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USS ''Wisconsin'' (BB-64) is an and the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and launched on 7 December 1943 (the second anniversary of the Pearl Harbor raid), sponsored by Margaret Goodland, wife of Governor Walter Goodland of Wisconsin. During her career, ''Wisconsin'' served in the Pacific theater of World War II, where she shelled
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
fortifications and screened United States
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for Carrier-based aircraft, carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a ...
s as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, ''Wisconsin'' shelled North Korean targets in support of
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned. She was reactivated on 1 August 1986; after a modernization program, she participated in Operation Desert Storm in January and February 1991. ''Wisconsin'' was last decommissioned in September 1991 after a total of 14 years of active service in the fleet, and having earned a total of six
battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
for service in World War II and Korea, as well as a
Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...
for service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War. She currently functions as a museum ship operated by Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. ''Wisconsin'' was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
(NVR) 17 March 2006, and was donated for permanent use as a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
. On 15 April 2010, the City of Norfolk officially took over ownership of the ship.


Construction

''Wisconsin'' was one of the "
fast battleship A fast battleship was a battleship which emphasised speed without – in concept – undue compromise of either armor or armament. Most of the early World War I-era dreadnought battleships were typically built with low design speeds, s ...
" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. She was the third of four completed ships of the of
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type ...
s. Her
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
was laid down on 25 January 1941, at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the c ...
. She was launched on 7 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Goodland, wife of Walter S. Goodland, the
Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wisco ...
, and commissioned on 16 April 1944, with Captain Earl E. Stone in command. ''Wisconsin''s main battery consisted of nine /50 cal Mark 7 guns, which could fire armor-piercing shells some . The secondary battery consisted of 20 /38 cal guns in 10 twin turrets, which could fire at targets up to away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of com ...
came a need to protect the growing fleet of allied aircraft carriers; to this end, ''Wisconsin'' was fitted with an array of
Oerlikon 20 mm The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...
and Bofors 40 mm antiaircraft guns to defend allied carriers from enemy airstrikes. When reactivated in 1986, ''Wisconsin'' had her 20 mm and 40 mm AA guns removed, and was outfitted with Phalanx CIWS mounts for protection against enemy missiles and aircraft, and armored box launchers and quad cell launchers designed to fire
Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Euro ...
and Harpoon missiles, respectively. ''Wisconsin'' and her sister ship ''Missouri'' were fitted with thicker transverse bulkhead armor, , compared to in the first two ships of her class, the ''Iowa'' and ''New Jersey''. ''Wisconsin'' is numerically the highest-numbered US battleship built. Although her keel was laid after s, she was commissioned before ''Missouri''s commissioning date.''Wisconsin'' was commissioned on 16 April 1944 [], while ''Missouri'' was commissioned on 11 June of the same year.[] Thus, ''Wisconsin''s construction began after ''Missouri''s, and finished earlier. ''Iowa'' and ''Wisconsin'' were finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 2006, making them the last battleships on a navy list in the world.


World War II (1944–1945)


Shakedown and service with 3rd Fleet, Admiral Halsey

After the ship's trials and initial training in the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / E ...
, ''Wisconsin'' departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 July 1944, bound for the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada ...
. Following her
shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise ...
(conducted out of Trinidad), she returned to the builder's yard for alterations and repairs. On 24 September 1944, ''Wisconsin'' sailed for the West Coast, transiting the Panama Canal, and reporting for duty with the Pacific Fleet on 2 October. The battleship later moved to Hawaiian waters for training exercises and then headed for the Western
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
. Upon reaching the Caroline Island
Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...
, she joined
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
William F. Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the other ...
's 3rd Fleet on 9 December. Due to the time it took to build her, ''Wisconsin'' missed much of the initial thrust into Japanese-held territory, having arrived at a time when the reconquest of the Philippines was well underway. As a part of that movement, the planners had envisioned landings on the southwest coast of Mindoro, south of Luzon. From that point, American forces could threaten Japanese shipping lanes through the South China Sea. In preparation for the coming invasion of Mindoro, ''Wisconsin'' was assigned to protect the 3rd Fleet's
Fast Carrier Task Force The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet), was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. The tas ...
(TF 38), as they conducted air raids at Manila to soften up Japanese positions. On 18 December, the ships of TF 38 unexpectedly found themselves in a fight for their lives when
Typhoon Cobra Typhoon Cobra, also known as the Typhoon of 1944 or Halsey's Typhoon (named after Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey), was the United States Navy designation for a powerful tropical cyclone that struck the United States Pacific Fleet in December 1944 ...
overtook the force—seven fleet and six light carriers, eight battleships, 15 cruisers, and about 50 destroyers—during their attempt to refuel at sea. At the time, the ships were operating about east of Luzon in the Philippine Sea. The carriers had just completed three days of heavy raids against Japanese airfields, suppressing enemy aircraft during the American
amphibious operations Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
against Mindoro in the Philippines. The task force met with
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Jasper T. Acuff and his fueling group 17 December with the intention of refueling all ships in the task force and replacing lost aircraft. Although the sea had been growing rougher all day, the nearby cyclonic disturbance gave relatively little warning of its approach. On 18 December, the small but violent typhoon overtook the task force while many of the ships were attempting to refuel. Many of the ships were caught near the center of the storm and buffeted by extreme seas and hurricane-force winds. Three destroyers, , , and , capsized and sank with nearly all hands, while a cruiser, five aircraft carriers, and three destroyers suffered serious damage. About 790 men were lost or killed, with another 80 injured. Fires occurred in three carriers when planes broke loose in their hangars and some 146 planes on various ships were lost or damaged beyond economical repair by fires, impact damage, or being swept overboard. ''Wisconsin'' reported two injured sailors as a result of the typhoon, but otherwise proved her seaworthiness as she escaped the storm unscathed. ''Wisconsin''s next operation was to assist with the occupation of Luzon. Bypassing the southern beaches, American amphibious forces went ashore at
Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balil ...
, the scene of initial Japanese assaults to take Luzon nearly three years before. ''Wisconsin'', armed with heavy antiaircraft batteries, performed escort duty for TF 38's fast carriers during air strikes against
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territori ...
, Luzon, and the
Nansei Shoto The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
to neutralize Japanese forces there and to cover the unfolding Allied Lingayen Gulf operations. Those strikes, lasting from 3–22 January 1945, included a thrust into the South China Sea, in the hope that major units of the Imperial Japanese Navy could be drawn into battle. ''Wisconsin''s carrier group launched air strikes between
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
and
Camranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilo ...
,
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
, on 12 January, resulting in severe losses for the enemy. TF 38's warplanes sank 41 ships and heavily damaged docks, storage areas, and aircraft facilities. Formosa, already struck on 3–4 January, was raided again on 9 January, 15 January, and 21 January. Throughout January ''Wisconsin'' shielded the carriers as they conducted air raids at Hong Kong,
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
,
Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slight ...
, the Canton oil refineries, the Hong Kong Naval Station, and Okinawa.


