USS WisconsinUSS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa-class battleship, and is the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and launched on December 7, 1943.
During her career Wisconsin served in World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications at Ulithi and Leyte Gulf, and screened US aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War she shelled North Korean targets in support of UN and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the mothball fleet. She was reactivated and modernized in 1986 as part of the "600-ship Navy" plan, and participated in the 1991 Gulf War.
Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991, having earned a total of six battle stars for war service in WWII and Korea, and a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the 1991 Gulf War, and currently functions as a museum ship at Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was struck from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and is currently awaiting donation for permanent use as a museum ship.
Picture added on 26 October 2006
Added by Paul Strathdee on 01 June 2010.