U.S.S. Iowa (BB-4), 1898

Seen above, Iowa in her battle paint, from a series of popular postcards of Spanish war vintage. USS Iowa (BB-4) was built by Cramps in Philadelphia (whose flag she flies proudly from the foremast in the trials photo shown below). Completed in time to fight the Spanish in 1898, Iowa was a clear derivative from the Indiana class, with roughly the same armament layout of four 12" guns in twin turrets fore and aft, four twin 8" turrets at the corners of a diamond-shaped citadel, and six sided 4" rapid-firing guns and smaller calibres. Several design modifications, however, made the Iowas far more successful warships than their predecessors.

The main turrets were of a centrally-balanced design, eliminating the troublesome listing which plagued the Oregon when guns were trained abeam. The 12" turrets were hydraulically trained, the 8" turrets by steam. Compared with the preceding Indiana class, the size of the main armament was reduced from 13" to 12"; with a raised forecastle deck under the bow turret, the Iowa added a considerable margin of freeboard, resulting in a far more stable and seaworthy hull than their predecessors could boast. Iowa's armor was thinner, but being of the improved Krupps Cemented (KC) type, afforded equal protection to the thicker Harvey process armor on the Indianas for less weight. The weight traded off into a slightly larger ship with increased speed, at nearly 18 kts fully competitive with the British Majestics, to which she compared favorably, point by point, considering her much smaller size -- some 3,500 tons lighter.

At left is a photo of the Iowa easing up to the starting line in the October 5, 1898 New York victory parade celebrating the U.S. triumph in the Spanish-American War, in which she played a leading role under the command of Capt. "Fighting Bob" Evans. Click here for a terrific enlarged view. The resemblance to the Oregon is unmistakable, with the single-mast/twin-funnel profile, identical varnished wooden wheelhouse and bridgeworks. Just as unmistakable is the higher sheer of the hull, the considerably taller "stovepipe" funnels, and the more vertical overall look. The increased freeboard gave Iowa improved stability and dryer conditions for gunnery: importantly, she carried her guns high enough out of the waves that they were not made inoperable by fresh weather. The 4" guns carried in embrasures in the hull were most susceptible, but even they were mounted 7' higher than in the Indianas. All this emphasis on gunnery was not misplaced: a month before the victory review, Iowa had been a key player in the obliteration of Adm. Cervera's squadron at the Battle of Santiago, July 3, 1898. Well placed but suffering from engine trouble, Iowa traded fire with the Spanish flagship Infanta Maria Teresa as she emerged in the van of the Spanish squadron. Iowa soon took two hits from the Colón which slowed her further. As she limped along at 10 knots, the Brooklyn, Oregon, and Texas rushed past to pursue the fleeing Spanish cruisers and run them ashore in flames. Coming upon the scene soon after and noticing that Cuban insurgents were taking pot-shots at the Spanish crewmen struggling to escape, Capt. Evans sent a boat ashore to warn the partisans that if they did not quit firing at the vanquished Spaniards, he would open fire on them with his heavy artillery.

Arriving at the scene after the Vizcaya exploded and beached herself at Playa de Aserraderos, the Iowa lowered boats to rescue Spanish crewmen who had dived into the shark-infested waters to escape the inferno aboard their wrecked ship. One of the Spaniards fished from the floating wreckage was Capt. Don Antonio Eulate of the Vizcaya, soaked in oil and wearing a sooty, bloodstained bandage about the head. On arriving aboard Iowa, Eulate with impeccable posture and dignity tendered his sword to Capt. Evans in token of surrender. When Evans returned it, Eulate turned toward the burning wreck of his ship, crying "Adios, Vizcaya!" Almost immediately, the flaming ship's magazine exploded, dramatically completing her destruction. Having commenced the battle, Iowa now closed it by receiving Adm. Cervera and his staff on board for the formal surrender. The 1,612 Spanish survivors, including Eulate and Cervera himself, became U.S. prisoners of war at Camp Long on an island of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. There they remained until a mid-September prisoner exchange. An armistice on Aug. 12 ended hostilities; peace was formalized on Dec. 10, 1898 by the Treaty of Paris, which transferred to American rule the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, while granting nominal independence to Cuba.

Profile plan of the Iowa, showing hits sustained in the Battle of Santiago. Following the postwar festivities, Iowa steamed around the Horn to join the Pacific fleet for more than 2 years. Subsequently she was decommissioned and placed in reserve and so missed the round-the-world voyage of the Great White Fleet. Recommissioned and modernized in 1912, she served as a receiving ship and later as a training vessel home-ported at Hampton Roads during WWI. Starting in 1919, she became the Navy's first radio-controlled target ship. In this capacity she was sunk off Panama by 14" salvos from the USS Mississippi in 1923.

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Specifications for the Iowa: Length: 360 feet. Beam: 72 feet. Draft: 28 feet. Displacement: 11,340 tons. Armament: (4) 12" (2x2), (8) 8" (4x2), (6) 4" RF, (20) 6-pdr and (4) 1-pdr guns; (4) 14" Howell torpedo tubes. Protection: Harvey armor: 14"/11" belt; 14" turrets, conn; 12" bulkheads; 8" barbettes; 6" secondary turrets; 5" upper belt; 3" deck. Fuel capacity: 625 tons coal, std; 1780 tons maximum. Propulsion: (12) cylindrical coal-fired boilers; (2) sets inverted vertical triple expansion engines, 11,000 HP; twin screw. Maximum speed: 17.5 kts. Crew: 600 officers and men.

AN IOWA PICTURE GALLERY

Souvenir postcard of Iowa with inset of Capt. Robley "Fightin' Bob" Evans.

Iowa's crewmen pose under the big guns after their Santiago victory.

On her trials, USS Iowa proudly flew the flag of her builders at the fore.

Iowa's aft 12-inch turret and superstructure.

Iowa moored at Hampton Roads, 1897 or 1898. Cruiser USS Columbia in the distance.
Click here to enlarge.

In a commemorative painting, Iowa steams resolutely through storm clouds, on a keel so even as to be suspect.

Iowa at anchor, the light modeling her hull sponsons and 8" barbettes. It seems quite likely the dramatic painting above was based on this photograph.

Iowa's profile, plain and simple, the way Iowans would want it.

The end of a famous battleship: sunk by shellfire of her own navy in target practice, March 1923.