Service with 5th Fleet, Admiral Spruance

''Wisconsin'' was assigned to the
5th Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...
when Admiral
Raymond A. Spruance Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 – December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle ...
relieved Admiral Halsey as commander of the fleet. She moved northward with the redesignated TF 58 as the carriers headed for the Tokyo area. On 16 February, the task force approached the Japanese coast under cover of adverse weather conditions and achieved complete tactical surprise. As a result, ''Wisconsin'' and the other ships shot down 322 enemy planes and destroyed 177 more on the ground. Japanese shipping, both naval and merchant, also suffered drastically, as did hangars and aircraft installations. ''Wisconsin'' and the task force moved to
Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...
on 17 February to provide direct support for the landings slated to take place on 19 February. They revisited Tokyo on 25 February and hit the island of Hachino off the coast of Honshū the next day, resulting in heavy damage to ground facilities; additionally, American planes sank five small vessels and destroyed 158 planes. ''Wisconsin''s task force stood out of
Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...
on 14 March bound for Japan. The mission of that group was to eliminate airborne resistance from the Japanese homeland to American forces off Okinawa. Enemy fleet units at
Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...
and
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
, on southern Honshū, reeled under the impact of the explosive blows delivered by TF 58's airmen. On 18–19 March, from a point southwest of Kyūshū, TF 58 hit enemy airfields on that island; unfortunately, allied antiaircraft fire on 19 March failed to stop an attack on the carrier . That afternoon, ''Wisconsin'' and the task force retired from Kyūshū, screening the blazing and battered flattop, and shooting down 48 attackers. On 24 March, ''Wisconsin'' trained her guns on targets ashore on Okinawa. Together with the other battleships of the task force, she pounded Japanese positions and installations in preparation for the landings. Japanese resistance, while fierce, was doomed to failure by dwindling numbers of aircraft and trained pilots. While TF 58's planes were dealing with and her escorts, enemy aircraft attacked the American surface units. Combat air patrol (CAP) shot down 15 enemy planes, and ships' gunfire shot down another three, but not before one ''
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...
'' attack penetrated the CAP and screen to crash on the flight deck of the fleet carrier . On 11 April, the Japanese renewed their ''kamikaze'' attacks; and only drastic maneuvers and heavy barrages of gunfire saved the task force. CAP shot down 17 planes, and ships' gunfire shot down 12. The next day, 151 enemy aircraft attacked TF 58, but ''Wisconsin'', together with other units of the screens for the vital carriers, kept the ''kamikaze'' pilots at bay and destroyed them before they could reach their targets. Over the days that ensued, Japanese ''kamikaze'' attacks managed to crash into three carriers—, , and —on successive days. By 4 June, a typhoon was swirling through the fleet. ''Wisconsin'' rode out the storm unscathed, but three cruisers, two carriers, and a destroyer suffered serious damage. Offensive operations were resumed on 8 June with a final aerial assault on Kyūshū. The Japanese aerial response was virtually nonexistent; 29 planes were located and destroyed. On that day, one of ''Wisconsin''s floatplanes landed and rescued a downed pilot from the carrier .


