History of Ships & Boats

                                                         
Displacement 52,000 tons at full load, length 880 feet, beam 108 feet, draft 36 feet, according to unofficial figures. Main battery: nine 16-inch guns firing shells weighing over one ton apiece. Secondary battery: twenty 5-inch guns. Antiaircraft batteries: over 125 forty-millimeter and twenty-millimeter guns. Credited with speed above 30 knots. This commemorative print is dedicated to the loyal employees of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, whose energy, thought and devotion to duty created this great ship.
Presented to the Employees of the Philadelphia Navy Yard 1945

The USS Wisconsin (BB-64)Ship's History

1939

July 6 Congress Authorized construction of USS WISCONSIN.

1941

January 25 Keel laid at Philadelphia Naval Yard. (SEE PICTURE)

1943

December 7 Launched at the Philadelphia Naval Yard under sponsorship of Mrs. Walter S. Goodland, wife of the Governor of Wisconsin (SEE PICTURE #1- SEE PICTURE #2)

1944

	April 16 Commissioned Philadelphia Naval Yard, Captain Earl E. Stone in command. (See Ship's Deck Log)
	July 7 Departed Norfolk, VA for shakedown cruise to Trinidad, British West Indies.
	September 24 WISCONSIN sailed for the West Coast, transited the Panama Canal. (SEE PICTURE)
	October 2 Reported to the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet and dropped anchor at Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
	December 9 Joined Admiral F. Halsey’s 3rd Fleet at Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
	December 13 WISCONSIN acting as support unit to the carriers performed its mission of rendering Japanese facilities at Manila useless.
	December 14-16 WISCONSIN earned her 1st Battle Star -  Leyte Operation: Luzon Attacks.
	December 17 A severe typhoon developed in which we lost destroyers USS Hull (DD-350), USS MONAGHAN (DD-354) and USS SPENCE (DD-512) all capsized and sank. WISCONSIN proved her seaworthiness as she escaped the storm unscathed.

1945

	January 3-22 WISCONSIN armed with heavy antiaircraft batteries performed escort duty for TF 38’s fast carriers firing air strikes against Formosa, Luzon, and the Nansei Shoto to neutralize Japanese forces there and to cover the unfolding Lingayen Gulf operations. Those strikes included a thrust into the South China Sea in the hope that major units of the Japanese Navy could be drawn into battle. She earned her 2nd Battle Star in Luzon operation.
	January/February Subsequently assigned to the 5th Fleet when Admiral Spruance relieved Admiral Halsey, WISCONSIN moved northward to strike at the Tokyo area on the Japanese home island of Honshu. This attack on the enemy’s capital was to provide strategic cover for the invasion of Iwo Jima by cutting down the Japanese air force and wrecking industrial plants.
	February 16 WISCONSIN, as supporting unit, approached the Japanese coast under the cover of adverse weather conditions and again achieved complete tactical surprise.
	February 17 WISCONSIN supported landing operations against Iwo Jima.
	February 20  Captain John W. Roper assumed command of the WISCONSIN.
	February/March WISCONSIN earned her 3rd Battle Star for Iwo Jima operations.
	March 14 WISCONSIN’S task force stood out of Ulithi for Japan. Its mission was to eliminate airborne resistance from the Japanese homeland to our forces invading Okinawa.
	March 17 WISCONSIN earned her 4th Battle Star in the Okinawa operation.
	March 24 WISCONSIN trained her 16-inch guns on targets ashore on Okinawa. Together with the other battlewagons of the task force, she pounded Japanese positions and installations. The task force was wholly concerned with protecting our landing operations.
	April 12 WISCONSIN bristling with 5" 40mm and 20mm guns, together with other units of the screens of the vital carriers, kept the enemy at bay or destroyed him before he could reach his targets.
	April 17 Ship’s gunfire knocked down 3 enemy planes. (SEE PICTURE)
	June 4 A typhoon was swirling though the Fleet. WISCONSIN rode out the storm again unscathed, but three cruisers, two carriers and a destroyer suffered serious damage.
	June 8 WISCONSIN’S seaplanes landed and rescued a pilot from a downed plane off the USS Shangri-La (CV-38). (SEE PICTURE)
	June 13 The WISCONSIN dropped anchor in Leyte Gulf for a period of repair and replenishment.
	July 1 Admiral Halsey’s 3rd Fleet fast carrier forces, now the greatest mass of sea power ever assembled, steamed northward to wage a tremendous pre-invasion campaign of destruction against every Japanese facility which could be used for prolonging the war.(SEE PICTURE)
	July 15 WISCONSIN participated in the bombardment of Muroran, Hokkaido, and her great 16" shells wrecked steel mills and oil facilities in the city.
	July 17 WISCONSIN blasted the Hitschi Miro area of the Honshu coast, northeast of Tokyo.
	July-September WISCONSIN earned her 5th Battle Star for the Operations against Japan.
	September 5 WISCONSIN dropped anchor in Tokyo Bay. She had been continuously at sea on the front line for periods of months at a time and had steamed 105,831 miles since her commissioning. She was credited with shooting down three enemy planes and assists on four others. She had refueled 150 destroyers at sea and had participated in every pacific naval operation since she joined the fleet in December 1944. For his services as commanding officer, Captain Roper was awarded the Legion of Merit.
	September 22 WISCONSIN embarked home-coming GI’s at Okinawa and departed on the 23rd
	October 4-9 Stayed over at Pearl Harbor for 5 days.
	October 15 Arrived San Francisco (SEE PICTURE)   (SEE PICTURE)
	December 18 Captain Clark L. Green assumed command of the WISCONSIN.

