It was reasoned the side armor would thus form a formidable torpedo protection bulkhead (6.4″ to 1.62″) as well as keep shells with underwater trajectories out. The side armor of the Iowa class was set several feet inboard, and inclined internally at 19 degrees to the vertical until it reached the top of the ships’ triple bottoms. As Oliver North would say, “It was a neat idea.” In lieu of making the design changes necessary to employ separate underwater and shell protection system, American naval designers opted to use a common system for both purposes. The designers felt they did not have sufficient weight margins available to employ a heavy multi-layered system against underwater attacks and thick side armor as well. In the Iowa and South Dakota designs both weight and the advent of Japanese shells with underwater trajectories had to be considered. Elder points to a few issues, from radar protection, to torpedo protection, but really hits on general armor protection. Missouri fires 16 in guns at Chong Jin, Korea, 21 October 1950ĭr. Elder’s assessment of the Iowa Class battleship’s design. Moreover, propellant containment is not the only weak point Dr. One historian Dr George H Elder points to problems with their torpedo protection which didn’t receive proper testing. The USS Missouri is notable as the site of the official Japanese Surrender in World War II. After being decommissioned, the Iowa and Missouri were later reactivated and modernized for use in the 1980s and 1990s. They were also used during the Korean War and in the Persian Gulf War. The Iowa class battleships were commissioned during World War II, and saw action in the Pacific theater. They were the last battleships built by the US Navy, and were among the largest and most heavily armed ships of their time. The ships of the class were USS Iowa (BB-61), USS New Jersey (BB-62), USS Missouri (BB-63), and USS Wisconsin (BB-64). The Iowa class battleships were a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy in the 1940s. Let’s look at the armor and protection problems of the Iowa class battleships.
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