Bombardment of Japan

''Wisconsin'' ultimately put into Leyte Gulf and dropped anchor there on 13 June for repairs and replenishment. Three weeks later, on 1 July, the battleship and her escorts sailed once more for Japanese home waters for carrier air strikes on the enemy's heartland. Nine days later, carrier planes from TF 38 destroyed 72 enemy aircraft on the ground and smashed industrial sites in the Tokyo area. ''Wisconsin'' and the other ships made no attempt whatsoever to conceal the location of their armada, due in large part to a weak Japanese response to their presence. On 16 July, ''Wisconsin'' fired her guns at the
steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finishe ...
s and oil refineries at
Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of February 29, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 93,716, with 47,868 households and a population density of . The ...
, Hokkaido. Two days later, she wrecked industrial facilities in the Hitachi Miro area, on the coast of Honshū, northeast of Tokyo itself. During that bombardment, British battleships of the
British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...
contributed their heavy shellfire. By that point in the war, Allied warships such as ''Wisconsin'' were able to shell the Japanese homeland almost at will. TF 38's planes subsequently blasted the Japanese naval base at Yokosuka, and put the former fleet flagship , one of the two remaining Japanese battleships, out of action. Throughout July and into August, Admiral Halsey's airmen visited destruction upon the Japanese, the last instance being against Tokyo on 13 August. Two days later, the Japanese surrendered, ending World War II. ''Wisconsin'', as part of the occupying force, arrived at Tokyo Bay on 5 September, three days after the formal surrender occurred on board the battleship . During ''Wisconsin''s brief career in World War II, she had steamed since commissioning, shot down three enemy planes, claimed assists on four occasions, and fueled her screening destroyers on some 250 occasions.


Post World War II (1945–1950)

Shifting subsequently to Okinawa, the battleship embarked homeward-bound GIs on 22 September 1945, as part of Operation Magic Carpet staged to bring soldiers, sailors, and marines home from the far-flung battlefronts of the Pacific. Departing Okinawa on 23 September, ''Wisconsin'' reached Pearl Harbor on 4 October, remaining there for five days before she pushed on for the West Coast on the last leg of her state-side bound voyage. She reached San Francisco on 15 October. Heading for the East Coast of the United States soon after the start of the new year, 1946, ''Wisconsin'' transited the Panama Canal from 11 to 13 January and reached
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, Virginia, on 18 January. Following a cruise south to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the battleship entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul. After repairs and alterations that consumed the summer, ''Wisconsin'' sailed for South American waters. Over the weeks that ensued, the battleship visited
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
, Chile, from 1–6 November;
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Cal ...
, Peru, from 9–13 November;
Balboa, Canal Zone Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. History The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spani ...
, from 16 to 20 November; and
La Guaira, Venezuela La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...
, from 22 to 26 November, before returning to Norfolk on 2 December 1946. ''Wisconsin'' spent nearly all of 1947 as a training ship, taking naval reservists on two-week cruises throughout the year. Those voyages commenced at
Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of the ...
, and saw visits conducted at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the Panama Canal Zone. While underway at sea, the ship would perform various drills and exercises before the cruise would end where it had started, at Bayonne. During June and July 1947, ''Wisconsin'' took United States Naval Academy midshipmen on cruises to northern European waters. In January 1948, ''Wisconsin'' reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk for inactivation. Placed out of commission, in reserve on 1 July, ''Wisconsin'' was assigned to the Norfolk group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.


Korean War (1950–1952)

