You
walk up the gangplank, this is not just any ship; this is the USS Iowa, the
ship that ended WW II. (The peace treaty
with the Japanese was signed on the Iowa). The USS Iowa has served in World War
II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Cold War. This is a battleship that can
hurl a missile fifteen hundred miles; or send a shell the size of a car
twenty-six miles. It is an impressive
battleship, a ship that was made to carry the biggest stick to our enemies and
come back home to talk about it. The
Iowa is 887 feel long, 45,000 tons with a 108 feet beam. She is sleek, she is fast, and she had a crew
of 2,637, plus 151 officers, before she was decommissioned in 1990. An interesting fact, the United States never
lost a battleship at sea and the Iowa class is the longest serving battleship
in the United States navy.
The
other day I decided to take a tour of the USS Iowa, docked at San Pedro,
California. Being a WWII enthusiast I
figured this would be the perfect way to spend the day. As blogger I quickly released this could be
an awesome location to film at, there are a number of great places to use as a
background. The great thing is, very few
photographers have used a battleship to photograph on. To use a battleship like the Iowa, the
possibilities are endless in terms of coming up with interesting shots. There is the bow with two battery of 16 guns,
which overlooks the entrance to the San Pedro Harbor. If you look towards the stern, you have one
battery of 16inch guns and mid ship you have the bridge. On the port and starboard sides are 5inch
guns, rails, and mired of very interesting places to shoot at. As a filmmaker doing a chase scene on a
battleship is very tempting, there are so many places a character can hide, the
possibilities are endless what one could do on a battleship.
San
Pedro is only an hour from Los Angeles, well within the zone, parking is
plentiful, and the USS Iowa is open for commercial filming. Just call 877-446-9261 for more information,
ask for someone in the events department.
I am
always searching for interesting places to share with my readers. The USS Iowa
is worth visiting because it represents such an important part of American
history in the Twentieth Century. It is
hard not to become a little patriotic.
If you need a motor home or have any questions please call me Mike Green
818 317 7099.
