Summary and Key Points: The Iowa-class battleships, the last of their kind, symbolize the end of the battleship era. Commissioned during World War II, these steel giants boasted impressive firepower with 16-inch guns and exceptional speed, reaching up to 35 knots.
-Designed to support the U.S. Navy's carrier battle groups, they combined heavy armor with agility.
-Despite their dominance in the 1940s, technological advancements rendered battleships obsolete, leading to their decommissioning by the late 1990s.