Her sojourn in "mothballs" was rather brief, due to the North Korean invasion of South Korea in late June 1950. ''Wisconsin'' was recommissioned on 3 March 1951 with Captain Thomas Burrowes in command. After shakedown training, the revitalized battleship conducted two midshipmen training cruises, taking the officers-to-be to Edinburgh, Scotland; Lisbon, Portugal; Halifax, Nova Scotia; New York City and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba before she returned to Norfolk. While leaving New York, ''Wisconsin'' was accidentally grounded on mud flats in New York Harbor, but was freed on 23 August 1951 with no damage to the ship. ''Wisconsin'' departed Norfolk on 25 October, bound for the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal on 29 October and reached Yokosuka, Japan on 21 November. There she relieved as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...
for Vice Admiral H. M. Martin, Commander
7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of t ...
. On 26 November, with Vice Admiral Martin and Rear Admiral F.P. Denebrink, Commander, Service Force Pacific embarked, ''Wisconsin'' departed Yokosuka for Korean waters to support the fast carrier operations of TF 77. She left the company of the carrier force on 2 December, and screened by the destroyer , provided gunfire support for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Corps in the Kasong-
Kosong Kosŏng County () is a '' kun'', or county, in Kangwŏn province, North Korea. It lies in the southeasternmost corner of North Korea, immediately north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Prior to the end of the Korean War in 1953, it made up a s ...
area. After disembarking Admiral Denebrink on 3 December at
Kangnung Gangneung () is a municipal city in the province of Gangwon-do, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 213,658 (as of 2017).Gangneung City (2003)Population & Households. Retrieved January 14, 2006. Gangneung is the economic ...
, the battleship resumed station on the Korean "bombline", providing gunfire support for the American 1st Marine Division. ''Wisconsin''s shelling accounted for a tank, two gun emplacements, and a building. She continued her gunfire support task for the 1st Marine Division and 1st ROK Corps through 6 December, accounting for enemy bunkers, artillery positions, and troop concentrations. On one occasion during that time, the battleship received a request for call-fire support and provided three star-shells for the 1st ROK Corps, illuminating an enemy attack that was consequently repulsed with a considerable number of enemy casualties. After being relieved on the gunline by the heavy cruiser on 6 December, ''Wisconsin'' briefly retired from gunfire-support duties. She resumed them in the Kasong-Kosong area on 11 December screened by the destroyer . The following day, 12 December, had the helicopter embarkation on ''Wisconsin'' of Rear Admiral H. R. Thurber, Commander Battleship Division 2 (BatDiv 2), as part of his inspection trip in the Far East. ''Wisconsin'' continued her naval gunfire-support duties on the bombline, shelling enemy bunkers, command posts, artillery positions, and trench systems through 14 December. She departed the "bombline" on that day to render special gunfire support duties in the
Kojo Kojo may refer to: * ''King Kojo'', a novel by Ruth Plumly Thompson * KOJO (company), Australian entertainment company which supported the Adelaide Film Festival#Indigenous Feature Documentary Initiative * KOJO (FM), a radio station (91.1 FM) lic ...
area shelling coastal targets in support of United Nations (UN) troops ashore. That same day, ''Wisconsin'' returned to the Kasong-Kosong area. On 15 December, she disembarked Admiral Thurber by helicopter. The next day, ''Wisconsin'' departed Korean waters, heading for Sasebo to rearm. Returning to the combat zone on 17 December, ''Wisconsin'' embarked United States Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan on 18 December. That day, the battleship supported the 11th ROK invasion with night illumination fire that enabled the ROK troops to repulse a North Korean assault with heavy enemy casualties. Departing the "bombline" on 19 December, the battleship transferred Ferguson by helicopter to the carrier . On 20 December, ''Wisconsin'' participated in a coordinated air-surface bombardment of Wonsan to neutralize selected targets in its area. The ship shifted its bombardment station to the western end of Wonsan harbor, hitting boats and small craft in the inner swept channel with her 5-inch (127 mm) guns during the afternoon and helping forestall attempts to assault the friendly-held islands nearby. ''Wisconsin'' then made an antiboat sweep to the north, firing her 5-inch batteries on suspected boat concentrations. She then provided gunfire support to UN troops operating at the bombline until 22 December, when she rejoined the carrier task force. On 28 December, Cardinal Francis Spellman, on a Korean tour over the Christmas holidays, helicoptered aboard the ship to celebrate Mass for Catholic crew members. He left as he came, off Pohang. On New Year's Eve day, ''Wisconsin'' put into Yokosuka. ''Wisconsin'' departed that port on 8 January 1952 and returned to Korean waters. She reached Pusan the following day and entertained the president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, and his wife, on 10 January. The couple received full military honors as they came aboard, which Rhee reciprocated by awarding Vice Admiral Martin the ROK Order of the Military Merit. ''Wisconsin'' returned to the bombline on 11 January, and over the ensuing days, delivered heavy gunfire support for the 1st Marine Division and the 1st ROK Corps. As before, her primary targets were command posts, shelters, bunkers, troop concentrations, and mortar positions. As before, she stood ready to deliver call-fire support as needed, shelling enemy troops in the open on 14 January at the request of the ROK 1st Corps. Rearming once more at Sasebo, she shortly joined TF 77 off the coast of Korea and resumed support at the bombline on 23 January. Three days later, she shifted again to the Kojo region, to participate in a coordinated air and gun strike. That same day, the battleship returned to the bombline and shelled the command post and communications center for the 15th North Korean Division during call-fire missions for the 1st Marine Division. Returning to Wonsan at the end of January, ''Wisconsin'' bombarded enemy guns at Hodo Pando before she was rearmed at Sasebo. The battleship rejoined TF 77 on 2 February, and the next day blasted railway buildings and marshaling yards at Hodo Pando and Kojo before rejoining TF 77. After replenishment at Yokosuka a few days later, she returned to the Kosong area and resumed gunfire support. During that time, she destroyed railway bridges and a small shipyard while conducting call-fire missions on enemy command posts, bunkers, and personnel shelters, making numerous cuts on enemy trench lines in the process. On 26 February, ''Wisconsin'' arrived at Pusan, where Vice Admiral Shon, the ROK chief of naval operations, United States Ambassador J.J. Muccio and Rear Admiral Scott-Montcrief,
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, Commander, Task Group 95.12 (TG 95.12) visited the battleship. Departing that South Korean port the following day, ''Wisconsin'' reached Yokosuka on 2 March. A week later, she shifted to Sasebo to prepare to return to Korean waters. ''Wisconsin'' arrived off Songjin, Korea, on 15 March and concentrated her gunfire on enemy railway transport. Early that morning, she destroyed a communist troop train trapped outside a destroyed tunnel. That afternoon, she received the first direct hit in her history, when one of four shells from a North Korean 155 mm gun battery struck the shield of a starboard 40 mm mount. Although little material damage resulted, three men were injured. ''Wisconsin'' subsequently destroyed that battery with a full 16-inch (406 mm) salvo before continuing her mission. After again supporting 1st Marine Division with her heavy rifles, the battleship returned to Japan on 19 March. Relieved as flagship of the 7th Fleet on 1 April by sister ship , ''Wisconsin'' departed Yokosuka, bound for the United States. En route home, she touched briefly at Guam, where she took part in the successful test of the Navy's largest floating dry dock on 4–5 April, the first ever to accommodate an . She continued her homeward-bound voyage via Pearl Harbor and arrived at Long Beach, California, on 19 April before continuing on for Norfolk.


