The USS Missouri (BB-63) is more than a title in naval history texts—it’s an American icon of perseverance, resourcefulness, and tradition at sea. Constructed during the frantic war years of World War II at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Missouri was the final Iowa-class battleship to be built.
Her 887-foot streamlined hull, driven by four massive engines producing 212,000 shaft horsepower, could cut through the water at more than 33 knots—quicker than any American battleship and even quicker than Japan’s best warships at the time.
Her namesake had been a matter of pride. There had been a third by this name before, a 19th-century steam frigate and a Maine-class battleship that sailed in the Great White Fleet. But BB-63 would be the best-known. Commissioned in June of 1944, she plunged headlong into the war in the Pacific, firing gunfire support onto Iwo Jima and Okinawa and launching precision raids on the home islands of Japan.
The day inscribed in the annals of history was September 2, 1945. Anchored in Tokyo Bay, Missouri was the stage for Japan’s official surrender to end World War II. The historic day was captured in photographs and fuzzy newsreels, making the battleship a killing ship and subsequently an international icon of peace. Her decks spoke silently of the end of a war that had reconfigured nations and cost millions their lives.
Missouri’s story didn’t end there. After the war, she remained active, serving in the Atlantic, surviving a grounding off Hampton Roads, and proving her mettle again in the Korean War with precise shore bombardments. Retired in 1955, she returned in the 1980s as part of a sweeping modernization effort, equipped with Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, advanced radar systems, and Phalanx close-in defenses. Missouri was not an anachronism—she was a new battleship, waiting to strike with deadly precision in the Gulf War.
The ship’s strength was her firepower, speed, and versatility. Her primary battery of nine 16-inch guns could shoot almost 2,700-pound shells as far as 23 miles. These were supported by 5-inch secondaries for protection against air and shore.
Her up to 17-inch-thick armor in critical areas made her nearly invulnerable to much of the weaponry of attack used at the time. Missouri was a masterwork of mid-20th-century naval shipbuilding, designed to endure and dominate.
Now, Missouri is moored off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, just a short distance from the sunken USS Arizona. Together, they remain as a moving reminder of America’s passage through World War II, starting with the devastation at Pearl Harbor and ending in the triumph of victory. Visitors can stroll her decks, stand where history was forged, and feel the presence of the past in a way no book could.
Saving Missouri is not so much saving history as it is keeping something alive. Historians and volunteers work tirelessly to restore and share so that each new generation can experience her story. The ship is an exhibit, but it’s an interactive journey through history.
Missouri’s impact extends beyond her decks. Scale modelers worldwide recreate her with meticulous detail, from radar arrays to deck weathering, keeping the battleship alive in miniature form and the hearts of enthusiasts everywhere.
Her legacy cannot be quantified in terms of battles engaged or miles sailed. It’s in the stories of her veterans, in the tourists who stroll her decks, and in the generations who still draw lessons from her life. In war, peace, or as a museum, the USS Missouri is more than steel and cannons. She represents American power, resolve, and a history that still shapes the future.
