The USS Wisconsin (BB-64), a formidable Iowa-class ship, served proudly with the US Navy intermittently from 1944-91. As the second-to-last member of her class to be commissioned, she was one of the final battleships constructed by the United States. Across her operational service, which spanned World War II, the Korean War and the Gulf War, Wisconsin, affectionately known as “Wisky,” earned six battle stars and was awarded a Navy Unit Commendation for her unwavering dedication and valor.
Construction of the USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
The initial plans for the USS Wisconsin were crafted in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch of the Bureau of Construction and Repair. Commencing construction on January 25, 1941, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, she stood as the third of four Iowa-class “fast” battleships.
Launched on December 7, 1943, Wisconsin was commissioned the subsequent year. Following initial testing in Chesapeake Bay, the vessel embarked from Norfolk, Virginia for her shakedown cruise in the British West Indies. After this, she sailed through the Panama Canal to reach the Pacific.
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) specs
The USS Wisconsin‘s main armament included nine 16-inch/50 cal. Mk 7 guns in three turrets, which could fire 2,700-pound armor-piercing shells up to 20 miles. In addition to this, she was equipped with twenty 5-inch/38 cal. guns in 10 turrets, forty-nine Oerlikon 20 mm cannons and eighty Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns.
During the 1980s, Wisconsin had her anti-aircraft guns replaced with Phalanx CIWS mounts. She also had her five-inch/38 cal. gun total reduced to 12, and received armored box launchers, which fired Tomahawk missiles, and quad cell launchers capable of firing Harpoon missiles.
Wisconsin and the USS Missouri (BB-63) had 14.5-inch-thick bulkheads, compared to their sister ships, the USS Iowa (BB-61) and New Jersey (BB-62), which only had 11.3-inch bulkheads. The rest of Wisconsin’s armor, however, was identical to the other Iowa battleships.
Wisconsin, like her sister ships, also carried floatplanes during the Second World War. Early on in the Cold War, a helicopter pad was positioned at the stern. Toward the end of their service life, each ship in the class could carry up to five unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Making waves in the Pacific during World War II
After departing the West Coast for Hawaii and the Caroline Islands, the USS Wisconsin joined Adm. William Halsey‘s Third Fleet on December 9, 1944. While she’d missed out on most of the Second World War, the battleship saw combat shortly after joining the conflict.
In preparation for the US invasion of Mindoro, Wisconsin joined the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF-38), charged with softening Japanese defenses ahead of American ground forces. During her first operation, the task force came up against Typhoon Cobra. Three destroyers sank, a number of ships were damaged and hundreds of sailors were either killed, missing or injured. Somehow, Wisconsin got out unscathed, reporting just two injured crewmen.
Wisconsin went on to help in the occupation of Luzon, acting as a carrier escort and protecting the vessels from air attacks. In February 1945, she joined the Fifth Fleet’s Task Force 58 (TF-58), pushing north toward Japan. During this time, the battleship provided support and assisted in the landing of troops on Iwo Jima. She also engaged shore-based targets on Hachinohe, Okinawa and Tokyo.
Wisconsin was caught in another typhoon on June 4, once again riding out the storm completely untouched. On September 5, she sailed into Tokyo Bay, just three days after the formal surrender had been signed aboard her sister ship, the USS Missouri.
Over the course of her short service during the Second World War, Wisconsin sailed 105,831 nautical miles. With the conflict over, she took part in Operation Magic Carpet, after which she was put into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and made inactive.
‘TEMPER TEMPER’
At the outset of the Korean War, the USS Wisconsin was recommissioned. After undergoing a shakedown and conducting two midshipmen training cruises, she embarked on her journey to the Pacific, departing from Norfolk on October 25, 1951.
Once again transiting through the Panama Canal, Wisconsin reached Japan on November 21 and assumed the role of Vice Adm. H.M. Martin’s flagship for the Seventh Fleet, relieving the USS New Jersey. Just five days later, she set sail for Korea, joining Task Force 77 (TF-77) and receiving the mission of shore bombardment.
On March 15, 1952, while engaging in a shelling operation against enemy positions in Songjin, Wisconsin faced a moment of provocation. Approaching perilously close to the shore, North Korean forces returned fire, their 155 mm shells striking the vessel, but causing no substantial damage, with only three sailors sustaining injuries.
In response, Wisconsin directed her formidable firepower toward the enemy and executed a devastating broadside, obliterating the North Korean artillery. In a lighthearted exchange, the USS Buck (DD-761), her escort, signaled, “TEMPER TEMPER.” Though this incident lacks extensive corroborative evidence, it remains a captivating anecdote from Wisconsin‘s wartime service.
The USS Wisconsin (BB-64) returns to the United States
On April 1, 1952, the USS Wisconsin was relieved by the USS Iowa. Following the Korean War, she acted as a training ship and flagship, and took part in various exercises.
On May 6, 1956, Wisconsin collided with the USS Eaton (DD-510) in heavy fog. With extensive damage to her bow section, the battleship sailed to Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs. The replacement bow was taken from the incomplete USS Kentucky (BB-66) and installed onto Wisconsin in only a matter of days.
On June 28, Wisconsin was ready to return to sea, but didn’t do so until March 8, 1958, when she, again, joined the US Navy’s Reserve Fleet.
Gulf War
On August 1, 1986, the Wisconsin was reactivated as part of President Ronald Reagan and Navy Secretary John F. Lehman’s attempt to create a “600-ship Navy.” During the late ’80s, she underwent modernization and was recommissioned.
Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, US naval forces were deployed as part of Operation Desert Shield. When Operation Desert Storm began, Wisconsin and the USS Missouri launched Tomahawk strikes against Iraq. They were some of the first ships to use cruise missiles during the Gulf War, with Wisconsin serving as the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) strike commander. The conflict also saw the battleship, for the first time since 1952, provide gunfire support.
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Over the course of the war, both Wisconsin and Missouri fired more than one million pounds of ordnance on Iraqi targets. With the end of the conflict, all four Iowa-class battleships were decommissioned.