After the Korean War (1952–1981)

On 9 June, ''Wisconsin'' resumed her role as a training ship, taking midshipmen to Greenock, Scotland,
Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French ...
, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, before returning to Norfolk. She departed Hampton Roads on 25 August and participated in the NATO exercise
Operation Mainbrace Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a serie ...
, which was held out of Greenock, Scotland. After her return to Norfolk, ''Wisconsin'' underwent an overhaul in the naval shipyard there. ''Wisconsin'' remained in the Atlantic fleet throughout 1952 and into 1953, training midshipmen and conducting exercises. After a month of routine maintenance ''Wisconsin'' departed Norfolk on 9 September 1953, bound for the Far East. Sailing via the Panama Canal to Japan, ''Wisconsin'' relieved as 7th Fleet flagship on 12 October. During the months that followed, ''Wisconsin'' visited the Japanese ports of
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
,
Sasebo Navy Yard was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...
, Yokosuka, Otaru, and Nagasaki. She spent Christmas at Hong Kong and was ultimately relieved of flagship duties on 1 April 1954 and returned to the United States soon thereafter, reaching Norfolk, via Long Beach and the Panama Canal, on 4 May. Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 11 June, ''Wisconsin'' underwent a brief overhaul and commenced a midshipman training cruise on 12 July. After revisiting Greenock, Brest, and Guantánamo Bay, the ship returned to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs. Shortly thereafter, ''Wisconsin'' participated in Atlantic Fleet exercises as flagship for the commander, Second Fleet. Departing Norfolk in January 1955, ''Wisconsin'' took part in Operation Springboard, during which she visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Then, upon returning to Norfolk, the battleship conducted another midshipman's cruise that summer, visiting Edinburgh,
Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...
, and Guantánamo Bay before returning to the United States. Upon completion of a major overhaul at the New York Naval Shipyard, ''Wisconsin'' headed south for refresher training in the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, later taking part in another Springboard exercise. During that cruise, she again visited Port-au-Prince and added
Tampico, Mexico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...
, and
Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a lin ...
, to her list of ports of call. She returned to Norfolk on the last day of March 1955 for local operations. On 19 October, while operating in the
East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough o ...
in New York Harbor, ''Wisconsin'' was accidentally grounded, but the ship was freed in about an hour without any serious damage. Throughout April 1956 and into May, ''Wisconsin'' operated locally off the Virginia Capes. On 6 May, the battleship collided with the destroyer in a heavy fog; ''Wisconsin'' put into Norfolk with extensive damage to her bow, and one week later entered dry dock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. A novel experiment sped her repairs and enabled the ship to carry out her scheduled midshipman training cruise that summer. A 120-ton, 68 foot (21 m) section of the bow of ''Wisconsin''s incomplete sister ship was transported by barge, in one section, from
Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...
and Drydock Corporation of Newport News, Virginia, across Hampton Roads to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Working around the clock, ''Wisconsin''s ship's force and shipyard personnel completed the operation that grafted on the new bow in 16 days. On 28 June 1956, the ship was ready for sea. ''Wisconsin'' resumed her midshipman training on 9 July 1956. That autumn, ''Wisconsin'' participated in Atlantic Fleet exercises off the coast of the Carolinas, returning to port on 8 November 1956. Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard a week later, the battleship underwent major repairs that were not finished until 2 January 1957. After local operations off the Virginia capes on 3–4 January 1957 and from 9–11 January, ''Wisconsin'' departed Norfolk on 16 January, reporting to the commander, Fleet Training Group, at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay. ''Wisconsin'' served as Admiral
Henry Crommelin Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
's flagship during the ensuing shore bombardment practices and other exercises held off the isle of
Culebra, Puerto Rico Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieque ...
, from 2–4 February. Sailing for Norfolk upon completion of the training period, the battleship arrived on 7 February and resumed local operations off Norfolk. On 27 March, ''Wisconsin'' sailed for the Mediterranean Sea, reaching
Gibraltar ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibra ...
on 6 April, she pushed on that day to rendezvous with TF 60 in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
before reporting to Turkey for the NATO exercise Red Pivot. Departing Xeros Bay on 14 April, she arrived at Naples four days later, and conducted exercises in the eastern Mediterranean. In the course of those operational training evolutions, she rescued a pilot and crewman who survived the crash of a plane from the aircraft carrier . ''Wisconsin'' reached
Valencia, Spain Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area als ...
, on 10 May, and three days later, entertained prominent civilian and military officials of the city. Departing Valencia on 17 April, ''Wisconsin'' reached Norfolk on 27 May. En route, she was called upon to sink a Boeing KC-97F-55-BO Stratofreighter, 51-0258, which had ditched in the Atlantic on 9 May, 550 km (343.8 mi) southeast of the
Azores Islands ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
following a double engine failure, and subsequently floated for 10 days. On 27 May, Rear Admiral L.S. Parks relieved Rear Admiral Crommelin as Commander, BatDiv 2. Departing Norfolk on 19 June, the battleship, over the ensuing weeks, conducted a midshipman training cruise through the Panama Canal to South American waters, and reached Valparaiso on 3 July. Eight days later, the battleship headed back to the Panama Canal and the Atlantic. After exercises at Guantánamo Bay and off Culebra, ''Wisconsin'' reached Norfolk on 5 August and conducted local operations that lasted into September. She then participated in
NATO exercises This is a list of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises. Cold War (1950–1990) * Mainbrace - Defence of Denmark and Norway during September 1952. ** 200 ships ** over 50,000 personnel * Exercise Grand Slam. Naval exercise in th ...
, which took her across the North Atlantic to the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
. ''Wisconsin''s days as an active fleet unit were numbered, and she prepared to make her last cruise. On 4 November, she departed Norfolk with a large group of prominent guests on board. Reaching New York City on 6 November, the battleship disembarked her guests, and on 8 November, headed for Bayonne, New Jersey, to commence a preinactivation overhaul. She was placed out of commission at Bayonne on 8 March 1958, and joined the United States Navy reserve fleet (better known as the "mothball fleet") there, leaving the Navy without an active battleship for the first time since 1895. Subsequently, taken to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, ''Wisconsin'' remained there with her sister ship ''Iowa'' into the 1980s. While berthed in the Philadelphia Naval Yard, an electrical fire damaged the ship and left her as the ''Iowa''-class battleship in the worst material condition prior to her 1980s reactivation.


