Just across the Elizabeth river from Portsmouth is downtown Norfolk and what a wonderful stop! It is filled with restaurants, shops and museums that you can spend days exploring. Never wanting to miss an opportunity to get aboard another vessel, we had to check out the USS Wisconsin floating museum that was literally just across the river from our dock!
We have found that taking a guided tour of these great exhibits gives you so much more information than you get by taking a self guided tour – in our opinion. We were so lucky that our tour guide on this day was retired from the Navy and actually served on the sister ship to the USS Wisconsin, the USS Iowa! He was so delightful and shared so many personal stories of his time aboard the Iowa and could compare and contrast the differences between the two ships! For example, did you know that the USS Iowa is the only ship in the U.S. Navy to have a bathtub? Yep, that’s right, the Navy installed one for President Franklin D. Roosevelt during WW II as this was the ship that FDR used to travel to Europe to meet with Churchill and Stalin. At that time, air travel was considered too risky for the President to travel across an ocean so they equipped the Iowa with a bathtub for the President.
The tour lasted several hours and it was hot as we climbed deep down into the bowels of the Battleship to the engine room and beyond! Throughout the tour, we would find this “graffiti” that was originally painted by the crew of each department! Some of it was very creative and clearly showed the pride that Sailors felt for their ship
Below – If the Battleship called “General Quarters, this is where they would go to continue “steering” the ship! It’s almost like a “bunker” built into the ship with a thick steel door (see below) that would house the crew that would look thru small portholes and a tiny periscope to see where they were going!
Over the years, the Wisconsin was updated with new weapons systems to keep her “in the fight”. Tomahawk cruise missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles were added. Some of the Tomahawks may have been tipped with a nuclear warhead but the U.S. Navy will neither confirm nor deny those rumors!
Once we returned to the main deck, we were allowed to explore on our own and you get a real feel for the sheer size of this Battleship! Everything about her is BIG, including the anchor chain! It was an amazing experience and to know that over 70 years ago, sailors aboard this ship worked tirelessly to protect the freedoms that we enjoy to this day – GO NAVY!
After a wonderful stop in Portsmouth and Norfolk, it was time to move North again. Join us next week as we cruise up the Potomac on our way to our Nation’s Capitol!