1946

	January 11-13 WISCONSIN passed through the Panama Canal
	January 18 WISCONSIN arrived Hampton Roads, Va.
	February-March WISCONSIN cruised to Guantanamo Bay Cuba.
	Summers months WISCONSIN returned to Norfolk for a yard overhaul.
	October 16 WISCONSIN sailed for South American waters.
	November 1-6 Valparaiso, Chile.
	November 9-13 Callao, Peru.
	November 16-20 Balboa, Canal zone.
	November 22-26 La Guajira, Venezuela.
	December 2 Returned to Norfolk.

1947

	WISCONSIN was mainly devoted to US Naval Reserve Training cruises, each of two-week duration. These cruises commenced at Bayonne, NJ and from there WISCONSIN steamed south with escort to the Canal Zone, allowing her sailors two days liberty. She then proceeded to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and a day of gunnery training before returning to Bayonne, NJ. (SEE PICTURE)
	March 11 Captain John M. Higgins relieved Captain Green of command
	June-July WISCONSIN sailed on midshipmen training cruises to northern European waters. (SEE PICTURE)

1948

	January WISCONSIN reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk for inactivation
	July l WISCONSIN was assigned to the Norfolk Group, US Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Her first decommissioning.

1951

	March 3 WISCONSIN was recommissioned with Captain Thomas Burrowes in command. After shakedown training, she made two midshipmen training cruises during the summer months and visited Edinburgh, Scotland; Lisbon, Portugal; Halifax, Nova Scotia; New York City and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.(SEE PICTURE)
	October 25 WISCONSIN departed Norfolk for her first Korean tour, completing transit of the Panama Canal on October 29.
	November 21 Arrived at Yokosuka Japan and relieved sistershipUSS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) to become flagship of Vice Admiral H.M. Martin, Commander 7th Fleet.(SEE PICTURE)
	November 26 With Vice Admiral Martin and Rear Admiral Denebrink, Commander Service Force Pacific, WISCONSIN departed Yokosuka for Korean operations with Fast Carrier Task Force 77.
	December 2 Screened by destroyer USS WILTSIE (DD716) she provided naval gunfire support that day and night to the 1st Republic of Korea (ROK) Corps in the Kasong-Kosong area.
	December 3 Disembarked Rear Admiral Denebrink at Kangnung and resumed station at the Korean bomb-line.
	December 3-6 Gave naval gunfire support to the 1st Marine Division and 1st ROK Corps, which included the destruction of one enemy tank, two gun emplacements and one building. She continued her gunfire support task pounding enemy bunkers, artillery positions and troop concentrations. On one occasion during that time, WISCONSIN received a request for call-fire support and provided three starshells for the 1st ROK Corps, illuminating a communist attack that was consequently repulsed by hand grenades with considerable enemy causalities.
	December 6 USS SAINT PAUL (CA 73) relieved WISCONSIN on the bomb-line.
	December 11 WISCONSIN resumed naval gunfire support to troops at the bomb-line in the Kasong-Kosong area screened by destroyer USS TWINING (DD540).
	December 11-14 Continued naval gunfire support to United Nations Troops on the bomb-line with primary targets being enemy troops in bunkers, trenches and command posts as well as artillery positions.
	December 14 Departed bomb-line to conduct special gunfire mission in the Kojo area and coastal targets. Returned same day to resume support.
	December 16 Returned to Sasebo Japan to rearm.
	December 19 WISCONSIN received word that her night illumination fires during the night had enabled an enemy attack to be repulsed with heavy enemy casualties.
	December 20 WISCONSIN commenced participation in a coordinated air-surface bombardment of Wonsan. She also made an anti-boat sweep to the north to fire her 5-inch guns upon suspected boat concentration.
	December 22 WISCONSIN rejoins carrier task force.
	December 28 Cardinal Spellman came aboard to celebrate mass for the crew.
	December 31 WISCONSIN returned to Yokosuka.

