“Entering service just as the supremacy of battleships was giving way to aircraft carriers, the heavy guns of the four Iowa-class vessels were still unmatched.”

By Amy Waters Yarsinske

BERTHED TODAY AT Nauticus, the national maritime centre in Norfolk, Virginia, the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) was the last authorized of the four mighty Iowa-class battleships, the largest American dreadnoughts ever built. Wisconsin, or “Big Wiskey” (also sometimes spelled “Whisky”<sic>) as it was affectionately nicknamed, enjoyed a service life that spanned six decades and three conflicts. Entering service just as the supremacy of battleships was giving way to aircraft carriers, the heavy guns of the four Iowa-class vessels were still unmatched when it came to naval firepower. BB-64 could hurl shells over the horizon at enemy ships, but also at targets far inland — a duty it performed right up to Operation Desert Storm. Long since decommissioned, this great piece of American maritime history was not destined for the scrap yard. Resurrected by the City of Norfolk and the USS Wisconsin Foundation, it has become a museum ship and navy heritage site that continues the legacy of duty, honour and country that was the calling card of Wisconsin’s crew, and to inspire future generations of Americans. Here are some fascinating facts about this legendary battleship.

It was launched exactly two years after Pearl Harbor

The USS Wisconsin was actually the second battleship named for the Badger State. The original, BB-9, was decommissioned in 1920 after more than two decades of service. The second Wisconsin was authorized on July 6, 1939 and laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard beginning in 1941. It was launched on Dec. 7, 1943, the second anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor.

It was the focus of Nazi-era “fake news”

When it was finally commissioned on April 16, 1944, the ship made few headlines. Yet months earlier it had been the object of Adolf Hitler’s propaganda machine. On Dec. 10, 1943, just three days after the still-incomplete Wisconsin slid down the ways, Berlin radio declared that the vessel had already been sunk — lost “in one of the biggest sea battles off Bougainville [part of the Solomon Islands chain].”

Big Wisky was aptly named

The Wisconsin measured 887 feet and 3 inches in length and 108 feet, 3 inches at the beam. It had a displacement of 45,000 tons and could reach speeds in excess of 33 knots. The crew complement was 1,921 officers and enlisted men. Despite its mammoth proportions, the Wisconsin was still dwarfed by other battleships. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Yamato and its sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever built. Crewed by as many as 2,800 each, they displaced 72,800 tons at full load and were armed with nine 18.1-inch Type 94 guns — the largest weapons ever mounted on a warship. The Yamato was 839 feet, 11 inches long at the waterline and 862 feet, 10 inches overall. Although smaller and much lighter, the Wisconsin was faster than its Japanese counterparts; the Yamato could do only 27 knots.

The ship packed some serious firepower

The Wisconsin bristled with armaments. Its main weapons were nine massive 16-inch guns. With 800-inch-barrels, each weighed about 292,000 pounds including the breech and yoke assembly. They fired two basic types of rounds: 2,700-pound armor-piercing shells, which could travel at 2,500 feet per second, and 1,900-pound high capacity shore bombardment projectiles. The Wisconsin’s big guns could strike targets at distances of more than 24 miles — the record shot was 26.2 miles. When fired, the recoil was four feet. The forward blast pressure literally pushed the sea water creating the appearance that the Wisconsin was being shifted sideways. In addition to the 16-inchers, BB-64 was also armed with 20 five-inch guns and multiple batteries of 40-mm and 20-mm anti-aircraft weapons.

It could also take a punch

The Wisconsin’s Class A plate steel, the type used in all Iowa battleships’ armour belt, consisted of nickel and iron – also called nickel-steel. Its thickness varied at certain points. It was as deep as 12 1/8-inches around the hull but as much as 17 inches on the turrets and the conning tower. BB-64, like all Iowas, could likely withstand a direct hit from an 18-inch armor piercing shell from 18,000 yards (about 10 miles). U.S. Steel, Bethlehem Steel and Lukens Steel all manufactured armor used on the Wisconsin.

Big Wisky earned five battle stars during WW2

The Wisconsin joined the fleet in the autumn of 1944, but it made up for its late appearance in the war by playing a major role in some of the biggest operations of the Pacific campaign. Big Wisky earned its first battle star for the Leyte operation and Luzon attacks. Shortly afterwards, on Dec. 17, 1944, the ship survived a severe typhoon. Although the storm capsized and sank destroyers Hull (DD-350), Monaghan (DD-354) and Spence (DD-512), Wisconsin escaped the storm unscathed.

Big Wisky saw action again at Luzon in January of 1945, earning a second battle star. Weeks later, Wisconsin was assigned to the Fifth Fleet – re-designated Task Force 58 – and headed for the Tokyo area. The ship earned a third battle star for providing fire support the Iwo Jima campaign between February and March of 1945. A fourth battle star came during the battle for Okinawa, where Big Wisky pounded Japanese positions and installations. Amazingly, Wisconsin survived a second typhoon later that spring, although the storm damaged a number of other vessels in the task force.

The following month, Wisconsin participated in the bombardment of the Japanese home islands, earning itself a fifth battle star. It struck Muroran on Hokkaido, and blasted Hitschi Miro on the Honshu coast, northeast of Tokyo. When the Wisconsin finally dropped anchor in Tokyo Bay following Japan’s surrender, it had steamed 105,831 miles since its commissioning.

