Summary and Key Points: The USS Missouri, an iconic Iowa-class battleship commissioned in 1944, represented peak battleship design. No one for saw a unique problem: being pulled out of retirement many years later.
-Designed for speed, armor, and firepower, she featured nine devastating 16-inch guns, served prominently in World War II and Korea, and notably hosted Japan’s surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.
-Modernized under Reagan’s 600-ship navy initiative, Missouri gained advanced missiles and defense systems, reemerging as a Cold War deterrent.
-However, budget constraints after the Cold War led to her final decommissioning in 1995.
-Now a museum at Pearl Harbor, Missouri remains an enduring symbol of American naval power and historical significance.
Why the USS Missouri Remains America’s Most Iconic Battleship
One of the enormous Iowa-class battleships meant to take on the largest capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the USS Missouri enjoyed a new lease on life in the latter stages of the Cold War as part of President Reagan’s 600-ship navy.
The USS Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the United States Navy and represented peak battleship design before the value of the aircraft carrier began to supersede their main gun-toting predecessors.
The USS Missouri — and indeed the entire Iowa-class of battleships — were intended to counter the biggest naval threats of the Axis during the Second World War, and in particular, the heavily armed and armored battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The Iowas also had to be heavily armed as well as fast in order to outmaneuver other battleships while also escorting aircraft carriers and engaging other surface ships.
Iowa-Class: Design and Armament
The Iowa-class was explicitly designed from the outset to proved a robust balance of armor protection and firepower while also having a high top speed.
To that end, the Iowas could sprint at over 30 knots and keep pace with carrier task forces despite thick armor protection.
And, thanks to their 16-inch main guns, they could inflict significant damage to targets at sea or on land.
The USS Missouri’s main armament was nine 16-inch guns mounted in three triple turrets. Capable of hitting targets up to twenty miles distant, three shells were made for the massive guns.
Armor-piercing shells were designed to punch through the thick, hardened armor of enemy ships and, at close range, could cut through around 30 inches of steel.
High-explosive shells were used for shore bombardment in support of amphibious landing operations as well as against lightly or unarmored shipping.
On land, the high-explosive shell could also be used against enemy fortifications or high-value targets like command centers, logistics hubs, or concentrations of enemy soldiers or material deep inland.
The Iowa-class also carried W23 nuclear shells developed later in the Cold War.
Though never used in a combat scenario, the W23 had an estimated yield of 15 to 20 kilotons, within the range of the Fat Man and Little Boy atomic weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Explosive power aside, part of the Iowa-class’s effectiveness was thanks to their onboard fire-control system, rangefinders, and fire-control radars, which were significantly more effective than that of their Imperial Japanese adversaries.
The USS Missouri also carried a number of secondary weapons, including 5-inch dual-purpose guns for engaging surface ships and aircraft.
Unlike its predecessors, the USS Missouri was also outfitted by the U.S. Navy with an expanded anti-aircraft complement to shoot down enemy aircraft, a necessity in the Pacific Theater.
The Japanese Surrender
USS Missouri was commissioned in June 1944 and quickly joined the war effort in the Pacific, playing a role during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where the ship provided support to forces on land and an anti-aircraft role.
However, the USS Missouri’s role was secured in the history books while anchored in Tokyo Bay, where the battleship saw representatives of Imperial Japan sign the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the war in the Pacific and the Second World War.
Korean War Reactivation
Following the post-war American military drawdown, the USS Missouri remained in service but was placed in reserve in 1949. However, the next year, the U.S. Navy reactivated the ship in response to the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula.
There, the ship provided naval gunfire support to United Nations forces online, leveraging the extreme range and explosive power of her 16-inch guns.
The USS Missouri remained in active service until 1955 when she was decommissioned and placed in the reserve fleet. There, she would stay for nearly three decades.
Peace through Strength
As a part of President Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength” foreign policy stance toward the Soviet Union, the U.S. Navy saw a huge increase in fleet size en route to executing the President’s directive to field a 600-ship navy.
As a part of that initiative, the U.S. Navy brought four of their Second World War battleships back into service, including the USS Missouri.
The USS Missouri underwent extensive modernization before its recommissioning. The ships’ manually aimed anti-aircraft guns, virtually useless in the age of jet aircraft, were removed to make way for a plethora of new armaments.
Among these were Tomahawk cruise missiles, capable of hitting targets on land hundreds of miles away and replacing the 16-inch guns as the battleship’s farthest-range munition.
Harpoon anti-ship missiles were also installed to engage enemy surface ships and could strike ships over the horizon.
Additionally, Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems, a defensive system, was also installed on the battleship to protect against enemy aircraft and missiles.
Decommissioning of USS Missouri
Following the end of the Cold War and the cessation of hostilities between the Soviet Union and the West, defense budgets saw a significant drawdown. Platforms with high operational costs, like the USS Missouri, got the kibosh.
In 1995, the ship was removed from the Naval Vessel Register and turned into a museum ship, where she still is at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