Reactivation (1986–1990)

As part of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Ronald Reagan's Navy Secretary John F. Lehman's effort to create a "
600-ship Navy The 600-ship Navy was a military strategy, strategic plan of the United States Navy during the 1980s to rebuild its fleet after cutbacks that followed the end of the Vietnam War. The plan, which originated with Republican Party (United States), R ...
," ''Wisconsin'' was reactivated 1 August 1986, a precommissioning unit (PCU) crew established, and the ship moved under tow to the
Avondale Shipyard Avondale Shipyard was an independent shipbuilding company, acquired by Litton Industries, in turn acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation. In 2011, along with the former Ingalls Shipbuilding, the yard was part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. It c ...
in New Orleans, Louisiana, to commence pre-recommissioning workups. The battleship was then towed from the Avondale Shipyard and arrived at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 2 January 1987 to receive weapons system upgrades for her modernization. During the modernization, ''Wisconsin'' had all of her remaining
20 mm Oerlikon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emp ...
and
40 mm Bofors Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...
antiaircraft guns removed, due to their ineffectiveness against modern
jet fighters Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield p ...
and enemy antiship missiles; additionally, the two gun mounts located at midship and in the
aft "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...
on the port and starboard sides of the battleship were removed. Over the next several months, the ship was upgraded with the most advanced weaponry available. Among the new weapon systems installed were four MK 141 quad cell launchers for 16
RGM-84 Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack ...
antiship missiles, eight armored box launcher mounts for 32
BGM-109 Tomahawk The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract fr ...
missiles, and four of the United States Navy's
Phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...
Close-in weapon system 20 mm Gatling guns for defense against enemy antiship missiles and enemy aircraft. ''Wisconsin'' also received eight RQ-2 Pioneer
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s, remotely controlled drones that replaced the helicopters previously used to spot for her nine guns. Also included in her modernization were upgrades to radar and fire control systems for her guns and missiles, and improved electronic warfare capabilities. Armed as such, ''Wisconsin'' was formally recommissioned on 22 October 1988 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, under the command of Captain Jerry M. Blesch, USN. Assigned to the United States Atlantic Fleet, she was subsequently homeported at
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...
, Virginia, where she became the centerpiece of her own surface action group (SAG), also referred to as a
battleship battle group A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an air ...
(BBBG). ''Wisconsin'' spent the first part of 1989 conducting training exercises in the Atlantic Ocean and off the coast of Puerto Rico before returning to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a post-recommissioning shakedown that lasted the rest of the year. In mid-1990, the battleship participated in a fleet exercise.