1952

	January 8 WISCONSIN departed Yokosuka for Pusan, Korea.
	January 10 President Syngman Rhee and Mrs.Rhee were rendered full honors as he came aboard to award the Republic of Korea Order of the Military Merit to Vice Admiral H.M. Martin, Commander 7th Fleet.
	January 11 WISCONSIN returned to the Korean bomb-line to give gunfire support to the 1st Marine Division and the 1st ROK Corps., primary targets being command posts, personnel shelters, bunkers, troop concentrations and mortar positions.
	January 14 Conducted an emergency gunfire mission on enemy troops in the open for the 1st ROK Corp.
	January 17 Rearmed at Sasebo, Japan.
	January 23 Resumed naval gunfire support at the Korean bomb-line.
	January 26 WISCONSIN departed for a coordinated gun and small arm strike at Kojo, Korea. Returning to the bomb-line she destroyed an enemy communications center and command post of the 15th North Korean Division during call fire missions for the 1st Marine Corps.
	January 30 WISCONSIN arrived off Wonsan for bombardment and attacked enemy gunfire emplacements of Hodo Pando. Departed for Sasebo for replenishments.
	February 2 Rejoined carrier task force.(SEE PICTURE)
	February 3 WISCONSIN blasted railway building and marshalling yards at Hondo Pando and Kojo
	February 19 She resumed naval gunfire support at the bomb-line in the area of Kosong where she destroyed railway bridges and bombarded the shipyard She conducted call fire mission for United Nations troops on enemy command posts, mortar sites, bunkers and personnel shelters, making numerous cuts in enemy trench lines.
	February 22 Captain H.C. Bruton, relieved Captain Burrowes of command.
	February 24 Vice Admiral R. P. Brisoe relieved Vice Admiral Martin, Commander 7th Fleet.
	March 15 WISCONSIN concentrated on railway targets off Songjin, Korea, and in the early morning destroyed an enemy troop train that was trapped outside a destroyed tunnel. That afternoon, WISCONSIN received the first direct hit in her two-war history when one of four 155mm shells fired by enemy shore batteries hit her deck on the 02 level, just outside the gun shield of the starboard 40mm gun mount which caused little damage but injured three men. Almost as if the victim of a personal affront, WISCONSIN subsequently blasted that battery to oblivion with a 16-inch salvo before continuing her mission. (SEE PICTURE #1 | SEE PICTURE #2 | SEE PICTURE #3)
	April 1 Relieved as flagship of the 7th Fleet by sistership USS IOWA (BB-61) WISCONSIN departed for Yokosuka, bound for the United States.
	April 4-5 WISCONSIN was part of a successful experimental test of the navy’s largest floating dry-dock, marking the first time in history that a battleship of the IOWA class was put in a floating dry-dock. She resumed her homeward voyage via Pearl Harbor.   (SEE PICTURE)
	April 19 Arrived Long Beach, CA then steamed to Norfolk, VA
	June 9 WISCONSIN steamed from Norfolk on a midshipmen training cruise which included visits to Greenock, Scotland; Brest, France; and Guantanamo Bay Cuba.
	August 25 Departed Norfolk to participate in the NATO exercise "Operation Mainbrace" which commenced out of Greenock, Scotland and extended to Oslo, Norway.
	September 24 Captain R. J. Foley relieved Captain Bruton of command.
	September 24 WISCONSIN underwent overhaul in Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

1953

	February 11 WISCONSIN sailed for Cuban waters for refresher training
	May 3 WISCONSIN departed for Newport Rhode Island on a two week indoctrination and training period followed by a three-day visit to New York City.
	June 4 Midshipmen cruise to Rio de Janerio, Brazil; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
	August 4 Returned to Norfolk Naval Shipyard for minor overhaul.
	September 9 Captain M.F. D. Flaherty relieved Captain Foley of command. WISCONSIN departed Norfolk for Panama Canal and the Far East.
	October 12 WISCONSIN relieved sistership USS NEW JERSEY (BB62) as flagship of the 7th Fleet. (SEE PICTURE)
	October-December WISCONSIN visited Kobe, Sasebo, Yokosuka and Nagasaki.
	December 25 WISCONSIN visited Hong Kong.

