USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

USS Wisconsin at sea, c. 1990
History
United States
Namesake:	The State of Wisconsin
Ordered:	12 June 1940
Builder:	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Laid down:	25 January 1941
Launched:	7 December 1943
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Goodland, wife of Walter S. Goodland
Commissioned:	16 April 1944
Decommissioned:	1 July 1948
Recommissioned:	3 March 1951
Decommissioned:	8 March 1958
Recommissioned:	22 October 1988
Decommissioned:	30 September 1991
Struck:	17 March 2006
Motto:	Forward for Freedom
Nickname(s):	"Wisky" or "WisKy"
Honors and awards:	6 Battle Stars
Status:	Museum ship at Nauticus
Notes:	Homeport Norfolk Virginia
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Iowa-class battleship
Displacement:	52,000 tons
Length:	887.2 ft (270.4 m)
Beam:	108.2 ft (33.0 m)
Draft:	28.9 ft (8.8 m)
Speed:	30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h)
Complement:	1,921 officers and men
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-49 Air Search Radar AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar AN/SPQ-9 Surface Search / Gun Fire Control Radar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32 AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Decoy System 8 × Mark 36 SRBOC Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff Rocket Launchers
Armament:	1943: 9 × 16 in (410 mm)/50 cal Mark 7 guns 20 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal Mark 12 guns 80 × 40 mm/56 cal anti-aircraft guns 49 × 20 mm/70 cal anti-aircraft guns 1983: 9 × 16 in (410 mm)/50 cal Mark 7 guns 12 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal Mark 12 guns 32 × BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles 16 × RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-Ship missiles 4 × 20 mm/76 cal Phalanx CIWS
Armor:	Belt: 12.1 in (310 mm) Bulkheads: 14.5 in (370 mm) Barbettes: 11.6 to 17.3 in (290 to 440 mm) Turrets: 19.7 in (500 mm) Decks: main 1.5 in (38.10 mm) second 6.0 in (152.40 mm)

USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
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Location	1 Waterside Dr., Norfolk, Virginia
Coordinates	36°50′54″N 76°17′43″W / 36.84833°N 76.29528°W / 36.84833; -76.29528Coordinates: 36°50′54″N 76°17′43″W / 36.84833°N 76.29528°W / 36.84833; -76.29528
Built	1941
Architect	Bureau of Construction and Repair
Architectural style	Iowa-class battleship
NRHP Reference #	12000178
VLR #	122-5414
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	28 March 2012
Designated VLR	December 15, 2011

USS Wisconsin (BB-64) is an Iowa-class battleship, the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on 7 December 1943 (the second anniversary of the Pearl Harbor raid), sponsored by the wife of Governor Walter Goodland of Wisconsin.

During her career, Wisconsin served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, where she shelled Japanese fortifications and screened United States aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the Korean War, Wisconsin shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned. She was reactivated on 1 August 1986; after a modernization program, she participated in Operation Desert Storm in January and February 1991.

Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991, having earned a total of six battle stars for service in World War II and Korea, as well as a Navy Unit Commendation for service during the January/February 1991 Gulf War. She currently functions as a museum ship operated by Nauticus, The National Maritime Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Wisconsin was struck from the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) 17 March 2006, and, as of 14 December 2009, has been donated for permanent use as a museum ship. On 15 April 2010, the City of Norfolk officially took over ownership of the ship.