Battleship Missouri, one of four built and the last to be launched. The ship is immense both in size and achievements.
length is 887 ft and 3 inches
width is 108 ft and 2 inches
draft is 38 feet
height is 209 ft and 8 inches
displacement is 58,000 tons
speed in excess of 32 knots
launched January 1944 and decommissioned in February 1955
Recommissioned in May 1986 and final decommissioned in March 1992
main guns are 9 x 16"/50 caliber with range of 23 miles
secondary guns are 10 x 5"/38 caliber with range of 9 miles
air defense - 4 x Vulcan Phalanx weapons systems
missiles are - 32 Tomahawk and 16 Harpoon anti-surface missiles
Theoretically the ship could be brought back into service as she is only on loan to the memorial association.
Our tour guide showed us around the deck which is immense. As he said we have walked in the footsteps of some very important people as this ship was used to accept and sign the Japanese surrender bringing to an end WW2. The plaque above is set into the deck and to one side is a photograph of all the signatories. After the tour we had just enough time to go below and take a whistle stop recce of the galley's, restrooms of the offices and men. Then it was up to the bridge via the decks where the missile launchers stand.
Not only did the ship fight in WW2 but she took part in the Korean war and more recently was one of the ships who participated in Desert Storm. When she was recommissioned and refitted they found that there was no staff who could understand the complex computer system used for range finding and gun firing so had to bring back sailors out of retirement to advise and show the boffins of the day how it all worked.
Why was the Missouri picked for the surrender of the Japanese following the dropping of the atomic bombs? - well the current President just happened to come from Missouri and his wife had christened the ship originally.
The ship has been totally refurbished recently and looks good in her new paint. Certainly the biggest ship I have been on and one of the more interesting, needed more time though and a different tour as one can visit the engine rooms.
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