1954

	April 1 She is relieved of duty in the Far East at Yokosuka, Japan by USS ROCHESTER (CA-124); then departed for the United States.
	April 13 Arrived Long Beach, CA
	April 15 Departed Long Beach, Ca for Norfolk, VA.
	May 4 Arrived Norfolk, VA (SEE PICTURE)
	June 7 Battleship Division 2 Norfolk Va. The only time the four Iowa class battleships operated together.  Closest to the camera is the Iowa, then the Wisconsin, Missouri and New Jersey.  (SEE PICTURE)
	June 11 WISCONSIN entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for minor overhaul. Captain G. Serpell Patrick relieved Captain Flaherty of command.
	July 12 Midshipmen cruise to Greenock, Scotland, Brest, France and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
	September 3-27 Portsmouth, VA for repairs

1955

	January 15 WISCONSIN took part in "Operation Springboard" during which time she visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
	July11 Midshipmen cruise to Edinburgh, Scotland, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (SEE PICTURE)
	September 3 Captain F.S. Keeler relieved Captain Patrick of command.
	October 18 WISCONSIN to New York Naval Shipyard for major overhaul.

1956

	January 23 WISCONSIN steamed for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and participated in "Operation Springboard". She visited Tampico, Mexico, Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Cartagena, Columbia.
	March 31 Returned to Norfolk for local operations.
	May 6 WISCONSIN collided with destroyer USS EATON(DDE-510) in a heavy fog off the Virginia Capes. WISCONSIN put into Norfolk with extensive damage to her bow and one week later entered dry-dock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. A 120-ton 68-foot long section of the bow of the uncompleted battleship KENTUCKY was used to replace WISCONSIN'S damaged bow. This was accomplished in sixteen days. On June 28 she was ready for sea. (SEE PICTURE)  (COLLISION PAGE)
	July 9 WISCONSIN embarked 700 NROTC midshipmen, representing 52 colleges and universities throughout the country, visiting Barcelona, Spain, Greenock, Scotland and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (SEE PICTURE | SEE PICTURE)
	September 1 Captain J. O. Miner relieved Captain F. S. Keeler of command.
	October 23 WISCONSIN participated in fleet type exercises off the coast of the Carolina.
	November 15 WISCONSIN entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for major repairs that were completed by January 2, 1957.

1957

	January 15 WISCONSIN reported to Commander Fleet Training Group, Guantanano Bay Cuba and Rear Admiral Henry Crommelin, Commander Battleship Division Two broke his flag in WISCONSIN.
	March 27 WISCONSIN departed for the Mediterranean reaching Gibraltar on April 5. That same day she departed and made rendezvous with Task Force 60 in the Aegean Sea on April 9, then proceeded with this force to Xeros Bay, Turkey arriving April for NATO operation "Red Pivot".
	April 18 Arrived in Naples, Italy
	May 1 Assisted in the recovery of a pilot and airman from carrier USS FORRESTAL. (CVA-59)
	May 3 Vice Admiral C. R. Brown, Commander 6th Fleet came aboard for an official visit, arriving and departing by highline.
	May 10 WISCONSIN arrived Valencia, Spain
	May 27 Rear Admiral L.S. Parks relieved Rear Admiral Crommelin as Commander Battleship Division Two.
	June 19 Midshipmen training cruise to Panama Canal, Valparaiso, Chile and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
	September 3 WISCONSIN participated in NATO training exercises in Clyde, Scotland, Brest, France.
	November 4 WISCONSIN departed Norfolk with a large group of prominent guests on board reaching New York City on November 6, WISCONSIN disembarked her guests and on November 8 headed for Bayonne NJ to commence pre-inactivation overhaul.

