In a story of triumph and tragedy, Iowa PBS brings viewers an exploration into a legendary battleship's history and the lives of those who served on the famed ship in the new documentary, USS Iowa. The USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship in the United States Navy's last, and most battle-worthy, battleship class, which also included the New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
A legendary battleship built to defend America during WWII, the USS Iowa has lived many lives throughout its existence. This symbol of naval power is intertwined with the stories of those who served through campaigns of triumph and tragedy. From stewarding President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to meet with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill in Tehran at the height of World War II, to defending American interests in the Korean peninsula in the 1950s, this final generation U.S. battleship has a storied history.
Transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, the Iowa first fired her guns in anger in the Marshall Islands campaign, and sunk her first enemy ship, the Katori. The Iowa went on to serve across a number of pivotal Pacific War campaigns, including at the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. The ship ended the war spending several months bombarding the Japanese Home Islands before the surrender in August 1945.
After taking part in the Korea War, the Iowa was decommissioned in 1958, before being briefly reactivated in the 1980s as part of President Reagan's 600-Ship Navy Plan. Now a museum, the ship welcomes visitors on the American west coast as since 2012, the USS Iowa has been permanently berthed in San Pedro, California as the Battleship USS Iowa Museum.

Directed by Andrew Batt ; Iowa PBS Production