SAN FRANCISCO — In what may have been the final pass of a United States battleship under the Golden Gate Bridge occurred Saturday.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., the USS Iowa (BB-61) passed under the Golden Gate Bridge to the open sea of the Pacific Ocean. The battleship was not under its own power, being towed behind a sea-going tug for its final journey to Southern California and the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro at Berth 87. Once there, it will be transformed into an interactive naval museum.

The battleship was the lead ship built in the “fast battleship” class. Originally, there was to be 6 of this class battleship built, but that was later trimmed to four (USS Iowa BB-61, USS New Jersey BB-62, USS Missouri BB-63 and the USS Wisconsin BB-64). The succeeding class was to be the Montana class, but was cancelled as Naval strategies changed from gun ships to air superiority with the advancements of aircraft carriers and the costs to maintain and operate battleships. This makes the USS Iowa the last lead ship of any kind of battleship.

The 887-foot 3-inch long, 58,000-ton ship features a main battery of nine 16-inch/ 50-cal Mark Guns, which could fire 2,700-pound armor-piercing shells at targets around 20 nautical miles away. Her secondary battery consisted of 20 5-inch/38 cal guns in twin turrets, which could fire at targets up to 12 nautical miles away. In later years, anti-aircraft guns were fitted, close in weapons systems (20 mm Phalanx guns), 32 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 16 Harpoon anti-ship missiles were installed. She was originally commissioned on February 22, 1943 and following several decommissioning and re-commissioning events, was finally decommissioned in 1990.

The ship was involved in several historical events including World War II, the Korean War and several NATO humanitarian missions in Central America. In later years, she participated in the first Gulf War support and performed the first tests of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

During World War II, Iowa carried President Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and World War II military brass to Casablanca, French Morocco, on the first leg of the journey to the Tehran Conference. During this trip she was fitted with a special bath tub floor and an elevator, so the president could get from one deck to another. During the war, she served in both the Atlantic and the Pacific fleets. Along with her sister ship, the USS Missouri (BB-63), was on station in Sagami Bay, Japan to over-see the signing of the peace treaties for World War II.

During the 600-ship Navy build up in the 1980s to counter naval build ups by the Soviet Union during the “Cold War”, she was visited by (then) President Ronald Regan.

During her naval career, she won 11-Battle star awards. Her only blemish came from an explosion in her #2 Main Battery turret, of unknown causes, on April 19, 1989.

Several thousand people were stationed on the northern hills of the Golden Gate and the San Francisco side of the bridge to witness the historic “last pass under the gate”, equipped with cameras and binoculars. Another several hundred were on the Golden Gate Bridge. Several were fortunate enough to obtain pass to ride one of the tug boats used to escort her out the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Memorial Day holiday and weekend serves to remember and honor our military servicemen who served to fight and defend our country over the years, to maintain our “rights and freedoms”. For those fortunate to witness this small piece of history, it was a chance to celebrate and honor what the USS Iowa and her crews did to defend our country from those who would try to take our freedoms.