the Spanish, New York was out of position at the time and Massachusetts was replenishing her coal at Guantánamo Bay. Toward the end of inspection aboard Iowa, lookouts aboard Brooklyn spotted Cervera approaching and fired one of her guns to warn the other American ships, which quickly ordered their crews to general quarters. As the Spanish ships attempted to break out to the west, Cervera charged at Brooklyn with Infanta Maria Teresa to delay the American pursuit and give his other ships time to escape. The Spanish coastal batteries also contributed their fire in the first stage of the battle but had little effect.Vorlage:Sfn

Iowa, Brooklyn, and Texas opened fire at abut 09:40 at a range of about Vorlage:Convert. Iowa quickly got steam in her boilers up to increase speed to close with the fleeing cruisers; the range fell steadily until she was just Vorlage:Convert away from Infanta Maria Theresa. Iowa fired a broadside at the cruiser and then turned to port to cross the t of Vizcaya, though the Spanish cruiser turned to avoid the maneuver. Iowa nevertheless fired a broadside at a range of Vorlage:Convert before turning to port and then back to starboard to come alongside Cristóbal Colón. The two ships were about Vorlage:Convert apart and Iowas entire battery opened fire, enveloping her in thick black smoke and hampering her gunners' ability to spot targets. Cristóbal Colón and Almirante Oquendo engaged Iowa, and one of the vessels struck her with what was estimated to be a Vorlage:Convert shell. It failed to explode, but still tore a large hole in the side of her hull. A second shell from one of the cruisers struck Iowa and exploded, causing relatively minor damage and starting a fire that was quickly put out. Several small shells struck her upper works, including her bridge and funnels, but the damage inflicted was minimal.Vorlage:Sfn

By this point in the battle, heavy American gunfire had set Infanta Maria Theresa on fire, and, fearing a magazine explosion, Cervara ordered her run aground at 10:25. Almirante Oquendos captain issued similar instructions five minutes later, as his ship, too, was burning badly. Vizcaya was also forced ashore shortly thereafter, but her flag remained flying, so Iowa continued to bombard the vessel until she hauled it down at 10:36, a sign of surrender. Meanwhile, the two Spanish destroyers had also been badly damaged by the American battleships; Indiana had nearly cut Plutón in half with a 13-inch shell, forcing her to run aground, where she exploded. And Furor had been savaged by Iowas, Oregons, and Indianas secondary batteries, leading her crew to surrender to the gunboat Vorlage:USS. Cristóbal Colón managed to break away from the American fleet for a time, but she also ran aground later in the day.Vorlage:Sfn

At around 11:00, Iowa lowered five of her cutters to pick up the crews of the wrecked cruisers. Among the men rescued was Captain Antonio Eulate, Vizcayas commander; he attempted to surrender his sword to Evans, but he returned it to Eulate. In total, Iowa picked up 23 officers and 248 enlisted men, of whom 32 were wounded. Her crew also recovered the bodies of five men who were then buried with military honors. In addition, Iowas boats also transferred men to other vessels in the American fleet. On 20 July, four days after the Spanish garrison at Santiago de Cuba surrendered, Iowa suffered a boiler accident while she was patrolling off the city. The manhole gasket on one of her boilers blew out, sending boiling water out into the boiler room. The crew set a board across a bucket and Fireman 2nd Class Robert Penn climbed across to shut off the boiler, risking being badly burned, and he was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.Vorlage:Sfn

