Already seen the second last pic and wondered about the slouch and giggle hat in the pic... Doesn't Christmas have German origins?
For the same reason, that they put the late-1943 "stars and bars" national insignia on the float planes. The USS Arizona model has the "notched stern" of the USS Nevada class The searchlight platform on the "unsunk" USS Arizona appears in the correct position, and in the "sunk" version, it has been moved further outboard, and possibly forward of it's original position.
I've got to take a closer look at these, saw the hole in the ship but missed the outline of the wings and landing gear the first time I looked at it
Shopped. The main deck didn't come up much past the level of the pier at high tide. I saw two of the Iowas on either side of the pier in Long Beach, way back when.
USS Iowa resides at San Pedro/Long Beach dock now. They are restoring her as a Museum and hold many nice Memorial Events there. Combat Information Center still has the Desert Storm task force status, plots and other cool data posted on the light boards. It is very cool.
We watch and wait for what is "Up around that bend." Better ambush spots could be found, I'm guessing.