USS Missouri (BB-63)

Type

Battleship

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Missouri (BB-63), nicknamed "Mighty Mo," is an Iowa-class battleship and holds the distinction of being the last battleship commissioned by the United States. She is world-famous as the site of the formal Japanese surrender that ended World War II, and is now preserved as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, moored near the USS Arizona Memorial. Specifications: As built, Missouri displaced 57,540 long tons (full load), measured 887 ft 3 in overall length with a 108 ft 2 in beam, and drew 37 ft 9 in. She was armed with three triple 16-inch/50 caliber gun turrets and six twin 5-inch/38 caliber dual-purpose mounts, plus numerous 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns; her four geared steam turbines and eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers produced 212,000 shp for a top speed of 32.5 knots. During her 1980s modernization she was fitted with quadruple Tomahawk and Harpoon missile launchers and Phalanx CIWS mounts, giving her a distinctive mixed WWII/Cold War-era profile that modelers often depict. Service History: Commissioned 11 June 1944 at Brooklyn Navy Yard, Missouri fought in the Pacific at Iwo Jima and Okinawa and in raids on the Japanese home islands before hosting the formal Instrument of Surrender ceremony on her deck on 2 September 1945. She later served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, provided gunfire support during the Korean War, and was decommissioned in 1955 before being reactivated in 1986 as part of the 600-ship Navy buildup. She fired Tomahawk missiles and provided naval gunfire support during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 before her final decommissioning in 1992. Notable Facts: Missouri was struck by a kamikaze aircraft off Okinawa in April 1945, and the dent from the impact remains visible on her hull today as a popular feature for visitors and a detail modelers sometimes replicate. She was donated as a museum and memorial ship in 1998 and now rests permanently at Pearl Harbor, allowing direct reference visits and detailed photography for scratch-builders and kit modelers alike.