Pre-World War I

Iowa at the naval review held to celebrate the American victory

After the battle, Iowa left Cuban waters for New York City, arriving on 20 August.Vorlage:Sfn While being towed by four tugboats to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Iowa came "very near colliding with the cruiser Chicago" after a hawser attached to one tugboat broke; a new hawser was hurriedly run out to Iowas bow, preventing a collision.Vorlage:Sfn On 12 October, she departed for the Pacific, sailed through the Straits of Magellan at Cape Horn.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn A reporter on board describing the passage wrote "snow-capped mountains rising out of the sea, barren and gray just below the snow" along with "furious squalls called williwaws" which "picks up the water in masses of foam."Vorlage:Sfn While stationed in Valparaíso, Chile around 17 December, and later at Callao, Peru around 26 December, the sailors of Iowa along with Vorlage:USS gave on-board self-created performances for audiences including select sailors from the navies of Chile and Peru as a way to ease tensions following the conflict over Cuba (some South Americans sided with Spain.)Vorlage:Sfn The self-described "Iowa Minstrels" made a "melange of music, melody, and mirth" featuring a written program which included such entertainment as an overture, juggling, acrobatics, a "gifted Hibernian orator", comic sketches, singing, and banjo playing.Vorlage:Sfn She arrived in San Francisco, California on 7 February 1899.Vorlage:Sfn While in port, the crew presented Captain Evans with a sword bearing the inscription "To our hero – Too just to take a fallen foe's – We give this sword instead." This referred to Captain Evans' refusal to accept Captain Don Antonio Eulate's sword after the Battle of Santiago.Vorlage:Sfn The captain thanked his crew for their bravery and respect in a published reply.Vorlage:Sfn The battleship then steamed to Bremerton, Washington, where she entered drydock on 11 June.Vorlage:Sfn After refit, Iowa served in the Pacific Squadron for 2 years under the command of Captain Goodrich,Vorlage:Sfn conducting training cruises, drills, and target practice.Vorlage:Sfn On 1 August 1900, the British cruiser Anmerkung: HMS – manchmal auch mit Satzzeichen geschrieben als H.M.S. – ist ein Akronym bzw. Abkürzung für „His Majesty's Ship“ oder „Her Majesty's Ship“ (englisch „Seiner bzw. Ihrer Majestät Schiff“) und ist seit 1789 das offizielle Namenspräfix, welches alle Kriegsschiffe im Dienst der britischen Marine führen. narrowly avoided colliding with Iowa in the straits near Victoria (British Columbia) during a dense fog.Vorlage:Sfn At another point during these years, a manhole plate of a boiler blew open and the determined actions of five crewmen (see below) spared the ship from further disaster. Iowa left the Pacific in 1902 to become the flagship of the South Atlantic Squadron.Vorlage:Sfn She went to New York arriving February 1903 and was again decommissioned in June.Vorlage:Sfn

On 23 June 1905, Iowa was photographed in the newly built floating dry dock Dewey (YFD-1) in the Patuxent River undergoing repairs.

During shooting practice in April 1903, one of Iowas main battery guns burst.Vorlage:Sfn

Iowa recommissioned on 23 December 1903 and joined the North Atlantic Squadron.Vorlage:Sfn She participated in the John Paul Jones Commemoration ceremonies on 30 June 1905.Vorlage:Sfn On 23 June, Iowa was serviced in the newly built floating dry dock Dewey. She remained in the North Atlantic until she was placed in reserve on 6 July 1907.Vorlage:Sfn Future-Admiral Raymond A. Spruance served on Iowa in 1906 and 1907. She decommissioned at Philadelphia on 23 July 1908.

Iowa recommissioned on 2 May 1910Vorlage:Sfn with a new "cage" mainmast,Vorlage:Sfn and served as an at-sea training ship of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet for Naval Academy Midshipmen.Vorlage:Sfn On 12 May 1911, at sea Vorlage:Convert east of Cape Charles, Virginia, she and Vorlage:SS rescued passengers from the sinking Ward liner Vorlage:SS after she collided with the United Fruit Company's steamship Admiral Farragut in dense fog; all 319 passengers on Merida remained alive.Vorlage:Sfn During the next four years, she made training cruises to Northern Europe and participated in the Naval Review at Philadelphia from 10–15 October 1912.Vorlage:Sfn She was decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 27 May 1914.Vorlage:Sfn

Later career

Iowa was placed in limited commission on 28 April 1917.Vorlage:Sfn After serving as a receiving ship at Philadelphia for six months, she was sent to Hampton Roads and remained there for the duration of the war, training men for other ships of the Fleet, and doing guard duty at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn She was decommissioned for the final time on 31 March 1919.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

On 30 April 1919, Iowa was renamed Coast Battleship No. 4Vorlage:Sfn to free her name for one of the six new Vorlage:Sclass- battleshipsVorlage:Efn

As Coast Battleship No. 4, she became the first radio-controlled target ship to be used in a fleet exercise.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, workers removed the ship's guns, sealed compartments, and installed water pumps to slow the sinking process and enable a longer target session.Vorlage:Sfn They also installed radio control gear, developed by the radio engineer John Hays Hammond Jr.

