USS Iowa BB-61 Embroidered Naval Patch

Description

USS Iowa BB-61 Patch — Iowa-Class Battleship Embroidered Patch

The lead ship of the mightiest class of battleships ever built.

USS Iowa (BB-61) is the lead ship of the Iowa-class battleships — the largest, fastest, and most powerful battleships ever commissioned by the United States Navy. Launched in 1942, Iowa served in World War II, the Korean War, and was recommissioned in the 1980s as part of President Reagan’s 600-ship Navy. Today, she is preserved as a museum ship in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California.

USS Iowa’s nine 16-inch/50-caliber guns could hurl 2,700-pound armor-piercing shells over 23 miles, making her one of the most fearsome surface combatants in naval history. During World War II, Iowa served as President Franklin Roosevelt’s transportation to the Tehran Conference and provided gunfire support and carrier escort throughout the Pacific campaign. In the Korean War, her massive guns bombarded North Korean targets along the coast. Recommissioned in 1984, Iowa was modernized with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Phalanx close-in weapons systems, blending World War II firepower with Cold War technology. Her four sister ships — New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, and the never-completed Illinois and Kentucky — form the most celebrated class of warships in American history.

This patch honors the legendary BB-61 and all who served aboard her.

Perfect For: USS Iowa (BB-61) veterans and descendants, battleship enthusiasts, museum ship visitors, and U.S. Navy capital ship collectors.

The Big Stick — BB-61.

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