Perspective

[Sapper740]

I remember at the time the reason given in the media was that Ronald Reagan wanted a bigger navy and, therefore, the WW2 Iowa Class Battleships were being reactivated. Presumably the real reason was the firepower of the 16" main armament was what was wanted.

Yes, President Reagan wanted a 600 ship Navy and part of that proved an opportunity to reactivate the four Iowa-class battleships. It wasn't just numbers that the four Iowa-class battleships provided, they were upgraded with new combat systems, removing 4 of the five-inch 38's in order to accommodate Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Phalanx CIWS close-in weapon systems. Each ship retained its nine sixteen-inch guns since the new, modern Navy had no naval guns over five inches in diameter, and the big guns of the battleships would prove invaluable in the event of an amphibious landing.