A big part of my life as a kid was watching Bob Newhart and, looking back, developing my own, slightly deadpan, sense of humor largely from those hours of steady Bob-isms.
Drafted into the Army during the tail-end of the Korean War, 5′ 8″ Bob had a business management degree from Loyola under his belt so spent most of his two-year stint in OD Green as an enlisted clerk. This made his first film, Hell is for Heroes, so perfect. At the time doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs around Hollywood and just a few years out of the service, Newhart portrayed a hapless Army clerk who stumbled into the high-action combat and provided comedic relief.
Bob as PFC Driscoll in Hell is for Heroes. SGT Newhart had just left the Army seven years prior
While he didn’t do many other war films, his portrayal of Major Major Major in 1970’s Catch-22 is classic.
And any bubblehead from the Cold War has probably heard his still very funny “USS Codfish” bit.
An interesting anecdote from when I was a kid that was Bob-adjacent was when the old battlewagon USS Wisconsin was towed to Ingalls for reactivation during the Reagan/Lehman 600-ship Navy build-up, the crew unofficially named her three main 16″/50 turrets “Larry, Darryl, and Darryl” due to the then running gag on the Newhart Show, which was a big hit at the time.
I remember seeing those t-shirts all over Pascagoula for years after Wisconsin left.
Some 80 years ago today, the final American battleship laid down whose construction was completed* entered the fleet.
The second U.S. Navy warship to be named for the 30th State, USS Wisconsin (BB-64), was ordered on 12 June 1940, laid down on 25 January 1941 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched on the second anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, 7 December 1943 (of note, sistership USS New Jersey was commissioned on the 1st anniversary the year before); sponsored by Mrs. Margaret Roche Goodland, wife of Wisconsin Governor Walter S. Goodland; and commissioned on 16 April 1944, with Milwaukee-born Capt. Earl Everett Stone (USNA 1917), in command.
A Badger-state battlewagon, for sure!
*While Wisconsin was the fourth and final– sisters Illinois and Kentucky were never completed– Iowa class super battleship ordered, the third member of the class, USS Missouri (BB-63), which was ordered on the same day (12 June 1940) and laid down two weeks before BB-64 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was not commissioned until 11 June 1944, making the third member of the class the last delivered, even though she had an earlier hull number and keel authentication date.
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) at anchor on 30 May 1944, during her Atlantic coast shakedown period. 80-G-453313
After shakedown in the Caribbean, Wisconsin sailed for the Pacific in October 1944 and stopped at Pearl Harbor to be inspected by Nimitz himself on her way to the combat zone.
She tied up next to the shattered hulk of the raised dreadnought USS Oklahoma (BB-37), which had only been decommissioned two months prior.
USS Wisconsin tied up outboard of the hulk of USS Oklahoma (BB-37), at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 11 November 1944. Note: anti-torpedo netting outboard of the ships as well as the great difference in lengths of these two battleships (887 vs 583 feet), commissioned just 28 years apart. NH 78940
Wisconsin earned five battle stars for her WWII service, another for Korea, and the Navy Unit Commendation for Desert Storm. Although 62 years passed from when she was commissioned and stricken for good, she only served roughly 14 of those (1944-48, 1951-58, and 1988-1991) on active duty.
Wisconsin also held a couple of other important “lasts” in naval history.
While Missouri and Wisconsin both fought in the First Gulf War (Desert Storm) in 1991, it was the “Big W” who fired the last battleship naval gunfire-support mission of the war, and, on 28 May 1991, would be the final member of her class to fire her 16-inch guns.
The Wisconsin (BB-64) fires one of its Mark 7 16-inch 50-caliber guns from turret No. 2 while underway. This is the last firing of the vessel’s guns, 28 May 1991. USN photo # DN-ST-92-00496, by PH1 Bruce M. Morris, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection.
Iowa and Wisconsin were finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 2006, making them the last battleships in service in the world.
