The Ships of Battlegroup: United States Missouri (BB-63)

Displacement	48,425 tons	Belt Armor	12 inches
Overall Length	860 feet	Deck Armor	8.75 inches
Beam	108.25 feet	Main Turret Armor	18 inches
Speed	33 knots	Main Guns	9 × 16/50″

Prior to building BB-63 a number of ships with the Missouri name served in the United States Navy, including BB-11, a pre-dreadnought launched in 1903. All United States dreadnought battleships were named after states, a custom that went back to the naming of wooden ships of the line during the age of sail and all battleships were assigned a hull number from 1920 that was normally displayed on the hull. The first modern United States battleships built since the 1920s were the two North Carolinas and the four South Dakotas, all of which could manage at least 27 knots and were among the most powerful battleships in the world. Next, the U. S. Navy wanted a class of battleships capable of more than 32 knots for independent operations or for accompanying the fast aircraft carriers. The Iowa was the name ship of this “fast” battleship class; of which four ships were completed (in addition to Missouri, the others were New Jersey and Wisconsin). Compared to Missouri and her sisters, only the two larger Japanese Yamato -class battleships, with their 18-inch guns and thicker armor could claim to match or excel them, although the Japanese vessels were much slower, had much inferior radar and would probably have fared poorly in a gun duel with the American behemoths.

Laid down on January 6, 1941; launched on January 29, 1944 and commissioned on June 11, 1944, the Missouri was the last United States battleship ever completed. After commissioning, the “Mighty Mo” spent the rest of 1944 in the Atlantic and transited to the Pacific starting in November. She joined the Pacific Fleet at Ulithi Atoll on January 6, 1945 and participated in the final Pacific operations, including the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns and raids on the Japanese home islands. On both April 11 and 16, 1945, the BB-63 was hit by a kamikaze suicide aircraft but suffered only minor damage. In May 1945, she became Third Fleet flagship for William F. “Bull” Halsey, Jr. (1882–1959). Since Missouri was the home state of President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972), the U. S. S. Missouri was chosen as the appropriate site of the formal Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

In October, the ship was in New York Harbor for a naval review and in March 1946 transported the body of the Turkish ambassador, who had died of natural causes during the war, back home, a mission that included a brief incursion into the Black Sea. In the following years, all the other United States battleships were gradually decommissioned until only BB-63 remained on active duty. On January 17, 1950, Missouri grounded in the entrance to Chesapeake Bay and it took until February 1 to re-float her and repairs took five more days. With the outbreak of the Korean War, the “Mighty Mo” sailed to the Pacific and served as a bombardment ship in three separate deployments off the Korean coast between September 1950 and April 1953. The Missouri was decommissioned on February 26, 1955 and placed in reserve at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. Open to the public there, she was the city’s number one tourist attraction. The Reagan administration’s naval defense buildup saw all four of the Iowas once again at sea, with major modernizations and long-range cruise missiles added to the muscle of their big guns. The Missouri was in relatively good condition after almost 30 years in mothballs but still required significant dockyard work and modifications.

She was recommissioned in May 1986. She cruised around the world during this deployment and she played a combat role in the 1991 Gulf War. Missouri was the backdrop for the 1992 movie “Under Siege”. BB-63 was decommissioned for the last time in March 1992 as the last active duty battleship in the world. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1995. The U. S. S. Missouri , BB-63, was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in June 1998 to become the present museum and memorial.

The Missouri usually accompanied the fast carriers, including: Enterprise, Hornet, Intrepid, Lexington and Yorktown .

Where did we get all these fascinating historical tidbits and factoids? See the Bibliography for the culprits.