Besides the Iowas, what other classes of Battleships did the US navy have?
The US Navy had 6 Battleships in two classes before the Iowas. The included the North Carolina class (USS North Carolina and USS Washington) and the South Dakota class (USS South Dakota, USS Indiana, USS Massachusetts, USS Alabama). The navy also included two “Large Cruisers” that mounted nine 12″ guns and would be considered Battlecruisers in any other navy. These two vessels comprised the short-lived Alaska class and were the USS Alaska and the USS Guam. Pleae note that the USS Washington and the USS South Dakota were the only battleships that exchanged gunfire with other battleships in all of the Pacific theater (Naval Battle of Guadalcanal).