Naval Station Norfolk , Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

USS Iowa

USS <i>Iowa</i> Marker image. Click for full size.

2024

1. USS Iowa Marker

Inscription. Commissioned in 1943, USS Iowa (BB-61) led the world's most powerful battleship class. In Oct. 1943, Iowa was modified at the Norfolk Navy Yard, adding the only bathtub on a battleship for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's trans-Atlantic voyage to meet with Allied leaders. Iowa fought in the Pacific and Korea, returned to Norfolk in 1952, and was mothballed in 1958. Recommissioned in 1984 and homeported at Norfolk, Iowa served in multiple operations during the Cold War. Turret Two exploded on 19 Apr. 1989, killing 47 crewmen. This point was dedicated to them on 19 Apr. 1990; Iowa was decommissioned in Oct. 1990.

Erected 2010 by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number BB-61.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • War, Cold • War, Korean • War, World II • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is April 19, 1989.

Location. 36° 57.322′ N, 76° 18.729′ W. Marker is in Norfolk, Virginia. It is in Naval Station Norfolk. It is on Massey Hughes Drive 0.4 miles east of Maryland Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Marker is at Iowa

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Point on board Norfolk Naval Station. A DoD identification card is required to access the installation. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Norfolk VA 23511, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads,

specifically in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: We remember turret two ... (a few steps from this marker); Virginia and Monitor (within shouting distance of this marker); USS Cole (DDG 67) Memorial (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); USS Cole DDG 67 (about 700 feet away); Birthplace of Naval Aviation

Iowa Point, Norfolk Naval Station image. Click for full size.

2024

2. Iowa Point, Norfolk Naval Station

This is the Iowa memorial immediately to the west of the marker. The hedges are in the shape of an anchor, with 16-inch projectiles flanking the walkway and a memorial at the far end.

(approx. ¼ mile away); 1907 Jamestown Exhibition (approx. 0.4 miles away); Navy Mess Attendant School (approx. 0.7 miles away); Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Norfolk.

More about this marker. Marker is co-located at Iowa Point with the USS Iowa memorial (hedges shaped like an anchor, with two 16-inch projectiles and the "We Remember Turret Two..." Memorial Plaque, linked in the Related Markers Section below). The marker's number, BB-61, is itself noteworthy. The Department of Historic Resources Highway Markers program has used a lettering system where each county and each independent city are assigned a letter prefix; for Norfolk, that prefix is "KV" (for instance, see markers KV-2 and KV-3, also on Norfolk Naval Station, which describe the Birthplace of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Depot). Rarely is this local prefix system deviated from, however, this marker was given the hull number of Iowa - BB-61 - instead of a DHR "KV" designation. No other marker in the program, anywhere in Virginia, uses a "BB" prefix so the exception was applied specifically

Photographed by PH2 Milton Savage, April 23, 1989

3. USS Iowa Marker

Iowa's Turret 2, shown here with the center gun depressed from the explosion and the turret still trained to the degree it was when the disaster occurred, is visible in this photograph from Fort Monroe, DoD Photo # 330-CFD-DN-ST-89-07034. Public Domain via the National Archives Online Catalog.

for this instance.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Marker is the memorial marker to Iowa at the adjacent monument.

USS <i>Iowa</i> Turret II Accident Projectile image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, October 13, 2023

4. USS Iowa Turret II Accident Projectile

This projectile, displayed at Dahlgren Heritage Museum, was in Turret II's center gun when the accident occurred. The effects of being over-rammed are evident by the compressed nose and the broken rotating band.

USS <i>Iowa</i> Turret II Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, August 18, 2022

5. USS Iowa Turret II Memorial

Maintained aboard the museum ship.

USS <i>Iowa</i> Bathtub image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, August 18, 2022

6. USS Iowa Bathtub

The battleship has been converted to a permanent museum in San Pedro, California. This is President Roosevelt's bathtub, visible on the public tour route of the ship, as mentioned in the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 11, 2026. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 11, 2026. 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 11, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.