Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
The place behind the detail.
A wartime battleship, the deck where the Second World War ended and a memorial at Pearl Harbor offer several ways into the story of the Missouri.
On this page
An Iowa-class battleship
The Missouri was built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, launched on 29 January 1944 and commissioned that June.
Her 16-inch guns, teak decks and towering superstructure can still be seen at Ford Island, where she has been a memorial since 1999.
The end of the Second World War
On 2 September 1945, in Tokyo Bay, the Instrument of Surrender was signed on the Missouri’s deck. The Surrender Deck is one of the most visited places on the ship.
The war in the Pacific cost many lives on all sides. The Missouri is moored close to the USS Arizona Memorial, and visitors are asked to treat both places with respect.
Later service and a memorial
The Missouri served in the Korean War, was decommissioned in 1955, returned to service in 1986 and took part in the Gulf War in 1991. She was decommissioned for the last time in 1992 and towed to Pearl Harbor in 1998.
This history belongs to the ship and the people who served aboard her. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
