1940

June 27: Laid down by New York Naval Shipyard

1942

August 27: Launched

1943

February 22: Commissioned
November 13: Carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference, where the three leaders decided to open a second front against Nazi Germany

1944

January 23: Engaged in first Pacific campaign in support of carrier air strikes against Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls
February 16: Attacked naval base at Truk in the Caroline Islands

1945

April 15: Relieved USS NEW JERSEY off of Okinawa, Japan
July 15: USS IOWA, MISSOURI and WISCONSIN attacked Muroran on Hokkaido
August 29: IOWA and MISSOURI enter Tokyo Bay for the formal signing of the Japanese surrender

1949

March 24: First decommissioning

1951

August 25: Second commissioning

1952

April 9: Joined bomb line off coast of Korea
May 25: Destroyed Chongjin’s industrial center (48 miles from the Russian border)
August 20: Helped Destroyer Thompson escape to safe waters

1954

June: Training exercise with all four IOWA class battleships off of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

1958

February 24: Second decommissioning

1984

April 28: Third commissioning
August 12 Provided medical and dental assistance in Guatemala

1985

February: Provided humanitarian support for Costa Rica and Honduras
August 22: Awarded Battenberg Cup as best ship in the Atlantic Fleet for 1984

1986

July 4: Carried President Ronald Reagan on the Hudson River for the nation’s Celebration of Liberty in New York City

1989

April 19: Forty-seven sailors were killed in an explosion in Turret #2

1990

October 26: Third decommissioning

2001

March 8: Begins journey from the East Coast to California via the Panama Canal
April 21: Arrives at the “Mothball Fleet” in Suisun Bay

2010

May 26: Navy accepts Pacific Battleship Center’s Letter of Intent to submit an application for the donation
September 24: Los Angeles City Council votes 13-0 in support of a resolution to bring the USS IOWA to the Port of Los Angeles
October 7: Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners indicate support
November 4: Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners staff recommends Berth 87
November 18: Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners vote 5-0 in support of a resolution to make Berth 87 the future home of USS IOWA
November 22: Pacific Battleship Center submits application to the Navy

2011

September 6: Navy awards IOWA to the Pacific Battleship Center for a museum
October 27: Leaves “Mothball Fleet” in Suisun Bay and arrives at California’s Port of Richmond for renovation in preparation for tow to Los Angeles

2012

April 19: Remembrance Ceremony honors 47 sailors who died in the Turret #2 explosion
April 24: Re-stepping of the 50-foot-tall mast in preparation for tow to Los Angeles
April 30: U.S. Navy Vice Admiral W. Mark Skinner and Pacific Battleship Center President Robert Kent sign final documents transferring ownership from Navy to PBC
May 26: Leaves Port of Richmond under tow, crosses San Francisco Bay and passes under the Golden Gate Bridge and heads for Los Angeles
May 30: Arrives at Los Angeles for hull cleaning at offshore anchorage
June 2: Completes last voyage via open water tow and docks at Berth 51-52 in Port of Los Angeles
June 9: Makes final journey down the main channel to its permanent home at Port of Los Angeles, Berth 87, in San Pedro, Calif.
July 2: Celebration (by invitation only) for Plankowners who made donations to the nonprofit Pacific Battleship Center by May 20, 2012.
July 2-5: Reunion of the Veterans Association of the USS Iowa (by invitation only)
July 4: Independence Day Celebration featuring Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa (by invitation only)
July 7: Public grand opening of the ship as a floating museum

Timeline