She ran trials off the Chesapeake Bay in 1920 with the battleship Vorlage:USS serving as control ship. Once under way, the crew left in small boats and she was fully controlled by radio signals.Vorlage:Sfn She returned to active service in April 1922 to Hampton Roads, Virginia to take part in gunfire exercises with the minelayer Vorlage:USS as control ship.Vorlage:Sfn

In 1923, she went through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean to take part in combined fleet maneuvers. A party of high-ranking navy officials, as well as members of Congress and newspaper correspondents, sailed to Panama aboard Vorlage:USS to watch the experimental firing.Vorlage:Sfn The target ship was bombarded by Vorlage:Convert batteries from Vorlage:Cvt away by Vorlage:USS.Vorlage:Sfn Iowa was then pounded by 30 14-inch shells from a greater distance. Finally, she was bombarded by nearly three dozen heavier projectiles (weighing Vorlage:Cvt each), by a salvo of 14-inch shells and she sank in the Gulf of Panama.Vorlage:SfnVorlage:SfnVorlage:Sfn

• 
  Aerial view of Coast Battleship No. 4
• 
  Coast Battleship No. 4 leaves Pedro Miguel Lock in the Panama Canal, heading for the Pacific Ocean for use as a target
• 
  USS Quail alongside Coast Battleship No. 4 off Panama. A Pennsylvania-class battleship can be seen in the background
• 
  The unmanned target ship Coast Battleship No. 4 under fire
• 
  Bomb damage to Coast Battleship No. 4

Footnotes

References

• Vorlage:Cite DANFS
• Norman Friedman: Naval Weapons of World War One. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 2011, ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7. 
• Norman Friedman: U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1985, ISBN 978-0-87021-715-9. 
• Robert Gardiner (Hrsg.): Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. Conway Maritime Press, London 1979, ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5. 
• Brian Lane Herder: US Navy Battleships 1886–98: The Pre-dreadnoughts and Monitors That Fought the Spanish-American War. Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2019, ISBN 978-1-4728-3503-1. 
• USS Iowa (Battleship # 4), 1897–1923. Later renamed Coast Battleship # 4. Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center, 13. April 2003, abgerufen am 29. September 2011. 
• Coast Battleship No. 4 (ex-USS Iowa, Battleship # 4) – As a Target Ship, 1921–1923. Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center, 13. April 2003, abgerufen am 29. September 2011. 
• Battleship Photo Archive BB-4 USS Iowa – 1893–1900. In: NavSource.com. NavSource Naval History, abgerufen am 28. September 2011. 
• Radio World may 1922 - Radio-Equipped "Iowa" to Be Sunk -page.13. Abgerufen am 1. Dezember 2014. 

The New York Times

• Capt. Barker's Squadron; Uncle Sam's Sailors Entertained at Valparaiso and Callao. Navies of Chile and Peru. A Minstrel Show on the Battleship Iowa – Mountainous Scenery in the Straits of Magellan (PDF) In: The New York Times, 22 January 1899. Abgerufen im 9 September 2009 
• A Sword for Capt. R.D. Evans; The Gift of the Iowas Crew Bears a Noteworthy Inscription (PDF) In: The New York Times, 4 April 1899. Abgerufen im 9 September 2009 
• The Iowas Narrow Escape – Hawser Broke and She Was Just Prevented from Striking the Chicago (PDF) In: The New York Times, 2 September 1898. Abgerufen im 10 September 2009 
• Warships Nearly Collide; H.M.S. Phaeton and the Iowa Only Just Escape a Disaster (PDF) In: The New York Times, 2 August 1900. Abgerufen im 9 September 2009 
• Sunk in Sea Crash; 319 Persons Saved (PDF) In: The New York Times, 13 May 1911. Abgerufen im 9 September 2009 
• Congress Party Sails for Navy Manoeuvres: Will See the Old Warship Iowa Sunk by the Mississippi's Great Guns In: The New York Times, 6 March 1923. Abgerufen im 9 September 2009 

Further reading

• John D. Alden: American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1989, ISBN 978-0-87021-248-2. 
• John C. Reilly, Robert L. Scheina: American Battleships 1886–1923: Predreadnought Design and Construction. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1980, ISBN 978-0-87021-524-7. 

External links

• MaritimeQuest USS Iowa BB-4 Photo Gallery
• Vorlage:Navsource
• Naval Historical Center  – USS Iowa (Battleship # 4), 1897–1923. Later renamed Coast Battleship # 4