The U.S. Navy’s Best Decision Ever: $100,000,000 for an Iowa-Class Battleship

Article Summary – Iowa-class battleships were monsters of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm—floating fortresses that hurled 16-inch shells deep inland and soaked up punishment.

-Donald Trump now wants them back, touting steel armor and cheap gun rounds over fragile aluminum ships and pricey missiles.

Iowa-Class Battleship. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

An aerial bow view of the battleship USS IOWA (BB 61) with its 15 guns (nine 16-inch and six 5-inch) firing a salvo off the starboard side. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

-But the reality is brutal.

-The guns are obsolete, ammo production is dead, parts don’t exist, and crews with big-gun experience are gone.

-Modern missiles, aviation, and hypersonic threats would outrange and outclass any resurrected battlewagon. Reactivating or rebuilding an Iowa-class would take years, cost billions, and add little to today’s Navy.

Donald Trump Wants Iowa-Class Battleships Back. Here’s the Harsh Reality.

The battlewagons of the Iowa-class were the last and biggest battleships built by the United States. The U.S. Navy initially planned to build six but finished only four, as battleships were soon to be upstaged by aircraft carriers during the early days of World War II.

The Iowa-class were the largest and most expensive battleships ever produced by the United States. Each of them cost more than $100 million. In today’s cash, that’s $1.65 billion. That would be a bargain, considering the firepower the Navy was getting at the time.

During World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Lebanese Civil War, and Operation Desert Storm, the big battleships more than proved their worth, especially during amphibious landings. Their 16-inch guns could pound coastal defenses and surface ships, and the battleships could launch 2,700-pound projectiles more than 20 miles inland.

Why Would The Navy Want a Battleship Today?

U.S. President Donald Trump recently made a case for pulling the ancient battleships out of museums for another round of service.

“I think we should maybe start thinking about battleships,” Trump said, adding that he had spoken to Secretary of the Navy John Phelan on the matter. “Some people would say, ‘No, that’s old technology.’ I don’t know. I don’t think it’s old technology when you look at those guns.

“It’s something we’re actually considering, the concept of battleships, nice, six-inch side, solid steel. Not aluminum, aluminum that melts. If it looks at a missile coming at it, [it] starts melting as the missile’s about two miles away,” he added.

Iowa-Class 5-Inch Guns. Image by Harry J. Kazianis/National Security Journal.

“Now those ships, they don’t make them that way anymore, but you look at it, your Secretary [Phelan] likes it, and I’m sort of open to it. And bullets are a lot less expensive than missiles.

“It’s something we’re seriously considering,” he repeated.

Well, let’s hope not. The battleship, as incredible as it was in history, is history for good reason.

During the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and later, battleships could be reactivated relatively easily — but maintenance was expensive and time-consuming, even during World War II. Reactivating one today, so many decades after it was built, would take much longer. Spare parts are probably nonexistent.

While the big 16-inch guns were impressive while shelling a coastal area for an amphibious landing, their range on today’s battlefield is limited. Unfortunately, at sea, those 16-inch guns are basically worthless, and the ammunition for them has not been made in decades.

The guns are from a bygone era; it is doubtful that any current active-duty sailor has ever trained on one, let alone fired one. Regardless, the big guns would have to go. They would need to be replaced by hypersonic missiles, just as the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) was recently upgraded to do.

They would also need to serve as transports, either for Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing aircraft or helicopters. The power plants would also need to be replaced.

But, armored as they are, could the old battleships survive a hit from modern anti-ship missiles with no anti-aircraft defenses? Doubtful.

Could the Navy Build an Iowa-class Battleship?

The U.S. shipbuilding industry is a far cry from what it was during World War II, when it cranked out ships at a pace and of a quality never before seen.

But even in the 1940s, a battleship took nearly three years and 71,000 workers to build in the old Brooklyn shipyard. That was with shipyard workers active around the clock.

The Design of the Iowa-class Battleships Was Beyond Extensive

It took a team of designers 3,432,000 man-hours — more than 206 years of draftsman hours — to complete the final design of the battleship. The completed plans weighed 175 tons.

When laid out, the plans were 30 inches wide and 1,100 miles long. Of course, there weren’t computers to download all of the information back then, but those plans were obviously massive.

What Would Be the Cost of an Iowa-class Battleship Today?

The Iowa-class battleships’ $100 million cost, which comes out now to $1.65 billion, seems a bargain given that a modern aircraft carrier costs $13 billion today.

But could such a battleship be built at that price now? As Tony Soprano would say, “Fuhgeddaboudit.” At a minimum, the cost would be around $3.5 billion. But in reality, shipyards today probably couldn’t produce a battleship like the Iowa-class.

Converting a World War II battleship for use today, or designing a new one, will likely never happen. “All of our programs are a mess, to be honest,” Secretary Phelan told Congress during a hearing back in June. “Our best-performing program is six months late and 57 percent over budget.”

When the United States entered World War Two, the Pacific Fleet consisted of 130 vessels — 96 were warships.

Three and a half years later, when Japan surrendered in Tokyo Harbor, the U.S. Navy consisted of 6,768 ships, including 23 battleships, 28 fleet aircraft carriers, 71 escort carriers, 72 cruisers, 377 destroyers, 361 destroyer escorts (frigates), and 232 submarines.

The U.S. Navy was the most powerful naval force in history, and it was built in a short amount of time. Imagine what the cost of such a Navy would be today.

About the Author: Steve Balestrieri 

Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.