My son has been on the USS Missouri several times and decided to research the Iowa Class.
They all served in WWII but only in pears,2 would be with the Fleet as the other 2 would go back to port for refit and supplies.
The signing of the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri because it was named after Truman's home state is only partially true.The treaty was supposed to signed oh the Flagship of the Fleet which was USS New Jersey but she had not arrived yet.
The USS New Jersey was also the one that saw the most action after WWII.
The Iowa class ships only sailed once together as 2 were in the Pacific and 2 in the Atlantic.This happened June of 1954 as the left harbor in Virginia and were together for 1 - 2 hours while at sea.2 stayed in the Atlantic and 2 went to the Pacific.
I've been on the Wisconsin in Virginia. It saw service in Gulf I (1990-1991) and is credited as the last battleship to have given, "artillery support," to ground units in direct contact with an armed enemy of the United States. They apparently fired their 16"-ers to provide cover to Marines at some point, though I may be mistaken. I do know they used a good amount of Tomahawk cruise missles, though.
One thing I really found interesting was the fact you always had one of the dual, 5" secondaries crewed by Marines. There's one on the Wisconsin with the Globe and Anchor prominently painted on the side, signifying that was the one crewed by Marines.
Norfolk's a nice town. Haven't been there in over 10 years, though. Hopefully the "Nauticus" exhibit and the ship are still open to folks. There was a really interesting display on the early age of sail in the USN when I was there, as well as a section on the early days of steam. Of course, you also had the marine life exhibits galore, which were cool in their own right.
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