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Korvar -> RE: OT: Gentlemen - The USS Iowa (3/18/2016 1:53:09 PM)
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Thanks for sharing - as someone who has personally toured her in San Pedro Harbor, I found the video very fascinating. Those areas are definitely not on the 'regular' tour. That said, they showed very little from the 'regular' tour; no complaints here - it just shows how much there is to see on the Iowa!
Here are a few highlights from my visit to her:
[image]http://i.imgur.com/xqgayMp.jpg[/image]
On the 'business' end of turret #1
[image]http://i.imgur.com/Bf5AUWb.jpg[/image]
Arrow pointing to slight indentation where a 6" coastal battery shell hit turret #2 at Mili Atoll during the Marshalls campaign, March '44.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/pscZ8Lq.jpg[/image]
Roosevelt's wheelchair in his stateroom en route to the Yalta Conference. The absence of Roosevelt's stateroom in the video surprised me the most - I recall his presence aboard the ship was only mentioned in passing on the video when showing Hap Arnold's and Adm. King's quarters. The stateroom features prominently in the standard tour, and Arnold's and King's rooms do not.
[image]http://i.imgur.com/XUslcpa.jpg[/image]
Roosevelt's bathtub, custom install (unique to the Iowa).
[image]http://i.imgur.com/Hr9Cu9d.jpg[/image]
Watch your step! How ammunition was brought up from storage in the lower decks. The glare is due to the plexiglass to prevent a tourist from earning a Darwin award.
I don't have any pictures, but the other really impressive part of the tour was the multi-level conning towers built into the superstructure, which make an appearance in the video when they talk about the 17" thick doors and show the helm inside.
It's also apparent that the Iowa class BB's were specifically designed to accommodate the flag staff completely separate from the ship's own command. Separate flag bridge. A flag stateroom with quick deck and bridge access. Touring the ship helps one appreciate the benefits of the design.
The book Shattered Sword talks about the importance of this in the context of aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway and how most Japanese flagships did not have separate flag accommodations. It helps immensely to have a controlled environment not burdened with the usual (noisy) business of running a large ship, with privacy when needed to help foster complete candor where it might otherwise be risky to state something in the more public setting of the ship's bridge.
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