View source for USS Missouri (BB-63)

{{Short description|Iowa-class battleship of the U.S. Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Missouri{{!}}USS ''Missouri''}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Missouri post refit.JPG
|Ship caption=''Missouri'' at sea in her 1980s configuration
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States}}
|Ship namesake=[[Missouri|State of Missouri]]
|Ship ordered= 	12 June 1940
|Ship builder=[[Brooklyn Navy Yard]]
|Ship laid down=6 January 1941
|Ship launched=29 January 1944
|Ship sponsor= [[Margaret Truman]]
|Ship commissioned=11 June 1944
|Ship decommissioned=26 February 1955
|Ship identification=[[Hull number]]: BB-63
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=10 May 1986
|Ship decommissioned=31 March 1992
|Ship struck=12 January 1995
|Ship status=[[Museum ship]] in [[Pearl Harbor]]
|Ship motto="Strength for Freedom"<ref name="MoPAO">{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Gary |last2=Cliffe |first2=Richard |title=The "Official" USS ''Missouri'' Survival Guide |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/o/official-uss-missouri-survival-guide.html |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |publisher=USS Missouri's Public Affairs Office |access-date=23 March 2021 |date=19 June 1989}}</ref>
|Ship nickname="Mighty Mo"<ref name="MoPAO" />
|Ship badge=[[File:USS Missouri COA.png|85px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class={{sclass|Iowa|battleship}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|57540|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length={{cvt|887|ft|3|in|1}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{cvt|108|ft|2|in|0}}
|Ship draft={{cvt|37|ft|9|in|1}}
|Ship propulsion=
*4 × geared [[steam turbine]]s
*4 × [[screw propeller]]s
|Ship power=
*8 × [[Babcock & Wilcox boiler]]s
*{{cvt|212000|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|32.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|15000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship sensors=*1 × [[SK radar|SK-2]] [[early-warning radar]]
*2 × [[SG radar|SG]] [[surface-search radar]]s
*2 × [[Mark 8 radar|Mk-8]] [[fire-control radar]]s
*4 × [[Mark 12 radar|Mk-12]] fire-control radars
*4 × [[Mkark 22 radar|Mk-22]] [[height-finder radar]]s
*1 × [[Mark 27 radar|Mk-27]] fire-control radar
|Ship complement=117 officers, 1,804 [[enlisted men]] (designed)
|Ship armament=
*3 × triple [[16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun|{{convert|16|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} gun]]s
* 10 × twin [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[DP gun]]s
* 10 × quadruple [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|{{cvt|40|mm}}]] [[AA gun]]s
* 49 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}}]] AA guns
|Ship armor=
* [[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{cvt|12.1|in|0}}
* [[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkheads]]: {{cvt|14.5|in|0}}
* [[Barbette]]s: {{cvt|11.6|-|17.3|in|0}}
* [[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{cvt|19.5|in|0}}
* [[Deck (ship)|Deck]]s: {{cvt|4.75-6.2|in|0}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=no
|Header caption=(1986)
|Ship class=
|Ship complement=1,515 officers and enlisted men
|Ship sensors=*1 × [[AN/SPS-49]] early-warning radar
*1 × [[AN/SPS-67]] surface-search radar
*2 × [[Mark 13 radar|Mk-13]] fire-control radars
*4 × [[Mark 25 radar|Mk-25]] fire-control radars
|Ship EW=*[[SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite|AN/SLQ-32]] [[Electronic Warfare|EW suite]]
* [[AN/SLQ-25 Nixie]] [[sonar decoy|torpedo decoy]]
* 8 × [[Mark 36 SRBOC|chaff rocket launchers]]
|Ship armament=*3 × triple {{convert|16|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} guns
* 6 × twin {{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} DP guns
* 8 × quadruple [[Tomahawk (missile family)|BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles]]
* 4 × quadruple [[Harpoon (missile)|RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles]]
* 4 × single 20 mm [[Phalanx CIWS]]
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = USS ''Missouri'' (BB-63)
| nrhp_type =
| location = [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]]
| coordinates = {{coord|21|21|44|N|157|57|12|W|type:landmark_region:US-HI|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Hawaii
| area =
| built = 1944
| added = 14 May 1971
| refnum = 71000877
}}
|}

'''USS ''Missouri'' (BB-63)''' is an {{sclass|Iowa|battleship}} built for the [[United States Navy]] (USN) in the 1940s and is a [[museum ship]]. Completed in 1944, she is the last battleship [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] by the United States. The ship was assigned to the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] during [[World War II]], where she participated in the Battles of [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] and [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]] and shelled the [[Japanese archipelago|Japanese home islands]]. Her [[quarterdeck]] was the site of the [[Surrender of Japan|surrender of the Empire of Japan]], which ended World War II.

After World War II, ''Missouri'' served in various diplomatic, [[show of force]] and training missions. On 17 January 1950 the ship [[1950 USS Missouri grounding|ran aground]] during [[high tide]] in [[Chesapeake Bay]] and after great effort was re-floated several weeks later. She later fought in the [[Korean War]] during two tours between 1950 and 1953. ''Missouri'' was the first American battleship to arrive in Korean waters and served as the [[flagship]] for several [[admiral]]s. The battleship took part in numerous shore bombardment operations and also served in a [[Screening (tactical)|screening role]] for [[aircraft carrier]]s. ''Missouri'' was [[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] in 1955 and transferred to the [[United States Navy reserve fleets|reserve fleet]] (also known as the "Mothball Fleet").