1958

March 8 WISCONSIN is placed out of commission and joins the mothball fleet at Bayonne, NJ. leaving the Navy without a battleship on the seas for the first time since 1895. Subsequently taken to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, WISCONSIN remained there with her sistership USS IOWA (BB-61) into 1981.(SEE PICTURE)

1986

August 1 After a period of 28 years of inactivation WISCONSIN begins her journey, under tow to Avondale Shipyard, New Orleans, Louisiana. (SEE PICTURE)

1987

January 2 Under tow, WISCONSIN left Avondale Shipyard for her trip back down the Mississippi River to Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries. in Pascagoula, Mississippi to begin her 21 months of reactivation work. (SEE PICTURE)

1988

	October 22 USS WISCONSIN is recommissioned for the 3rd time at Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi before a crowd of 12,000 with Captain Jerry Blesch, in command. (SEE PICTURE)
	November 29 WISCONSIN left for operations around Puerto Rico conducting her first underway replenishment in more than 30 years. Refuels USS ANTRIM (FFG20) being rearmed from USS NITRO (AE 23) and being refueled from USNS NEOSHO (AO 143)

1989

	January WISCONSIN conducted the in port phases of Combat Systems Ship Qualification Testing (CSSQT) and Naval Gunfire Support Mobile Team Training.
	February 17 25 Battleship type-training in the Gulf of Mexico.
	April 8-14 WISCONSIN fired her main and secondary batteries in the area off Vieques Island.
	May WISCONSIN in Norfolk to conduct upkeep.(SEE PICTURE)
	June 8-12 Off loaded ammunition in Hampton Roads.
	June 14 August 18 WISCONSIN was in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for yard work. (SEE PICTURE | SEE PICTURE)
	August 31-September 5 WISCONSIN moored in Ingleside, Texas. Her eventual homeport.
	September 5 December 12 At Ingalls Shipbuilding for numerous upgrades and modifications.

1990

	January 19 March 9 Conducted Refresher Training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. WISCONSIN sailors drilled in many areas of damage control and combat.
	March 10-13 Onloaded ammunition at Earle, NJ (SEE PICTURE)
	April 20-May 2 Participated in Naval Gunfire Support.
	June 4-23 WISCONSIN was part of a fleet exercise in the Caribbean.
	Late June Onloaded ammunition at Earle, NJ
	August 7 USS WISCONSIN left Norfolk, and began her first deployment across the Atlantic in more than 33 years. WISCONSIN made the 8,500 mile transit to the Persian Gulf at 25 knots, arriving on station, ready for combat, just 16 days after departure. (SEE PICTURE)
	September 28 Captain David S. Bill III relieved Captain Blesch of command.
	Through December WISCONSIN was actively involved in the detailed planning and liaison efforts, both ashore and afloat, which would put together the procedure and plans to support naval operations during hostilities. WISCONSIN drove the planning of Tomahawk and gunfire strikes, naval gunfire support, Kuwait amphibious precursor and remotely piloted vehicle operations. All were coordinated through WISCONSIN’S leadership, while the battleship provided on-station deterrence against further Iraqi aggression, carried out responsibilities as the Persian Gulf force "over the horizon targeting coordinator" at sea and in port and honed her warfighting skills.
	December 24 WISCONSIN took time off from her routine of drills, gunnery practice and training evolutions to conduct the "first ever" Persian Gulf Sports Festival on her flight deck. Athletes from 6 ships and one shore command competed in boxing, wrestling and weight-lifting competitions, as well as a talent show.

