Commissioned in February 1943, the USS Iowa served briefly in the Atlantic before departing
for the Pacific Theater in January 1944. She served mainly to support carrier based air
strikes against Japanese-held islands, protecting said carriers and shelling enemy shore
and naval positions. She took part in the Marianas campaign and the Battle of Leyte Gulf,
although she missed a chance for a showdown with the Japanese battleship Yamato. After
assisting the assault on the Philippines, Iowa took part in the Okinawa invasion as well as
supporting air strikes on Kyushu. Together with sister ships USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin,
Iowa bombarded industrial cities on the Japanese homeland towards the end of the war.