The South Dakota class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th state; the first were designed in the
Alabama in Casco Bay, Maine, circa December 1942
South Dakota under construction in April 1940
South Dakota shows the range of independent elevation of her main guns
Massachusetts' 5-inch gun battery
Iowa-class battleship
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The Iowa class was a class of six fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940. They were initially intended to intercept fast capital ships such as the Japanese Kongō-class bat
South Dakota-class battleship (1939)
…of 25 June 1938. The "Escalator Clause" of the Second London Naval Treaty had been activated in the U.S. Navy so it could begin work on the follow-on Iowa-class battleships, but Congress was willing to approve only the 35,000-ton battleships. A number of deficiencies in the preceding North Carolinas were to be fixed in the…
USS Iowa (BB-61) fires a full broadside on 15 August 1984 during a firepower demonstration after her recommissioning
USS Iowa in World War II configuration and wearing Measure 32 Design 1B camouflage pattern, c. 1944
USS Iowa fires a full broadside of nine 16-inch and six 5-inch guns during a gunnery exercise (1984)
16"/50 gun projectile with six propellant bags (display) aboard USS Iowa (BB-61)