What You Need to Know: The USS Missouri, an Iowa-class battleship, is celebrated as one of the most iconic American warships. Commissioned during WWII, Missouri played crucial roles in WWII, the Korean War, and the Gulf War.
-Known as "Mighty Mo," this powerful ship boasted top-of-the-line firepower and advanced propulsion systems, capable of escorting carriers and launching formidable attacks.
-In 1945, Japan’s official surrender was signed aboard Missouri, cementing its historical significance. After its retirement in 1995, the legendary battleship became a museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where it continues to honor its legacy.
As the last American battleship to be constructed and the final one to be decommissioned, the USS Missouri is widely considered to be one of the greatest warships of its kind to ever sail the seas. The legendary battleship is recognized for the critical role it played in the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Gulf War.
Perhaps the greatest “fun fact” about Missouri is that Japan’s final surrender in 1945 was signed aboard the massive warship.
Before WWII, the U.S. Navy was already gearing up for a potential future war with the Empire of Japan. The Iowa-class battleships were designed with this conflict in mind. At the time, Japan possessed faster warships, including the Kongo-class battlecruisers and the 1st Air Fleet’s aircraft carriers. To create a more lethal successor to the Navy’s South Dakota-class battleships, the Iowa-class was conceptualized with larger engines and guns.
Missouri became the third ship to be named for the “Show Me State” when first introduced to service. She was nicknamed the “Mighty Mo” after she was christened by then Sen. Harry S. Truman’s (D-Missouri) daughter, Margaret Truman.
USS Missouri, like her sister ships, was developed to be able to reach upwards of thirty-three knots and to be able to travel through the Panama Canal. The Iowa-class ships are powered by four General Electric geared steam turbines using steam provided by eight oil-fired Babcock and Wilcox burners.
Armament-wise, Missouri’s guns were top-notch. The sixteen-inch/fifty-caliber weapons could fire a heavier shell at a longer range than those launched from the preceding South Dakota ships. As explained by analyst Robert Farley, “While the 18.1-inch guns of HIJMS Yamato launched a heavier shell, the sixteenth-inch/fifty-calibers had more penetrating power and could fire at a slightly faster rate.”
These guns were so powerful that they recoiled four feet when fired, creating the illusion that the warship was moving sideways as the resulting blast pressure pushed the water out.
When Missouri first entered service in the mid-1940s, she joined Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher’s Task Force 58 where she primarily functioned in the aircraft carrier escort role. During the war, Missouri supported the Iwo Jima invasion, the Ryukyus campaign, and other raids on Japan’s home islands.
Missouri was the only Iowa-class battleship to remain on active duty following WWII. In her later years, the battleship would partake in the Korean War and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The warship was reactivated and fitted with new combat systems and launchers for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Phalanx close-in weapon systems to remain relevant in her later age.
While the sole-surviving Iowa warship was reactivated twice during her service life, Missouri was officially stricken from the Naval Vessel Registrar in 1995 and was converted to a museum ship. Missouri, arguably the greatest battleship ever built for the Navy, remains at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii today.
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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