Now, some 80 years in the rearview, and 33 after her guns fell silent, she is still beautiful.
The Nauticus Museum, where she has been since 2001 (although the Navy only transferred ownership to the City of Norfolk in 2010, still technically holding on to the possibility of reactivating her until then) is celebrating all month.
When in Norfolk, please stop by and tell the old girl hello.
The Nauticus National Maritime Center in Norfolk reports:
Two Ospreys began building upon the TACAN antennae back in April, which is a smooth surface and convex in shape. Similar to the Battleship Wisconsin, the Ospreys engineered their nest beautifully.
We have a similar group of Osprey squatters in the mast of the old Cleveland-class light cruiser USS Biloxi (CL-80) at the Biloxi, Mississippi Small Craft Harbor. Although there are higher pieces of real estate available, they prefer the mast.
An SH-60B Sea Hawk helicopter is secured by flight deck crewmen aboard the battleship Iowa (BB-61) on 1 Sep 1985. Official USN photo # DN-ST-86-02511, by PHC Jeff Hilton,
The Iowa-class battleships received official helicopter pads and a helicopter control station below their after 5-inch director–although no hangar facilities– in the 1980s during their Lehman 600-ship Navy modernization.
The helicopter control station on the 02 level of the battleship Iowa (BB-61). Official USN photo # DN-ST-86-09557, by PH1 Jeff Hilton
They used them to host visiting Navy SH-60 and SH-2s, as well as the occasional Marine UH-1, CH-46, and CH-53 while also running their own early RQ-2A Pioneer UAV detachments–to which Iraqi units would later surrender to during the 1st Gulf War.
Crew members on board the battleship USS Iowa (BB 61) prepare an HSL-32 SH-2F Seasprite helicopter for launch from the fantail of the ship during NATO Exercise Northern Wedding in August 1986. NNAM photo
Crew members aboard Iowa (BB-61) wait for a Helicopter Light Anti-Submarine Squadron 34 (HSL-34) SH-2F Seasprite helicopter to be secured before transporting a badly burned sailor injured during NATO exercise North Wedding 86. Official USN photo # DN-ST-87-00280, by PH1 Jeff Hilton
CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter approaches the landing area at the stern of the battleship USS IOWA (BB 61)
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter is parked on the helicopter pad during flight operations aboard the battleship USS IOWA (BB-61).
A U.S. Marine Corps Boeing Vertol CH-46D Sea Knight (BuNo 154023) of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 (HMM-165) prepares to land aboard the battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64). The helicopter was transporting Allied military personnel who were coming aboard the ship to be briefed by Wisconsin´s Commanding Officer, Capt. D.S. Bill. The meeting was taking place during the 1991 Gulf War. 6 February 1991 Navy Photo DN-ST-92-07868 by PH2 Robert Clare, USN
The curator of the Battleship New Jersey Museum tours the ship’s helicopter deck.
However, the 1980s-90s by far was not the first time those dreadnoughts sported whirly-birds.
1948-55
Back in 1948, while the ships still had floatplane catapults and a quartet of Curtiss SC-2 Seahawk floatplanes on their stern, USS Missouri (BB-63) accommodated a visiting experimental Sikorsky S-51, piloted by D. D. (Jimmy) Viner, a chief test pilot for Sikorsky.
Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter (Bureau # 122527) landing on Missouri’s forward 16-inch gun turret, during the 1948 Midshipmen’s cruise. Guard mail, ships’ newspapers, and personnel were exchanged via helicopter while the Midshipmen’s cruise squadron was at sea. Most exchanges were made by hovering pick-up. The forward turret was used as a landing platform since the floatplane catapults on the ship’s fantail prevented helicopters from operating there. The photo was filed on 13 September 1948. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-706093
With the cats deleted in the early 1950s, the Iowas saw more HO3s, now equipped with folding blade rotors and externally-mounted rescue hoists.