1991

	January 13 Reinforced by the arrival of her sistership USS MISSOURI (BB-63), WISCONSIN got underway from Bahrain in anticipation of the start of offensive operations against Iraq. (SEE PICTURE)
	January 17 WISCONSIN acting as Tomahawk strike warfare commander for the Persian Gulf, directed the sequence of Tomahawk launches that initiated the opening of hostilities in the Gulf War. USS PAUL F. FOSTER (DD 964) fired the first Tomahawk missile from the Persian Gulf at 0140:20. Her shot was quickly followed by five other ships in the Persian Gulf Strike Force. WISCONIN’S eight missiles were included in the total of 47 Tomahawks fired in the initial volley. During the next 2 days WISCONSIN fired a total of 24 Tomahawk land attack missiles, while continuing to coordinate the successful launch of 213 of 214 assigned Persian Gulf Tomahawk strike missions. WISCONSIN also assumed responsibilities as the local anti-surface warfare coordinator for the Northern Persian Gulf Surface Action Group. (SEE PICTURE)
	When the focus of operations shifted to the aerial bombing campaign, WISCONSIN served as a vital logistic and personnel transportation hub for the central Gulf. By receiving passengers, mail and cargo (PMC) bound for all ships in the northern Persian Gulf from shore-based logistics facilities, WISCONSIN greatly reduced the burden on the logistics support intrastructure. WISCONSIN transferred over 40,000 lbs. of mail, 140 personnel and 20,000 lbs. of cargo.
	February 6 WISCONSIN relieved sistership USS MISSOUI (BB-63)"on the gunline" near the Kuwait border. WISCONSIN’S first fire mission was called in by an OV10- Marine observation aircraft shortly after the battleship’s arrival on station. WISCONSIN fired 11 rounds and destroyed an Iraqi artillery battery located in southern Kuwait. (SEE PICTURE)
	February 7AM WISCONSIN fired 29 projectiles at an Iraqi communication facility, heavily damaging the site.
	February 7 PM WISCONSIN delivered 50, one-ton, high explosive projectiles into Iraqi special forces boats at the Khawr al-Mufattah marina on the Kuwaiti coast. She destroyed and severely damaged several piers and over fifteen small boats. In subsequent pre-arranged fire missions that evening, WISCONSIN delivered 19 rounds on suspected artillery batteries and command posts.
	February 8 WISCONSIN completed her first gunfire support operations off Khafji, Saudi Arabia, firing against artillery batteries, infantry bunkers and an Iraqi mechanized unit, in direct support of US Marine ground operations. Twenty-nine rounds were fired during eight separate fire missions.
	February 9-20 WISCONSIN returned to the central Persian Gulf, rearmed, replenished refueled and resumed her logistics role.
	February 21 WISCONSIN fired 50 rounds into an Iraqi command complex that the RPV had observed being resupplied by truck. Over 10 buildings in the targeted area, which housed Iraqi troops and communication facilities, were completely destroyed or heavily damaged.
	February 23 WISCONSIN fired 94 rounds at Iraqi forces, devastating several infantry positions and harassing artillery, command posts and SAM sites in preparation for the ground war which was to start the following morning.
	February 24-25. WISCONSIN fired 23 rounds during two call-for-fire missions for coalition forces, quickly surpressing resistance at two Iraqi bunker complexes and paving the way for the continued advance towards Kuwait City. An elated Saudi marine commander praised WISCONSIN for her accurate fire, and commented over the radio, "I wish we had a battleship in our navy."(SEE PICTURE)
	February 26 WISCONSIN repositioned, completing a 20-hour overnight transit through mined waters arriving at Kuwait City.
	February 28 WISCONSIN fired her last Naval gunfire
	Throughout the next seven days WISCONSIN remained on station, while coalition ground forces entered and secured Kuwait City.
	March 1 RVP flight over Faylaka Island observed hundred of Iraqis waving white flags, the first recorded instance of surrender to an unmanned aircraft.
	March 4 WISCONSIN was released from the northern Persian Gulf to begin preparations for her long trip home.
	March 28 WISCONSIN returned to her homeport of Norfolk, VA. (SEE PICTURE)
	April 27 Captain Coenraad van der Schroeff relieved Captain Bill,III of command
	Throughout her eight-month deployment, USS WISCONSIN’S majestic fighting silhouette, bristling with guns and radiating power, served as unquestioned testimony to American strength and support for all our allies. During Operation DESERT STORM, WISCONSIN fired 24 Tomahawk land attack missiles and over three hundred tons of high explosive 16" projectiles in 36 different naval gunfire support missions. These missions were carried out while operating in waters where six mines were found within 1,000 yard of the ship, and under the constant threat of enemy missile or air attack.
	During her 6 months in the Persian Gulf WISCONSIN flew 348 RPV hours, a deployment record; recorded 661 safe helicopter landings, steamed 46,000 nautical miles, fired 528 16" rounds, 881 5" rounds, 5,200 20mm CIWS rounds. She operated in the hazardous and restricted environment of the Persian Gulf without a serious material casualty, fire, flood, collision, grounding or personnel injury. From putting ordnance on target, refueling the task force, providing communications and logistics support to representing our country formally and informally, USS WISCONSIN played a vital role in restoring the sovereignty of Kuwait.
	September 30 USS WISCONSIN was decommissioned for the 3rd time at the Norfolk Naval Base, VA and then towed to the Philadelphia Naval Yard. (SEE PICTURE)

1996

October 15, 1996 With the closing of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard WISCONSIN was towed to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA arriving there on October 17, 1996. (SEE PICTURE)

2000

December 7, 2000 USS WISCONSIN arrived at her new home at the National Maritime Center-Nauticus  in Norfolk, VA.  Check out our Wisconsin Homecoming page.