Delegate Bob Marshall sent the following letter to members of the Virginia congressional delegation regarding the pending scrapping of the U.S. Navy’s 16 inch guns, asking why the refurbishing of the USS Iowa at $250 million is not more preferable to the new Zumwalt-class destroyers being built at 24 times that cost ($6 billion):
Since the removal of the Iowa Class Battleships in 1992 from active operations, the Navy has little to no capacity to provide Naval Surface Fire Support for our soldiers and Marines. WW II and Korean era Marines told me that the sight of a Battleship firing nine 16-inch guns onshore is intimidating to any enemy, fixes the attention of hostile troops, and is a powerful statement to civilians. A Lebanese friend told me he could not aptly describe the devastating effect of the USS New Jersey’s 16 inch guns bombarding Druse and Syrian gun batteries in Lebanon in 1984.
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In 2007, a War College Study concluded that Major Caliber Guns were a lower cost solution to providing fire support. It was awarded the National Defense University best thesis award for Academic Year 2007. Pratt and Whitney, in 2001, stated that using a Major Caliber Gun as a launching system for Scamjets (sic) was feasible and cost effective. This is outlined in the thesis mentioned above.
Regardless as to whether or not you believe this is an issue of interest, this is precisely the sort of insight that makes Bob Marshall such a formidable character, whether it is federal issues of the highest order and nuance, or state and local issues that hit home.
Worth printing off and reading. Given the current situation in Libya and the potential for U.S. Marines to be deployed on the shores of Tripoli once again, it would be comforting to know that the USS Iowa was out there lurking in the distance ready to protect our warfighters, should it be necessary…
DISCLAIMER: Beyond my Tom Clancy-ish background in all things military, I haven’t the foggiest clue as to whether or not these claims can be backed up. I proudly cede the comments section to those who know a hell of a lot better than myself…
