USS Iowa's Stately Exit From SF Bay, Now En Route To LA

The last battleship left San Francisco Bay with a festive escort during the Golden Gate Bridge's big weekend.

The USS Iowa took its final trip through the Golden Gate today as it made its final voyage from Richmond to the port of Los Angeles.

The World War II battleship is being relocated by the Pacific Battleship Center, which plans to convert it to a museum.

The four-day trip to Los Angeles began Saturday with an official escort by U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye and the San Francisco fire boat Phoenix, which gaily saluted the ship with spray of water from its hoses. A helicopter escort appeared. Onlookers gathered on promontories and beaches.

The San Francisco Yacht Club also honored the ship as it passed with a gun salute and signal flag message reading "Farewell My Dear Friend."

Built in 1940, the has been called "the world's greatest Naval ship." It is more than 15 stories high, 887 feet long and weighs more than 45,000 tons. It has hosted presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. It is the first of four “Iowa Class Battleships” from World War II. And, it is the last such ship to find a permanent home befitting its momentous past.

Her 16-inch guns earned her the nickname, "The Big Stick." She saw combat in World War II, including the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the Korean War. In 1989, during a training mission off Puerto Rico, the 16-inch gun in Turret No. 2 exploded, killing 47 sailors, one of the largest non-combat catastrophes in the military. The ship was decommissioned the next year.

In Los Angeles, museum officials plan to offer overnight stays on the USS Iowa and at least five tours, including tours focusing on life at sea, engineering and armor, and tours of the ship's weapons.

The , but was postponed because the stormy weather and rough seas last week made the massive tow operation too risky, according to center officials.

The U.S.S. Iowa will be moved to its permanent home at Berth 87 in the Port of Los Angeles on June 9, and host a reunion of Iowa veterans July 2-6. It will open to the public with a much-anticipated ribbon-cutting on July 7.

The non-profit Pacific Battleship Center raised about $9 million to rescue it from the "Mothball Fleet" in Suisun Bay, and restore the ship, including $3 million from the state of Iowa. The group took out another $5 million in loans and raised the rest through donations and pro bono work.

Information on the Pacific Battleship Center and tickets for the USS Iowa are available at www.pacificbattleship.com.

- Bay City News and Patch Staff