USS IOWA was the first ship in the United States’ last class of Battleships. During her long life she was commissioned for 227 months. USS IOWA was the third ship in the Navy to bear the name of the state. (http://navysite.de/bb/bb61.htm)   General Characteristics: Keel laid: June 27, 1940 Launched: August 27, 1942 Commissioned: February 22, 1943 Decommissioned: March 24, 1949 Second commissioning: August 25, 1951 Second decommissioning: February 24, 1958 Third commissioning: April 28, 1984 Third decommissioning: October 26, 1990 Builder: New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY Propulsion system: eight boilers, four geared turbines Propellers: four Length: 889 feet (271 meters) Beam: 108 feet (32.9 meters) Draft: 35,7 feet (10.9 meters) Displacement: Light: approx. 46,000 tons Displacement: Full: approx. 57,000 tons Speed: 35 knots Aircraft: no hangar, but parking area for four SH-3 or four SH-60 Crew 1984 - 1990: 65 officers and 1,501 enlisted WWII Crew: 134 officers and 2,400 enlisted Last armament: eight armored box launchers for Tomahawk, four Mk 141 Harpoon missile launchers, nine 16-inch / 50 caliber guns, twelve 5-inch / 38 caliber guns, four 20mm Phalanx CIWS