USS Iowa: The Battleship of Presidents

Legendary and invincible, a living symbol of the might of the American fleet. Welcome to the game, USS Iowa!

USS Iowa: A Battleship for the USA at Rank VII

At a glance:

  • 406 mm (16 inches) main caliber guns
  • Powerful spaced armor
  • High speed!
  • Good air defense battery
  • Reconnaissance aircraft

Vehicle History

Iowa-class battleships were designed in the late 1930s in response to the potential threat posed by the Japanese Yamato-class “super” battleships. While maintaining the displacement limit of 45,000 tons, American engineers created a unique fast battleship with nine 406 mm guns and a speed of 32 knots. USS Iowa was the lead ship in the class and was laid down in 1940 at New York Navy Yard and entered service in February 1943. Initially she carried out tasks escorting aircraft carrier groups in the Pacific Ocean, and in November 1943 she participated in the operation to liberate Gilbert Islands.

In early 1944, Iowa covered carrier raids on the Marshall Islands, and in February her powerful 406 mm guns were used for the first time for shore shelling of Japanese positions on Kawjalein Atoll. Iowa was most intensively used in 1944-1945. She participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, supported the landing at Leyte and in 1945, she took part in operations on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where her main caliber guns destroyed Japanese fortifications.

After the end of the war and a modernization fit in 1951, Iowa was recommissioned to participate in the Korean War. Here, she carried out coastal bombardment missions, shelling North Korean positions and transport communications. In the 1980s, after a large-scale modernization, Iowa could then use Tomahawk cruise missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, significantly expanding her combat capabilities.

A tragic episode in the history of Iowa was when an explosion in turret No.2 occurred in 1989, which took the lives of 47 sailors. After this incident, Iowa was finally decommissioned from the fleet. Today she serves as a floating museum in Los Angeles, USA.

Download Wallpaper: 1920x1080 2560x1440 3840x2160

Introducing USS Iowa!

One of the most famous battleships in history is coming to War Thunder in the Leviathans major update! Say hello to the USS Iowa, a true symbol of the U.S. Navy’s sheer might. We’re talking 16 inch guns, thick armor, reconnaissance aircraft, excellent secondary and anti-aircraft weaponry and importantly, incredible speed. Let’s break it down!

A big ship of course needs big guns, and that’s exactly what Iowa has! Featuring three main turrets with a total of nine 406 mm (16 inch) Mk.7 cannons, the rate of fire of these beasts is 2 rounds per minute, which is near enough bog-standard. What is also standard with most battleships is the decent aiming speeds and the ability to fire AP and HE fragmentation rounds that Iowa has, great for use against a wide range of enemies. Moving onto secondary weapons, where Iowa also shines. Featuring 20 universal 127 mm guns in twin mounts that can fire at both ships and aircraft, an experienced crew can fire 22 rounds per minute from the first-stage ammo racks. In addition to this, Iowa features 19 four-barreled 40 mm Bofors mounts and 52 20 mm Oerlikon cannons, which is a great combined amount to take out annoying enemy aircraft. The cherry on top is a pair of new-to-the-game SC-1 Seahawk hydroplanes, armed with bombs and capable of laying smoke screens.

Did you know? USS Iowa has several nicknames, one of which includes “The Battleship of Presidents” since she hosted many Presidents throughout her service life. She notably sailed President Roosevelt to the Tehran Conference to meet Churchill and Stalin in 1943.

We now turn our attention to Iowa’s armor layout. The thickness of the main armor belt reaches 307 mm near the waterline, which is significantly lower than the Sovetsky Soyuz for example. Having said this, it’s not all doom and gloom as the plates are placed at an angle to the keel, increasing the armor values. Next, the main armor belt is covered by 38 mm plates which form spaced armor helping further to protect against enemy shells. Where the armor really gets thick though is around the bridge, the elevators and the cheeks of the main turrets that all reach 440 mm thickness. The main 121 mm armor deck is covered by a 38 mm upper and additional anti-fragmentation deck below, which is in fact insurmountable protection against both bombs and shells hitting from above.

Despite having a displacement of over 57,500 tons, Iowa is still capable of accelerating to an incredible 32 knots (about 60 km/h), allowing her to quickly change positions and engage in any battle against ships at any distance, even alone. Only the best battleships at rank VII will be capable of dueling this monster on equal terms!

USS Iowa is one of the new iconic ships coming to the new rank VII in Bluewater fleet trees soon. That’s this one done, keep an eye out for more dev blogs coming your way!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.


You can greatly speed up the research of the USS Iowa with this pack:

Arkansas Pack

The Kit Includes:

  • USS Arkansas (BB-33) (Rank V, USA)
  • Premium account for 30 days
  • 3000 Golden Eagles

69.99 Store

16 Likes

Very big boat!

5 Likes

One may even say giant

2 Likes

5 Likes

At least this Iowa has more substance than the real place (corn, so much corn).

3 Likes

I still can’t proccess that she’s finally here… amazing, I can’t wait to take a closer look on the Dev Server, I have been looking forward to this moment since 2016, back when Naval was announced!

5 Likes

While we still have numerous ship/boat classes missing, it definitely feels good watching how far naval has come in ship variety

3 Likes

Me too! so excited and happy it’s finally here!

4 Likes

Will there also be a modern Iowa in the future when we add more AShmS

Good!
but what about new BR and low-tier balance?

3 Likes

So will this be researchable?

Pretty please

Than a ship that never was made you mean? Because of resources. Which obviously would have limited its armor belt. Lmao.

Correct. So what’s its BR!?

1 Like

This and the Yamato is going to easily top any BB below it. Glad the Bismarck is gling to be DOA…

1 Like

I sincerely urge you to consider adding the Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk as a researchable tech tree aircraft. Compared to the OS2U-1/-3, the SC-1 is a far more capable seaplane, so it deserves its place in the TT.

1 Like

Beautiful.
Glad to see this addition.

Bismark is a lower BR. It will see less Iowas.

I will be excited to grind out the Iowa when Naval Arcade aiming is reverted/fixed. I have 0 desire or intention of playing Naval again until these horrible changes are undone.

2 Likes

It’s .3 br lower. My guy, it will only see top tier ships. Just like 6.3 ships right now mostly see top tier ships. Let’s not kid ourselves. All these battleships will be playing on the same map.

3 Likes

I love how br is so compressed that a .3 difference basically just exists to look good

5 Likes

Same. All these new ships are so damn exciting, but alas, with the state of NAB I have literally no reason to play until the change to NAB aiming is reverted.

1 Like