The photograph shows the United States battleship Iowa firing a full broadside from her nine 16" 50 cal guns. Each shell from these guns weighed over a ton and could be landed with surprising precision on a target over 20 miles distant; each gun weighed over 100 tons and each was capable of being independently raised or lowered.
This battleship which cost $120,000,000 to build (say $6 billions today) was obsolete in fact before it was built during the Second World War, but despite this it saw service in the 1991 Gulf War. Four ships of this class were built: Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and Wisconsin.
It is a sobering thought that this magnificent ship would stand no chance against a modern destroyer such as USS Bainbridge with its incredible ability to track 100 targets simultaneously and equally, destroy them with advanced missiles.
For me though it's form before function; since my early boyhood I have always loved the look of a beautiful battleship.
Until the next time
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