| “ | Hi! I am the Iowa-class battleship, Iowa. You are the Admiral of this fleet? Not bad! Take care of us too! | „ |
Iowa is a character and one of the heroes from the Kantai Collection series who was implemented into the game on the 3rd of May, 2016 as the E-7 reward of the Spring 2016 Event.
She is based on the real life United States Navy battleship USS Iowa (BB-61).
She is voiced by Hashimoto Chinami and drawn by Shizuma Yoshinori in the game.
Biography[]
USS Iowa (BB-61) is the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of the state of Iowa. Owing to the cancellation of the Montana-class battleships, Iowa is the last lead ship of any class of United States battleships and was the only ship of her class to have served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.
During World War II, she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Mers El Kébir, Algeria, en route to a crucial 1943 meeting in Tehran with Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain and Josef Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. She has a bathtub—an amenity installed for Roosevelt, along with an elevator to shuttle him between decks. When transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, Iowa shelled beachheads at Kwajalein and Eniwetok in advance of Allied amphibious landings and screened aircraft carriers operating in the Marshall Islands. She also served as the Third Fleet flagship, flying Adm. William F. Halsey's flag at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. During the Korean War, Iowa was involved in raids on the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet." She was reactivated in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan and operated in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to counter the recently expanded Soviet Navy. In April 1989, an explosion of undetermined origin wrecked her No. 2 gun turret, killing 47 sailors.
The Iowa was decommissioned for the last time in the year 1990, and was initially stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1995. She was reinstated from 1999 to 2006 to comply with federal laws that required retention and maintenance of two Iowa-class battleships. In 2011 USS Iowa was donated to the Los Angeles–based non-profit Pacific Battleship Center and was permanently moved to Berth 87 at the Port of Los Angeles in 2012, where she was opened to the public as the USS Iowa Museum.
Appearance[]
Iowa's physical design is based on American stereotypes - blonde hair and blue eyes. Her outfit is also reminiscent of women featured on World War II American Navy pin-up posters.
Iowa is depicted as a tall, fair-skinned young woman with a curvaceous figure, long blonde hair and navy blue eyes with yellow star-shaped pupils. She wears an outfit including a grey corset printed with her hull number, 61, under a tied shirt and white elbow gloves with striped cuffs and fingerless gloves. She wears a microskirt secured by a brown belt featuring the United States Navy insignia. She wears thighhighs, the left being patterned with thin black and white stripes and the right being patterned with a single thick white stripe, which are secured with the straps of her corset. She wears white knee-high boots with a black stripe pattern and red rudder.
The coloration of her costume - navy blue and silver - closely resembles the paint scheme of the real Iowa's deck.
Alternative outfits[]
New Years[]
For the New Years, Iowa had her hair tied up, with her headgear featuring three roses. She wears a sequin kimono with a USA flag theme and her hull number printed on the sleeves, the centre featuring the USN insignia with many stars. She wears white tabi socks and red geta with white stripes on the straps.
Summer[]
For the summer at the beach she is seen alongside Saratoga carrying Victory and a beach ball. She wears a navy blue bikini with white stripes, with the bikini bottom including her hull number. She also wears a baseball cap with her name on it, and a necklace.
Classical Style Orchestra[]
For the Classical Style Orchestra cover, she wears a sleeveless formal black dress and black elbow gloves. She is seen playing the piano.
Personality[]
Iowa is portrayed as a playful American girl who uses a bilingual pattern of speech, similar to Kongou, albeit with much heavier inclusion of English words and expressions. She takes great pride in being an American battleship and is not at all shy about demonstrating her firepower, as evident in her quotes. She's shown being good natured towards other Japanese ships - she compliments the Kongou sisters' beauty and has a friendly rivalry with Yamato, although unaware that "Hotel" isn't a flattering nickname for the latter.
Gallery[]
Official Art[]
Merchandise[]
Trivia[]
- Iowa is the first US Navy ship introduced in Kantai Collection, initially appearing in the PS Vita game Kancolle Kai before the PC version.
- Her introduction was preceded by the appearance of the 16inch Triple Gun Mount Mk.7 in the December 2015 Ranking Rewards.
- The Iowa-class ships were the last battleships built and commissioned by the United States as it became clear that the future of naval power projection lay within aircraft carriers and submarines instead of big gun ships. Despite this, the USS Iowa herself participated in the Korean War, and in various naval exercises in the following decades.
- Compared to other ships who were either sunk, scuttled, shipwrecked, or sold for scrap, Iowa is the first personification of a currently intact and floating ship in the game. Her historical counterpart was dismissed from active service in 1990 and is currently docked in the Port of Los Angeles as a museum ship.
- During Operation Hailstone on February 19th, 1944, USS Iowa (BB-61) along with her sister ship USS New Jersey (BB-62) fired upon and sank the Japanese training cruiser Katori. In some fan materials, this manifests as Katori being fearful or vengeful towards her, though attempts at vengeance end up failing, often with humorous results.