--Chad Love

Attention naval history buffs: have you always wanted a genuine piece of WWII naval history, perhaps a relic from those bygone days of yore when our mighty Iowa-class battleships ruled the seas, their massive 16-inch main guns obliterating all resistance? Well, here's a deal for you. But you're gonna need to bring someone to help you load them in the back of your truck...

From this posting on govliquidation.com: 
3,360,000 lbs approx Steel Gun Tubes, the shipping cradles and railroad rails that the gun tubes are sitting on are also included in weight and sale. Demilitarization is a condition of sale for Gun Tubes only. Property located at Hawthorne Army Depot, NV, 89415. Qty 14ea Tubes and weigh approx 236,900 lbs ea and are 816 inches long, Tube thickness being approx 15in. at the breach and 4in. at the muzzle

That's right, you can bid on what might very well be the last remaining main gun tubes for the now-long-gone Iowa-class battleships (click on the link for a slideshow of all the tubes). Are they new and unused tubes, or are they used? Can't tell from the description, but if they are indeed used, just think at the history they may have witnessed! Could they have been there overlooking the deck of the Missouri on August 15, 1945? Could these very tubes have fired some of their famous 2,700-pound shells at Viet Cong positions in the Vietnam War from the turrets of the USS New Jersey?

Who knows, but it's certainly fun to speculate, isn't it? The 16-inch guns aboard those WWII-era battleships weren't the largest ever placed on a ship. That honor goes to the truly mind-boggling 18-inch guns aboard the WWII Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi. Both those ships, however, were sunk during the war, so for the past half-century the 16-inch guns aboard out battleships have been the top of the heap, ballistically-speaking.

The last of the Iowa-class ships, the New Jersey, was decommissioned in 1991, so obviously there's no use for these old relics any more and it appears they're headed for the scrap heap to be melted down and turned into refrigerators and compact cars. The technology of warfare marches on, and there is no room for sentimentality in such matters, but it certainly seems to be a sad and ignoble end for a gun that used to fire shells the size of a compact car, is it?

If you had the means to bid on them, what would you do with them?

Comments (7)

from jcarlin wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

So I can have this but I can't have a surplus M1?
How many watchlists do you think you'll end up on when you buy enough powder to give it the old July 4th salute?

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from Pauahi950 wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

The article states: "The last of the Iowa-class ships, the New Jersey, was decommissioned in 1991..."

This is misleading. The writer is confusing the ship's number with actual launch and decommissioning dates. The last of the Iowa-class to be decommissioned was actually the Missouri (BB-63) in 1992, after serving in Operation Desert Storm. The New Jersey (BB-64) may have been assigned the number 64, versus the Missouri's 63, but the Missouri was the last of all the American battleships to be launched (1944) and the last to be decommissioned (1992).

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from Pauahi950 wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

The article states: "The last of the Iowa-class ships, the New Jersey, was decommissioned in 1991..."

This is misleading. The last of the Iowa-class to be decommissioned was actually the Missouri (BB-63) in 1992, after serving in Operation Desert Storm. The New Jersey (BB-64) may have been assigned the number 64, versus the Missouri's 63, but the Missouri was the last of all the American battleships to be launched (1944) and the last to be decommissioned (1992).

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from Mike Plotner wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

i think i would attemt to set up the greatest tresspaser detereent ever

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from Walt Smith wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

Be a heck of a display for the local VFW hall!

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from Michael Brennan wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

FYI - The USS New Jersey is BB-62...

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from Deven King wrote 16 weeks 6 days ago

Dear Pauahi950
I believe you've mixed up the hull numbers.?
The Iowa class consisted of six ships, four of which were completed. Construction of all were assigned to east coast Navy Yards
Iowa (BB-61), built at the New York Navy Yard. Keel laid in June 1940; launched in August 1942; commissioned in February 1943.
New Jersey (BB-62), built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in September 1940; launched in December 1942; commissioned in May 1943.
Missouri (BB-63), built at the New York Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1941; launched in January 1944; commissioned in June 1944.
Wisconsin (BB-64), built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1941; launched in December 1943; commissioned in April 1944.
Illinois (BB-65). Under construction at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1945. Cancelled in August 1945 when 22% complete. Scrapped on the shipway in 1958.
Kentucky (BB-66). Under construction at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia. Keel originally laid in March 1942; construction suspended in June 1942, resumed in December 1944 and suspended again in February 1947. Hull launched in January 1950 to clear the building dock. Sold for scrapping in 1958.

Please feel free to check my facts. I believe you'll find the USS New Jersey anchored in Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

Submitted by
William Sea former crew member of SES Shark 1966 to 1968 Washougal, Washington State USA

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from jcarlin wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

So I can have this but I can't have a surplus M1?
How many watchlists do you think you'll end up on when you buy enough powder to give it the old July 4th salute?

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Pauahi950 wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

The article states: "The last of the Iowa-class ships, the New Jersey, was decommissioned in 1991..."

This is misleading. The writer is confusing the ship's number with actual launch and decommissioning dates. The last of the Iowa-class to be decommissioned was actually the Missouri (BB-63) in 1992, after serving in Operation Desert Storm. The New Jersey (BB-64) may have been assigned the number 64, versus the Missouri's 63, but the Missouri was the last of all the American battleships to be launched (1944) and the last to be decommissioned (1992).

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Pauahi950 wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

The article states: "The last of the Iowa-class ships, the New Jersey, was decommissioned in 1991..."

This is misleading. The last of the Iowa-class to be decommissioned was actually the Missouri (BB-63) in 1992, after serving in Operation Desert Storm. The New Jersey (BB-64) may have been assigned the number 64, versus the Missouri's 63, but the Missouri was the last of all the American battleships to be launched (1944) and the last to be decommissioned (1992).

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Mike Plotner wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

i think i would attemt to set up the greatest tresspaser detereent ever

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Walt Smith wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

Be a heck of a display for the local VFW hall!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Michael Brennan wrote 30 weeks 6 days ago

FYI - The USS New Jersey is BB-62...

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Deven King wrote 16 weeks 6 days ago

Dear Pauahi950
I believe you've mixed up the hull numbers.?
The Iowa class consisted of six ships, four of which were completed. Construction of all were assigned to east coast Navy Yards
Iowa (BB-61), built at the New York Navy Yard. Keel laid in June 1940; launched in August 1942; commissioned in February 1943.
New Jersey (BB-62), built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in September 1940; launched in December 1942; commissioned in May 1943.
Missouri (BB-63), built at the New York Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1941; launched in January 1944; commissioned in June 1944.
Wisconsin (BB-64), built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1941; launched in December 1943; commissioned in April 1944.
Illinois (BB-65). Under construction at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Keel laid in January 1945. Cancelled in August 1945 when 22% complete. Scrapped on the shipway in 1958.
Kentucky (BB-66). Under construction at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia. Keel originally laid in March 1942; construction suspended in June 1942, resumed in December 1944 and suspended again in February 1947. Hull launched in January 1950 to clear the building dock. Sold for scrapping in 1958.

Please feel free to check my facts. I believe you'll find the USS New Jersey anchored in Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

Submitted by
William Sea former crew member of SES Shark 1966 to 1968 Washougal, Washington State USA

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.