USS Iowa (BB-61) - Reserve Fleet and Museum Ship (from 1990)

Reserve Fleet and Museum Ship (from 1990)

See also: United States Naval Gunfire Support debate

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the lack of a perceived threat against the United States came drastic cuts to the defense budget, and the high cost of maintaining battleships as part of the active fleet became uneconomical; as a result, Iowa was decommissioned again on 26 October 1990. She was the first of the reactivated battleships to be decommissioned, and this was done earlier than originally planned as a result of the damaged turret. Iowa was berthed at the Naval Education and Training Center in Newport from 24 September 1998 to 8 March 2001, when the ship began her journey under tow to California. The ship arrived in Suisun Bay near San Francisco on 21 April 2001 and joined the reserve fleet there, where she remained in reserve until struck again from the Naval Vessel Register in March 2006. She and her sister ships had been struck previously in 1995.

Section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 required the United States Navy to reinstate to the Naval Vessel Register two of the Iowa-class battleships that had been struck by the Navy in 1995; these ships were to be maintained in the United States Navy reserve fleets (or "mothball fleet"). The Navy was to ensure that both of the reinstated battleships were in good condition and could be reactivated for use in the Marine Corps' amphibious operations. Due to Iowa’s damaged turret, the Navy selected New Jersey for placement into the mothball fleet, even though the training mechanisms on New Jersey's 16-inch (406 mm) guns had been welded down. The cost to fix New Jersey was considered less than the cost to fix Iowa; as a result, New Jersey and Wisconsin were reinstated to the Naval Vessel Register and placed back in the reserve fleet.

New Jersey remained there until the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act of 1999 required the United States Secretary of the Navy to list and maintain Iowa and Wisconsin on the Naval Vessel Register. The Act also required the Secretary of the Navy to strike New Jersey from the Naval Vessel Register and transfer the battleship to a not-for-profit entity in accordance with section 7306 of Title 10, United States Code. It also required the transferee to locate the battleship in the State of New Jersey. The Navy made the switch in January 1999, allowing New Jersey to open as a museum ship in her namesake state.

On 17 March 2006, the Secretary of the Navy exercised his authority to strike Iowa and Wisconsin from the NVR, which cleared the way for both ships to be donated for use as museum ships, but the United States Congress remained "deeply concerned" over the loss of the naval surface gunfire support that the battleships provided, and noted that "navy efforts to improve upon, much less replace, this capability have been highly problematic." As a partial consequence, Congress passed Pub.L. 109-163, the National Defense Authorization Act 2006, requiring that the battleships be kept and maintained in a state of readiness should they ever be needed again. Congress ordered that measures be implemented to ensure that, if need be, Iowa could be returned to active duty. These measures closely mirrored the original three conditions that the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 laid out for the maintenance of Iowa while she was in the "mothball fleet".

In March 2007, the Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square (HSMPS) of Vallejo, site of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and a Stockton group submitted proposals. The HSMPS, which had attempted to place the ship in San Francisco, supported the Mare Island—Vallejo site. In October 2007 the Navy informed HSMPS that they were the only viable candidate to acquire Iowa, and their application would be further reviewed after evidence was presented that financing was in place, and when the Stockton and San Francisco groups withdrew or failed to submit a final application respectively. On 25 April 2009, Iowa Senate Resolution #19 was approved, endorsing HSMPS as USS Iowa's custodian and supporting the battleship's placement at Mare Island.

In February 2010, the Pacific Battleship Center (PBC) was behind efforts to have the ship berthed in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. In late February the Port of Los Angeles (which includes the San Pedro area) rejected a proposal by the PBC to berth the battleship at its facilities because the battleship was not yet available. On 12 April 2010, the Governor of Iowa signed into law Bill SJR2007, which officially formed a 10-member committee to raise about $5 million for the group awarded the USS Iowa. The statement supporting the Vallejo group in the original Iowa State Senate's version SR19 was struck in favor of supporting any group actually awarded the battleship.

On 13 May 2010, the Navy announced it would reopen the bidding process, citing HSMPS's lack of progress as the reason. On 24 May 2010 the Federal Register officially reopened the bidding process for the USS Iowa to a California-based city or non-profit organization.

On 18 November 2010, the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners voted unanimously on a resolution to support Berth 87 as the future home of the USS Iowa, clearing the way for The Pacific Battleship Center to send its completed application to the Navy. On 6 September 2011, the USS Iowa was awarded to Pacific Battleship Center for placement at the Port of Los Angeles. After rehabilitation at the Port of Richmond, California, (beginning in October 2011), the ship was designated to be towed to and berthed in the Port of Los Angeles.

Starting 10 December 2011, the USS Iowa was open for weekend tours. The Battleship Expo at the Port of Richmond included shipboard access and other exhibits such as 16-inch shells, a short film about the battleship, and other exhibits. On 30 April 2012, the USS Iowa was officially donated to the Pacific Battleship Center in Los Angeles by the United States Navy.

The USS Iowa began her journey to the Port of Los Angeles on 26 May 2012 under tow by tugboats. After being anchored off the Southern California coast to have her hull scrubbed to remove any invasive species or contaminants, she has been permanently anchored in San Pedro, 9 June 2012 at Berth 87, along the Main Channel, directly south of the World Cruise Center, and the museum opened to the public on 7 July.

• The conversion to museum ship: Images

• Docked at Terminal 3 in Richmond, California, for rework, 1 January 2012

• Towed under the Golden Gate Bridge on her way to the Port of Los Angeles, 26 May 2012

• At anchor off of the Port of Long Beach for hull cleaning, 1 June 2012

• At her permanent berth in San Pedro after opening as a museum ship, 19 August 2012