Gulf War (January/February 1991)

On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. In the middle of the month, President George H. W. Bush, in keeping with the Carter Doctrine, sent the first of several hundred thousand troops, along with a strong force of naval support, to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf area to support a multinational force in a standoff with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. On 7 August, ''Wisconsin'' and her battle group were ordered to deploy in defense of Kuwait for
Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
, and they arrived in the Persian Gulf on 23 August. On 15 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm commenced operations, and ''Wisconsin'' found herself serving alongside her sister ''Missouri'', just as she had done in Korea 40 years previously. Both ''Wisconsin'' and ''Missouri'' launched Tomahawk missile attacks against Iraq; they were among the first ships to fire cruise missiles during the 1991 Gulf War. ''Wisconsin'' served as the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) strike commander for the Persian Gulf, directing the sequence of launches that marked the opening of Operation Desert Storm and firing a total of 24 of her own TLAMs during the first two days of the campaign. ''Wisconsin'' also assumed the responsibility of the local antisurface warfare coordinator for the Northern Persian Gulf Surface Action Group. ''Wisconsin'', escorted by , relieved ''Missouri'' on 6 February, then answered her first combat call for gunfire support since March 1952. The most recently recommissioned battleship sent 11 shells to destroy an Iraqi
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...
battery in southern Kuwait during a mission called in by USMC OV-10 Bronco aircraft. Using an RQ-2 Pioneer
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
as a spotter in combat for the first time, ''Wisconsin'' pounded an Iraqi communications compound on 7 February. Her main guns lobbed 24 shells on Iraqi artillery sites, missile facilities, and electronic-warfare sites along the coast. That evening, she targeted naval sites with her guns, firing 50 rounds, which severely damaged or sank 15 Iraqi boats, and destroyed several piers at the Khawr al-Mufattah marina. In response to calls for fire support from US and coalition forces, ''Wisconsin''s main battery was used again on 9 February, blasting bunkers and artillery sites, and shelling Iraqi troop positions near Khafji after the Iraqis were ousted from the city by Saudi and Qatari armor. On 21 February, one of ''Wisconsin''s UAVs observed several trucks resupplying an Iraqi command post; in response, ''Wisconsin'' trained her guns on the complex, leveling or heavily damaging 10 of the buildings. ''Wisconsin'' and ''Missouri'' alternated positions on the gun line, using their guns to destroy enemy targets and soften defenses along the Kuwait coastline for a possible amphibious assault. On the night of 23 February, ''Missouri'' and ''Wisconsin'' turned their big guns on Kuwait's
Faylaka Island Failaka Island ( ar, فيلكا '' / ''; Kuwaiti Arabic: فيلچا ) is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf. The island is 20 km off the coast of Kuwait City in the Persian Gulf. The name "Failaka" is thought to be derived from the ancient ...
to support the US-led coalition ground offensive to free Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation forces. The two ships were to conduct a diversionary assault aimed at convincing the Iraqi forces arrayed along the shores of Faylaka Island that coalition forces were preparing to launch an amphibious invasion. As part of this attack, ''Missouri'' and ''Wisconsin'' were directed to shell known Iraqi defensive positions on the island. Shortly after ''Missouri'' completed her shelling of Faylaka Island, ''Wisconsin'', while still over the horizon (and thus out of visual range of the Iraqi forces) launched her RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to spot for her guns. As ''Wisconsin''s drone approached Faylaka Island, the pilot of the drone was instructed to fly the vehicle low over Iraqi positions so that the soldiers would know that they were once again being targeted by a battleship. Iraqi troops on the ground heard the Pioneer's distinctive buzzing sound, and having witnessed the effects of ''Missouri''s artillery strike on their trench line, the Iraqi troops decided to signal their willingness to surrender by waving makeshift
white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...
s, an action dutifully noted aboard ''Wisconsin''. Amused at this sudden development, the men assigned to the drone's aircrew called ''Wisconsin''s commanding officer, Captain David S. Bill III, and asked, "Sir, they want to surrender, what should I do with them?" This surrender to ''Wisconsin''s Pioneer has since become one of the most remembered moments of the Gulf War; the incident was also the first-ever surrender of enemy troops to an unmanned aircraft controlled by a ship. ''Wisconsin'' drone also carried out a number of reconnaissance missions on occupied Kuwait before the coalition's ground offensive. The next day, ''Wisconsin'' answered two separate call-fire support missions for coalition forces by suppressing Iraqi troops barricaded in two bunkers. After witnessing the effects of ''Wisconsin''s strike against the Iraqi positions, an elated Saudi marine commander commented over the radio, "I wish we had a battleship in our navy." Both ''Wisconsin'' and ''Missouri'' delivered more than 1 million pounds of ordnance on Iraqi targets by the time President George H. W. Bush ended hostilities on 28 February. With one last salvo from her big guns, ''Wisconsin'' fired the last naval gunfire-support mission of the war, and thus was the final battleship in world history to see action. ''Wisconsin'' remained in the Persian Gulf after the cease-fire took effect, and returned home on 28 March 1991. During the eight months ''Wisconsin'' spent in the Persian Gulf, she had flown 348 UAV hours, recorded 661 safe helicopter landings, steamed , fired 319 rounds,Polmar, p. 129 881 rounds, and 5,200 20 mm Phalanx CIWS rounds, and launched 24
Tomahawk cruise missiles The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract fr ...
. Since all four remaining battleships were decommissioned and stricken following the Gulf War, this was the last time that United States battleships actively participated in a war.