USS New Jersey (BB-62) A Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter of squadron HU-1 takes off from the battleship’s afterdeck, while she was operating off Korea. The upraised green flag signifies that the pilot has permission to take off. Crash crew, in yellow helmets, are standing by with fire hoses ready. This helicopter is Bureau # 124350. The photograph is dated 14 April 1953. The photographer is Lt. R.C. Timm. 80-G-K-16320
USS Iowa (BB-61) steams out of Wonsan harbor, Korea, after a day’s bombardment. The photograph is dated 18 April 1952. Note HO3S helicopter parked on the battleship’s after deck. Also, note the WWII catapults are deleted but the floatplane crane is still on her stern. NH 44537
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) snow falling on the battleship’s after deck, 8 February 1952, while she was serving with Task Force 77 in Korean waters. Note 16″/50cal guns of her after turret, and Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter parked on deck. Photographed by AF3c M.R. Adkinson. 80-G-441035
Four Marine HO4S/H-19 (Sikorsky S-55) and one Navy HO3S/H5 on the fantail of USS Missouri during the Korean War, 1952. The H-19s are likely of HMR-161, which largely proved the use of such aircraft in Korea.
Vietnam
New Jersey also supported the occasional helicopter during her reactivation in the Vietnam war. Notably, she received 16-inch shells and powder tanks from USS Mount Katmai (AE-16) by H-34 helicopter lift, the first time heavy battleship ammunition had been transferred by helicopter at sea.
New Jersey (BB-62) underway off the Virginia Capes with an SH-3D Sea King from HS-3 “Tridents”, (attached to the Randolph CVS-15 and a squadron of CVSG-56), about to land on the fantail. However, it is more likely that the helicopter flew out to the “Big J” from NAS Norfolk. Official Navy Photograph # K-49736, taken by PH3 E. J. Bonner on 24 May 1968, via Navsource.
Two UH-1 Huey helicopters resting on the fantail of the New Jersey (BB-62) during her service in December 1968 off Vietnam. Courtesy of Howard Serig, via Navsource.
But wait, old boy
With all that being said, it should be pointed out that it was the Brits who first successfully used a helicopter on their last battlewagon, HMS Vanguard, in 1947, a full year before Missouri’s first rotor-wing visit.
Sikorsky R-4 Hoverfly landing on the quarterdeck of HMS Vanguard on February 1, 1947 off of Portland Bill.
Landing a Sikorsky R4 helicopter on the aft deck of the battleship Vanguard February 1, 1947
And Vanguard would go on to operate both RN FAA Westland WS-51 Dragonflies and USN Piasecki HUP-2s on occasion in the 1950s.
Looming from the fog of the Pacific into San Francisco Bay is the Iowa-class super dreadnought USS Wisconsin (BB-64), seen passing under the Golden Gate Bridge on 15 October 1945. She is carrying returning soldiers home from the Pacific as part of Operation Magic Carpet.
NH 66295
Also note her lengthy homeward bound pennant, denoting continuous overseas duty for more than nine months and returning to a U.S. port. Commissioned 16 April 1944, she had her shakedown on the East Coast and joined Halsey’s 3rd Fleet at Ulithi Atoll via the Panama Canal and Hawaii on 9 December, bound for points West.
Here we see the Illinois-class pre-dreadnought type battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-9) drawing 23 feet of water in Gatun Lake, Panama, 16 July 1915.
Obsolete within five years of her commissoning, she served with her two sisteres, Illinois and former Warship Wednesday alumn Alabamaon the epic Great White Fleet and then, after a modernization in 1909 that left her looking more haze gray as seen above, she was used for training until 1919 when she was laid up for good and scrapped without ceremony in 1922.
In 1944 another battleship entered the fleet with the same name, which had a rather longer life.
The Iowa-class battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) fires a round from one of the Mark 7 16-inch/50-caliber guns in its No. 3 turret during Operation Desert Storm. The ship’s target is an Iraqi 155mm artillery battery in southern Kuwaiti, which her guns greatly outranged. This was the first time Wisconsin‘s guns had fired in anger since 1952 where she pounded Chinese positions in Korea and would mark the start of her participation in the ground war during Operation Desert Storm.
