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In the 1930s,   the sea powers of the world   
were designing   new and <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">pioneering</span><rt>革新的な</rt></ruby> battleships,   

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often in secret   
and <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">ignoring</span><rt>(無視する)</rt></ruby> world agreements   on <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">restricting</span><rt>制限</rt></ruby> the arms race.   

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German Tirpitz, Japanese Yamato --   larger, heavier, and more powerful ships.   

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The U.S. government   decided to build   a series of <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">brand-new</span><rt>最新の</rt></ruby> battleships   
to <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">counteract</span><rt>(対抗する)</rt></ruby> their potential enemies.   

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The lead ship   was named Iowa.   

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The battleship   had three main <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">armament</span><rt>武装</rt></ruby> <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">turrets</span><rt>砲塔</rt></ruby>   with 406 mm guns,   

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capable of <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">sending</span><rt>(放出する)</rt></ruby> 11 tons   of <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">deadly</span><rt>攻撃力の高い</rt></ruby> metal   
into the air   <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">per salvo</span><rt>一斉に</rt></ruby>.   

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Owing to the special design of her <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">bow</span><rt>船首</rt></ruby>,   

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 the 57-ton ship   was able to speed up to 33 knots--   
the speed of a motor boat.   

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Around 140 20-mm and 40-mm <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">AA</span><rt>対空</rt></ruby> machine guns   
were mounted   on the ship.   

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<ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">Allied</span><rt>味方の</rt></ruby> aircraft carriers   favored the <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">company</span><rt>同伴</rt></ruby>   of the battleship   
for the <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">reliable</span><rt>信頼できる</rt></ruby> <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">AA</span><rt>対空</rt></ruby> "umbrella"   that she provided for them.   

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The battleship Iowa   was <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">commissioned</span><rt>(就役させる)</rt></ruby> in early 1943.   

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Its first mission on   was to go north...   

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Naval <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">intelligence</span><rt>諜報部</rt></ruby> felt   that the Tirpitz, the German battleship,   
may be coming into the North Atlantic.   

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The battleship Iowa   was sent   
on an early mission north   to block the Tirpitz.   

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Suppose   battleships Iowa and Tirpitz   met in battle.   

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Iowa had higher speed,   greater <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">maneuverability</span><rt>機動性</rt></ruby>,   and longer range of fire.   

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Tirpitz would be trying   to get in close to Iowa,   

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and   Iowa would be looking to <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">keep away</span><rt>(距離を保つ)</rt></ruby>,   
<ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">maneuvering</span><rt>(航行する)</rt></ruby>   and firing at Tirpitz   from a great distance.   

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Iowa would have <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">definitely</span><rt>必ず</rt></ruby> won   this battle.   

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But   the two naval heavyweight <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">warriors</span><rt>戦士</rt></ruby>   never met,   

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so   we can only imagine   how their <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">duel</span><rt>決闘</rt></ruby> would have ended.   

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In early 1944,   battleship Iowa   joined the United States Fifth Fleet,   
which operated   in the Pacific Ocean.   

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By that time,   US forces   were already attacking Japanese positions   
on various islands.   

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The battleship's role   was to provide fire support   to landing troops   

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and escort aircraft carriers   during air <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">raids</span><rt>空襲</rt></ruby>   
on the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and Taiwan.   

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The ship <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">crisscrossing</span><rt>(行き来する)</rt></ruby>   across a lot of these small islands   
that are really forgotten now.   

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At one point   they went up to support   
MacArthur's landing in the Philippines   at Leyte Gulf.   

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Unfortunately   they went the wrong way   at Leyte Gulf   

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and <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">chased</span><rt>(追跡する)</rt></ruby> a Japanese carrier force   
that was really a <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">decoy</span><rt>おとり</rt></ruby>   for the landing.   

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They came back,   but a little too late to assist   
in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.   

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They missed that one opportunity   to maybe have a contact with the Yamato.   

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The two ships   never met in combat;   
and   both countries   kept their capital battleships at,   

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shall we say,   <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">arm's length</span><rt>砲撃範囲</rt></ruby>,   kept them at distance,   

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because   there was great political risk   
to having either one of the ships   damaged severely   in battle.   

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Japanese industry, in those days,   
simply didn't have the resources   to build ships in large numbers.   

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The solution was simple:   to make huge ships   

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that would <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">exceed</span><rt>(上回る)</rt></ruby>   the largest ships of other nations--   
super battleships.   

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Battleship Yamato   is the biggest battleship in the world.   

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Her shell <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">velocity</span><rt>速度</rt></ruby>   was 790 m-s,   
while its weight   could be up to 1.5 tons.   

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Such a large gun   could <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">inflict</span><rt>(加える)</rt></ruby> very serious damage.   

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They <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">beat</span><rt>(圧倒する)</rt></ruby> us.   The Japanese   essentially broke the treaty.   

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The Iowa, <span class="brackets"></span> I think   (of course,   I would probably say this ), <span class="brackets"></span> 
would've <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">taken the day</span><rt>(負ける)</rt></ruby>   in a battle against the Yamato.   

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She had very accurate <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">fire control</span><rt>射撃</rt></ruby>   for a ship of the 1940s.   

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And   I think   that would be an advantage   for her   
if   that ship fights such a battle.   

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It was so accurate   
that in 1984,   when they <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">recommissioned</span><rt>(再就役させる)</rt></ruby> the ship,   

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they kept the existing system in place,   
even though   they had   modern computers.   

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The Iowa could <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">put a round</span><rt>(命中させる)</rt></ruby>   very, very close   to the target,   so accurate   
 that they didn't need to change it.   

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Iowa was the most dangerous enemy   for Yamato.   

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If   they had met   at a range from 20,000 to 30,000 meters,   
especially in a one-on-one fight   and in fine weather,   

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Iowa would have no chance of winning.   

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However,   thanks to better radar   
Iowa could fight   in bad weather and at night.   

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Powerful guns,   high speed,   and precise radar   
made Iowa a <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">formidable</span><rt>恐るべき</rt></ruby> <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">adversary</span><rt>敵</rt></ruby>.   

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If   these two battleships had fought   each other,   

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the victory would depend   completely on the battle conditions...   

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We could get <ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">in quick</span><rt>迅速に</rt></ruby>   and fire.   

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But then   there's always the lucky shot.   

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<ruby><rt></rt><span class="yaku">Out of</span><rt>～の内で</rt></ruby> the three super battleships   ---Yamato, Tirpitz, and Iowa ---   

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only the latter   survived World War II.   

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But   she didn't only survive,   
she entered Tokyo Bay   with her sister-ship, Missouri,   

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to put an end to the war   on August 29, 1945.   

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During the post-war decades,   she returned to the U.S.Navy   several times   
to serve her country   before becoming a museum ship.   <br>