On the way back from lunch, stood by my office's parking lot. I could see the Mighty MO or USS Missouri return from the dry dock to its home memorial spot in Pearl Harbor.
Spectacular Sunrise at 7:15 AM from Ford Island
USS Missouri enters the Memorial Dock
Behind USS Missouri BB-63
Kamikaze Trail
USS Missouri (BB-63)
Class: Iowa-class battleship
Length: 887 feet
Height: 209 feet from keel to mast
Beam: 108 feet
Weight: 58,000 tons (full load); 45,000 tons (unloaded)
Speed: In excess of 30 knots (35 mph)
Length: 887 feet
Height: 209 feet from keel to mast
Beam: 108 feet
Weight: 58,000 tons (full load); 45,000 tons (unloaded)
Speed: In excess of 30 knots (35 mph)
Some History
Iowa-class battleships were designed for speed and firepower. Four Iowa-class battleships were built during World War II including the USS Missouri, the keel of which was laid on Jan. 6, 1941, at Brooklyn Navy Yard. Her armament included the main battery of nine 16 inch guns and twenty 5 inch anti-aircraft guns. There were 5 mounts on each side with two guns in each. (When she was modernized in the 1980's four of the mounts were removed and were replaced by Tomahawk missile launchers, so there are only 12 of them now.)
The Missouri was launched on Jan. 29, 1944, and commissioned on June 11, 1944. She was assigned to the Pacific Third Fleet and steamed into Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1944.
The USS Missouri was part of the force that carried out bombing raids over Tokyo and provided firepower in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During the war’s final month, the “Mighty Mo” served as Admiral William “Bull” Halsey’s flagship for the Pacific Third Fleet.
The Missouri secured its place in history as the site of Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces on Sept. 2, 1945, ending World War II. The ceremony for the signing of the Formal Instrument of Surrender was conducted by Supreme Allied Commander, General Douglas A. MacArthur.
But her story does not end there. The Mighty Mo’s main battery firepower became a legend in Korea, with her nine 16 inch guns hurling 1,800-pound shells as heavy as Volkswagens over 23 miles in defense of U.S. land forces.
In 1955, the Missouri was decommissioned and mothballed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. But in 1986, the USS Missouri was recommissioned after undergoing an extensive modernization and refurbishment. In 1991, the Mighty Mo was deployed to the Persian Gulf where it fired its 16-inch guns and launched Tomahawk missiles against Iraqi positions during Operation Desert Storm.
The Missouri’s final operational mission occurred on Dec. 7, 1991, when the battleship led a contingent of ships into Pearl Harbor as part of the commemoration to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack that thrust America into World War II.
In 1992, the Missouri was decommissioned for the second time. In 1995, it was removed from the Navy’s ship registry, clearing the way for the battleship to be donated by the Navy for preservation as a memorial museum.
In August 1996, the Navy selected the non-profit USS Missouri Memorial Association as caretaker for the battleship and Pearl Harbor as its permanent home. On May 4, 1998, the Navy made it official, transferring the Mighty Mo’s care to the association.
Some Interesting Facts
Designing the Missouri took 175 tons of blueprint paper. The ship was built in three years and required over 3 million man-days to complete the job.
For comparison’s sake, the Missouri is 279 feet longer and 11 feet wider than the USS Arizona. The Mighty Mo is also 5 feet longer and 18 feet wider than the RMS Titanic.
Just how big is the Missouri? If you could stand the ship on end, it would be 332 feet taller than the Washington Monument.
The nine 16-inch guns are the Mighty Mo’s trademark feature. Each gun barrel is to approximately 67 feet long, weighs an incredible 116 tons, and can fire a 2,700-pound shell 23 miles in 50 seconds — with pinpoint accuracy.
The Missouri was the last U.S. battleship to be launched and the last to be decommissioned. She was also the most formidable. In addition to her massive firepower capabilities, she possessed thick steel armor plating that protected the hull (13.5 inches), the gun turrets (17 inches in front; 13 inches on the sides), the citadel (17 inches), and the conning tower sides (17.3 inches).
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