3 April 2023: April, folks! Time to shed those winter clothes and get out on the water! (Well, in some places for sure; others, maybe wait a month!) Last week we offered information on the first ironclad warships and today, we will talk about the perhaps greatest of all time, USS Missouri BB 63. From Historyhit.com.
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The USS Missouri is one of the most famous battleships in the world, predominantly as it is the site where Japan officially surrendered to the Allies by signing the ‘Instrument of Surrender’ on 2 September 1945, ending World War Two.
The USS Missouri was the last American battleship ever built, and as well as its service in World War Two, the USS Missouri also served in the Korean War and the Gulf War, and has made several prominent media appearances since it was decommissioned. Today, it is docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and is open to the public as a museum.
Here are 10 facts about the USS Missouri.
1. It launched on 29 January 1944
The USS Missouri (BB-63) was launched from the Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn. Its sponsor was Mary Margaret Truman, daughter of then-Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri.
2. It was armed with 158 guns of different types
The USS Missouri was armed with nine 16-inch guns, 20 five-inch guns, 80 40mm anti-aircraft guns, and 49 20mm anti-aircraft guns, making it a formidable opponent on the battlefield.
Missouri in her wartime camo
3.
The USS Missouri was 270.4 metres long and 33 metres wide
It had a displacement of 45,000 tons and a crew of 2,700 sailors and officers.
4. Its nickname was the ‘Mighty Mo’
This nickname is a tribute to the USS Missouri’s powerful armament and formidable size. The ship was powered by four General Electric steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were intended to give a top speed of 32.5 knots (37.4 mph), and the ship had a cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles (17,000 miles) at a speed of 15 knots (17 mph).
5. The USS Missouri was the last battleship ever completed for the US Navy and the last to be decommissioned
6. It was the site of the surrender of the Japanese Empire on 2 September 1945
2 September 1945
7.
The USS Missouri took part in several other conflicts after World War
Two
8. Several famous people served on the USS Missouri during their military careers
These include astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was a pilot on the ship during the Korean War, and journalist Bob Woodward, who served as a communications officer during the Vietnam War.
9. It was decommissioned in 1992 and starred in various films
After this, the ship was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association, who restored it and opened the ship to the public as a museum in 1999.
However, prior to the museum opening, Missouri played a role in several films including Under Siege (1992) and Battleship (2012), and also served as the location for the pop-star Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ music video, which the Navy later regretted.
10. The USS Missouri received numerous awards and honors during its service
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There are countless other and equally interesting facts about this grand battleship and her sisters. While Missouri is now in Hawaii as a museum ship, there are others in the same class in more convenient locations (unless, of course, you are in Hawaii!) to wit: Wisconsin in Newport News VA, New Jersey in Camden NJ (across the Delaware River from Philadelphia), and, while of a different class, USS Massachusetts in Fall River, MA, and USS Texas in Houston TX. All worth a look, formidable and impressive to any of us!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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