 Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Iowa yakarairwa 1 July 1939, yakagadzwa 27 June 1940, yakatangwa 27 August 1942, uye yakagadzwa 22 February 1943. Akafambisa chikepe chechikepe muChesapeake Bay asati aenda kuNaval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, kuti agadzirire kana akapinda muAtlantic. Yakadzorerwa kuPacific Fleet muna 1944, Iowa yakaita basa rayo rokurwa muna February uye yakabatanidzwa mumushandirapamwe weMarshall Islands. Ngarava yacho yakazofambisa ngarava dzinotakura ndege dzeUnited States dzichiita kurwisa kwemhepo pakurwisa Marianas, uye ipapo akanga aripo paHondo yeLeyte Gulf. Munguva yeHondo yeKorea, Iowa yakarova vavengi paSongjin, Hŭngnam, uye Kojo, North Korea. Iowa yakadzokera kuUnited States nokuda kwekushanda uye kudzidzisa kudzidzira isati yadzingwa musi waFebruary 24, 1958. Yakashandiswazve mukutanga kwema1980, Iowa yakashanda muAtlantic Fleet, ichifamba mumvura yeNorth America neEurope kwechikamu chikuru chemakore gumi uye ichibatanidzwa mumitambo yemauto pamwe chete nemidziyo yeEurope. Pana 19 April 1989, vafambisi vengarava 47 vakaurawa zvichitevera kuputika muhomwe yake No. 2. Muna 1990, Iowa yakabviswa mubasa kwenguva yokupedzisira ndokuiswa muzvikepe zve mothball. Yakadzimwa kubva ku Naval Vessel Register musi wa17 Kurume 2006. Iowa yakasungwa sechikamu cheNational Defense Reserve Fleet muSuisun Bay, California kusvika muna Gumiguru 2011, paakakwidzwa kubva paakaiswa kuRichmond, California kunovandudzwa sechikepe chemuziyamu. Yakasungwa kubva kuRichmond muSan Francisco Bay musi wa 26 May 2012, kuSan Pedro kuLos Angeles Waterfront kuti ishande sechikepe chemuziyamu chinotungamirirwa nePacific Battleship Center uye yakavhurwa kuvanhu vose musi wa 7 July 2012. 