Museum ship (1992–present)

With the
collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in the early 1990s and the absence of a perceived threat to the United States came drastic cuts in the defense budget. The high cost of maintaining and operating battleships as part of the United States Navy's active fleet became uneconomical; as a result, ''Wisconsin'' was decommissioned on 30 September 1991 after 14 total years of active service, and joined the
Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
at the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...
. She was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
(NVR) on 12 January 1995, then on 15 October 1996, she was moved to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and on 12 February 1998, she was restored to the Naval Vessel Register. On 7 December 2000, the battleship was towed from Portsmouth, Virginia, and berthed adjacent to Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk. On 16 April 2001 the battleship's weather decks were opened to the public by the
Hampton Roads Naval Museum The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It celebrates the long history of the U.S. Navy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is co-located with Nauticus in downt ...
, a U.S. Navy museum charged with ''Wisconsin''s interpretation and public visitation. The ship was still owned by the Navy and was considered part of the mothball fleet.NavSource Naval History
BB-64 USS ''Wisconsin'': Keel Laying – Shakedown Cruise
Retrieved 1 December 2006.
''Wisconsin'' was named (along with ) as one of two US Navy battleships to be maintained in the United States Navy reserve fleets in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996104th Congress, House of Representatives
National Defense Authorization Act of 1996
. Page 237. Retrieved 17 December 2006.
as shore-bombardment vessels. However, ''Wisconsin'' was then over 60 years old and would have required extensive modernization to return to the fleet since most of her technology dated back to World War II, and the missile and electronic-warfare equipment added to the battleship during her 1988–89 modernization were considered obsolete. In addition, the cost of modernizing the battleships was estimated to be around $500 million for reactivation and $1.5 billion for a full modernization program. On 17 March 2006, the Secretary of the Navy exercised his authority to strike ''Iowa'' and ''Wisconsin'' from the NVR, which cleared the way for both ships to be donated for use as museums; however, the U.S. Congress remained "deeply concerned" over the loss of naval surface-gunfire support that the battleships provided, and noted, "...navy efforts to improve upon, much less replace, this capability have been highly problematic."109th Congress, House of Representatives. Report 109–452. Partially as a consequence, Congress passed , the National Defense Authorization Act 2006, requiring that the battleships be kept and maintained in a state of readiness should they ever be needed again.109th Congress, House of Representatives. Report 109-163
National Defense Authorization Act of 2006
p. 68. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
Congress had ordered that the following measures be implemented to ensure that ''Wisconsin'' could be returned to active duty if needed: # She must not be altered in any way that would impair her military utility. # The battleship must be preserved in her present condition through the continued use of cathodic protection, dehumidification systems, and any other preservation methods as needed. # Spare parts and unique equipment, such as the gun barrels and projectiles, must be preserved in adequate numbers to support ''Wisconsin'', if reactivated. # The Navy must prepare plans for the rapid reactivation of ''Wisconsin'' should she be returned to the Navy in the event of a national emergency. These conditions closely mirror the original three conditions that the Nation Defense Authorization Act of 1996 laid out for the maintenance of ''Wisconsin'' while she was in the mothball fleet. These conditions would be unlikely to impede a plan to turn ''Wisconsin'' into a permanent museum ship at her berth in Norfolk. On 14 December 2009, the US Navy officially transferred ''Wisconsin'' to the city of Norfolk, ending the requirement for the ship to be preserved for possible recall to active duty. The US Navy had paid the city of Norfolk $2.8 million between 2000 and 2009 to maintain the ship. A formal ceremony transferring the ship to the city of Norfolk took place on 16 April 2010.Wilson, Patrick, "Norfolk Takes Helm of Battleship ''Wisconsin''", ''
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...
'', 17 April 2010.
''Wisconsin'' was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 28 March 2012.


Awards

''Wisconsin'' earned five
battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
for her World War II service, and one for the Korean War. The ship also received the
Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or sur ...
and
Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...
for actions in the Korean War and Operation Desert Storm in 1991. She also received over a dozen more awards for World War II, the Korean War, and Operations
Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...
and
Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
.USS ''Wisconsin'' Association
Ship's Awards
. Retrieved 26 November 2006.


See also

*
List of broadsides of major World War II ships This list of broadsides of major World War II ships ranks the total weight of projectiles that can be delivered in single broadsides by major vessels in service during World War II. Listed are the broadsides in pounds and kilograms (for a sing ...
*
List of museum ships This list of museum ships is a comprehensive, sortable, annotated list of notable museum ships around the world. Replica ships are listed separately in the article on ship replicas. Ships that are not museum ships, but are still actively used fo ...
* U.S. Navy museums (and other battleship museums)


References


Further reading

* * The Floating Drydock. ''United States Naval Vessels'', ONI 222-US, Kresgeville, PA 18333. * Polmar, Norman. ''The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet.'' 2001 Naval Institute Press. . *


External links


Nauticus, Norfolk, VA


* ttp://www.hrnm.navy.mil/ Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Operation Desert Storm Timeline





USS Wisconsin Association
*

* ttp://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06279r.pdf 2005 US Government Accountability Office Report: Issues Related to Navy Battleships
Satellite image of the USS Wisconsin
*

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