Giant New Battleship Iowa joins U.S. Pacific Fleet. The new U.S.

Giant New Battleship Iowa joins U.S. Pacific Fleet. The new U.S. battleship Iowa, with its five sister ships the largest, fastest and most powerful battleship afloat, has joined the Navy,s Pacific fleet as one of the 65,000 ships built in the government's enormous armament program since the war in Europa began. Of these new ships 36 per cent are warships, trebling the Navy's warship total before the war. The Navy has also multiplied its air force twenty times. At the times of the Iowa's launching she was the largest fightinh ship ever built, but since then she has been joined by three sister ships, the New Jersey, the Missouri, and the Wisconzin, of wqual size, speed and fire power. They, like the town, are named for U.S. states, a'rule that applies to all U.S. battleships Illinois and Kentucky are now under construction. The Iowa displaces 45,000 tons (40,724 metric tons), is 880 feet (264 meters) long and carries a main battery of nine 16-inch (264 milimeter) guns. The Iowa's keel was laid on June 27, 1942, seven months ahead of building schedule. The total area of her decks is nine and a half acres (nearly four hectares). Her battle equipment includes 816 telephones at her various battle stations. The long narrow hull and lank lines of the U.S. battleship Iowa were designed for speed. Despite her displacement of 45,000 tons (40,724 metric tons) she attains a seed of 33 knots. The American Union Jack flies at her jackstaf showing the vessel is a man of war. If the Iowa was a flagship carrying the admiral of the fleet, the same flag would fly at the masthead.