During its tour of duty, Wisconsin was credited with shooting down three enemy planes and chalked up assists on four other kills. The Big Wisky had also refuelled 150 destroyers at sea and participated in every Pacific naval operation from the time it joined the fleet in December of 1944. The Wisconsin finally returned to Hampton Roads, Virginia on Jan. 18, 1946 and spent the rest of the year cruising the waters from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the South American coast. The following year – 1947 – Wisconsin was largely used for naval reserve training cruises. In January of 1948, the Big Wisky reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk and July 1 was decommissioned for the first time.

The Wisconsin would fight again in Korea

Wisconsin’s first sojourn to mothballs was a brief one. Following the communist invasion of South Korea in 1950, the ship was reactivated and deployed to the region on Oct. 25, 1951. Once on station, BB-64 rendered fire support almost consistently though 1952. It was during a bombardment of Songjin, North Korea on March 15, 1952 that Wisconsin suffered its first and only direct hit. After training its guns on an enemy troop train outside of a destroyed tunnel, a communist 155-millimetre gun battery returned fire striking the shield of a starboard 40-mm mount. Although little material damage resulted, three men were injured. Wisconsin subsequently destroyed the battery with a salvo of 16-inch rounds before continuing its mission. Following the exchange, an escort ship using its signal lamp jokingly signalled Wisconsin: “Temper, temper!” After lending a hand to again support First Marine Division with Wisconsin’s heavy rifles, the battleship returned to Yokosuka, Japan, on March 19. For its service off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, Wisconsin earned a sixth battle star.

Big Wisky would continue to operate in peacetime

For much of Wisconsin’s service life in the years following the Korean War, it settled into a familiar role: embarking thousands of midshipmen and reservists, including many of the navy’s future flag officers, and participating in fleet exercises. By 1958, Big Wisky was again decommissioned.

The Wisconsin was modernized and relaunched for a third time the 1980s

Amid the military build-up of the 1980s, all four Iowa-class battleships were reactivated and modernized as part of the Pentagon’s 600-ship navy initiative. On Oct. 22, 1988, the Wisconsin was recommissioned following nearly two years of refits. Among the upgrades were four Mk-141 quad cell launchers for 16 AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, eight armored box launcher (ABL) mounts for 32 BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles, and a quartet of the navy’s Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS) 20-mm Gatling guns for defence against enemy anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft. Wisconsin also received eight remote controlled RQ-2 Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), used to spot for its 16-inch guns. 

The ship would make history in the Gulf War

Big Wisky would not have to wait long before being called upon to fight once more. Within days of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the USS Wisconsin was steaming for the Persian Gulf. The ship made the 8,500-mile transit from Norfolk, Virginia to the Persian Gulf at 25 knots, arriving on station on August 23, 1990, ready for combat. It was just 16 days after departing the Virginia Capes. When Operation Desert Storm began on Jan. 17, 1991, both the Wisconsin and Missouri (BB-63) launched Tomahawk missiles against a series of enemy targets. On Feb. 6, 1991, Wisconsin’s 16-inch guns destroyed an Iraqi artillery battery in Kuwait. Over the next few days, the vessel would bombard additional targets in Kuwait. One of the ship’s more memorable achievements came on Feb. 23, when a platoon of Iraqi troops surrendered to the Wisconsin’s UAV as it scouted a line of fortifications on Kuwait’s Faylaka Island. It’s believed to be the first time in history that an aerial drone has captured enemy personnel. Big Wisky’s final shots were fired on Feb. 28 just as coalition combat operations were concluding. They would be the last salvos in history ever delivered in combat by a battleship.

BB-64 was retired for the last time after Gulf War

Less than a month after the Wisconsin’s returned from combat in the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon announced the decommissioning of BB-64 by the end of 1991. A series of “farewell” cruises followed to include the Fleet Week celebration in New York Harbor. The ship’s last active duty underway with the fleet occurred on June 14, for a dependents’ cruise that hosted more than 1,550 family members. Three days later the crew began preparations for the ship’s third – and last – decommissioning held on Sept. 30, 1991, at Naval Station Norfolk Pier 11. Having served with distinction in three wars, Wisconsin was now relegated to the history books.

TheWisconsin hosted some high-profile guests

Film and television stars were among those who came on board Wisconsin during its service to the fleet. Movie actress Ann Blyth visited the Wisconsin on April 13, 1952, an Easter Sunday, while the ship was at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Just over three years later, on May 22, 1955, The Ed Sullivan Show broadcasted the Toast of the Town segment from the Wisconsin, docked just then in New York harbor. Show host Ed Sullivan, singer and actor of stage, screen, radio and television Burl Ives, and singer and television personality June Valli were among the celebrities on board for the show. Many years later, on Oct. 20, 1990, actor, comedian and musician Steve Martin and his wife, actress Victoria Tennant, visited the ship for a meet-and-greet and tour sponsored by the USO.

About the Author
Amy Waters Yarsinske is the author of several best-selling, award-winning nonfiction books. Her most recent work is USS Wisconsin: The Last Battleship. Amy serves on the national board of directors of Honor-Release-Return, Inc. and the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, where she is also the chairman of the Gulf War Illness Committee. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Authors Guild and the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association (NCLHA), among her many professional and civic memberships and activities. If you want to know more about Amy and her books, go to www.amywatersyarsinske.com.