John L. Hemmer | The Virginian-Pilot Caption information courtesy of The Sargeant Memorial Collection
71 years ago today–January 18, 1947– A photograph of the return of the Iowa-class battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) to the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia. The battleship had been on a 12-day cruise in the Caribbean with 565 Naval Reservists. Wisconsin was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Pennsylvania and launched on December 7, 1943– the above being her original bow. She would only later be referred to as WisKy, after she picked up the bow of her uncompleted sister ship, USS Kentucky, following a collision with the destroyer Ellison in 1956.
I like estate sales and enjoy attending them as I tend to find great old knives, militaria, and firearms up for grabs. One sale I recently attended was for a late local Biloxi-area photographer who took a number of images up and down the Gulf Coast in the 1970s and 80s that were turned into postcards. Apparently, as part of his payment, he got a stack of each postcard that was printed. While a lot were your standard lighthouse-shrimpboat-sand dollar-bikini girl scenes, there were also some military subjects that I picked up.
I got a *stack* of each of these five.
They are detailed as such:
“The 6-inch disappearing rifle located at Battery Cooper in Fort Pickens. The uniforms shown were from the late 1890s. The Fort only saw about 60 hours of combat; that during the Civil War. “
U.S. Air Force Armament Museum outside of Eglin AFB, showing a B-17, F-4, and T-12 “Cloudmaker” 44,000 lb bomb
USS Kitty Hawk underway. No note as to when the image was taken but she still has A-7 Corsairs and SH-3 Sea Kings on deck and CIWS aft, so I am guessing mid-to-late 1980s.
“Pascagoula” showing the mouth of the river at Ingalls-Litton’s East Bank with the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) berthed undergoing her post-mothball modernization 1987-88. I attended her recommissioning as a kid! An LHD (likely Wasp) and a late batch VLS CG-47 are visible in the postcard on the West Bank, though I can’t tell which numbers
Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island off Gulfport. This image is pre-1998 as the island has changed significantly since then. Everything to the right of the fort is now underwater due to Hurricanes Georges and Katrina and the casemates are currently very close to the beach at high tide
Bottom line, I am never going to use several hundred postcards, so I am bundling one of each of the above (five in total) together to send for free to anyone that wants a set. So if you want a set of the five above, email me your shipping address at: egerwriter@gmail.com and I will drop an envelope in the USPS mail box headed your way.
Be advised some of these are 30-40 years old and, while they never took up store space or were circulated, they were not stored in museum conditions (rusty old filing cabinets marked “NASA Marietta”). But they are free and I will not use your address for anything but scribbling it on the envelope.
Crewmen load a 16-inch shell aboard the battleship USS WISCONSIN (BB 64) as the vessel is readied for sea trials (Photo: National Archives)
The answer to that would be 15,595 live ones in 10 different variants including HC, armor piercing and practice.
The last battleship salvo was from USS Wisconsin 16 May 1991, with the last battleship transferred to museum life in 2012.
The Army’s last 16″/50cal Gun M1919 coastal artillery battery was disbanded in 1946.
Currently at AAAC, Crane:
Designation/Type Filler Number
D862 High Capacity Explosive D 3,624
D872 Armor Piercing Explosive D 2,430
D874 High Capacity Explosive D 591
D875 Armor Piercing 666 M46 GP Grenades 22
D875 Armor Piercing 400 M43A1 GP Grenades 234
D877 Armor Piercing Explosive D 1,743
D878 High Capacity Explosive D 2
D879 High Capacity Explosive D 411
D881 Practice Tracer only 272
D882 High Capacity Explosive D 6,266 Total 15,595
Anyway, I think they make great conversation pieces. Central City Surplus just redid a 1,900-pound D875 AP shell (and yes, that is a QH-50 DASH in the background).