''Missouri'' was [[United States battleship retirement debate|reactivated]] and modernized in 1984 as part of the [[600-ship Navy]] plan. [[Cruise missile]] and [[anti-ship missile]] launchers were added along with updated electronics. The ship served in the [[Persian Gulf]] escorting [[oil tanker]]s during threats from Iran, often while keeping her [[fire-control system]]s trained on land-based Iranian missile launchers. She served in [[Operation Desert Storm]] in 1991 including providing fire support.

''Missouri'' was again decommissioned in 1992, but remained on the [[Naval Vessel Register]] until her name was struck in 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS ''Missouri'' Memorial Association and became a museum ship at [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii.

== Background and description ==
{{Main|Iowa-class battleship|Armament of the Iowa-class battleship}}
The ''Iowa'' class of [[fast battleship]]s was designed in the late 1930s in response to the [[US Navy]]'s expectations for a future war with the [[Empire of Japan]]. The last battleships to be built by the United States, they were also the US Navy's largest and fastest vessels of the type.{{sfn|Friedman 1980|p=99}} American officers preferred comparatively slow but heavily armed and armored battleships, but Navy planners determined that such a fleet would have difficulty in bringing the faster Japanese fleet to battle, particularly the {{sclass|Kongō|battlecruiser}}s and the [[aircraft carrier]]s of the [[1st Air Fleet]]. Design studies prepared during the development of the earlier {{sclass|North Carolina|battleship|5}} and {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship|4||1939}}es demonstrated the difficulty in resolving the desires of fleet officers with those of the planning staff within the [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] limits imposed by the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] system, which had governed [[capital ship]] construction since 1923. An escalator clause in the [[Second London Naval Treaty]] of 1936 allowed an increase from {{convert|35000|LT|t|lk=on}} to {{convert|45000|LT|t}} in the event that any member nation refused to sign the treaty, which Japan refused to do.{{sfn|Friedman 1985|pp=306–307}}

''Missouri'' is {{convert|887|ft|3|in|1}} [[length overall|long overall]] and is {{convert|860|ft|m|1}} long at the [[waterline]]. The ship has a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{cvt|108|ft|2|in|0}} and a [[draft (nautical)|draft]] of {{cvt|37|ft|9|in|1}} at her [[Full-load displacement|full combat load]] of {{convert|57540|LT|t}}.{{sfn|Sumrall|p=157}} The ''Iowa''-class ships are powered by four [[General Electric]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, each driving one [[screw propeller]] using steam provided by eight oil-fired [[Babcock & Wilcox boiler]]s. Rated at {{convert|212000|shp|lk=on}}, the turbines were designed to give a top speed of {{convert|32.5|kn|lk=in}}, but were built to handle a 20 percent overload. None of the ''Iowa''s ever ran [[sea trials|speed trials]] in deep water, but the [[Bureau of Ships]] estimated that they could reach a speed of about {{convert|34|kn}} from {{cvt|225000|shp}} at a light displacement of {{convert|51209|LT}}. The ships had a designed cruising range of {{convert|15000|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|15|kn}}, although the {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|2}}'s fuel consumption figures during her sea trials suggest that her range was at least {{cvt|20150|nmi}} at that cruising speed. Their designed crew numbered 117&nbsp;officers and 1,804&nbsp;[[enlisted men]] which had greatly increased by the end of the war in 1945.{{sfn|Friedman 1985|pages=317, 319, 323, 449}} ''Missouri''{{'}}s crew at that time numbered 189 officers and 2,978 sailors.{{sfn|Sumrall|p=159}}

===Armament, fire control, sensors and aircraft===
The [[main battery]] of the ''Iowa''-class ships consisted of nine [[16-inch/50-caliber Mark 7 gun|{{cvt|16|in|0}}/50 caliber Mark 7 guns]]{{efn|/50 refers to the length of the gun in terms of [[Caliber (artillery)|calibers]]. A /50 gun is 50 times long as its bore diameter.}} in three triple-[[gun turret]]s on the [[Centerline (nautical)|centerline]], two of which were placed in a [[superfire|superfiring pair]] forward of the [[superstructure]], with the third aft. Going from [[bow (ship)|bow]] to [[stern]], the turrets were designated I, II, and III. Their [[secondary armament|secondary battery]] consisted of twenty [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{cvt|5|in|0}}/38 caliber]] [[dual-purpose gun]]s mounted in twin-gun turrets clustered [[amidships]], five turrets on each [[broadside (naval)|broadside]]. Unlike their [[sister ship]]s {{USS|Iowa|BB-61|2}} and ''New Jersey'' that were the first pair of ships built, ''Missouri'' and {{USS|Wisconsin|BB-64|2}} were completed with an [[anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft suite]] of twenty quadruple mounts for [[Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun|{{cvt|40|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} Bofors]] [[AA gun]]s, nine mounts on each broadside and one each on the roofs of Turrets II and III. Forty-nine [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|1|adj=on|sp=us}} Oerlikon]] light AA [[auto-cannon]] in single mounts were distributed almost the length of the ships.{{sfn|Friedman 1985|pages=323, 449}}

The primary means of controlling the main armament are two Mark 38 [[director (military)|director]]s for the [[Ship gun fire-control system|Mark 38 fire-control system]] mounted at the tops of the fore and aft fire-control towers in the superstructure. These directors were equipped with {{convert|25|ft|6|in|m|1|adj=mid|-long}} [[rangefinder]]s, although their primary sensor was the [[Mark 8 radar|Mark 8]] [[fire-control radar]] mounted on their roofs. A secondary Mark 40 fire-control director was installed inside the armored [[conning tower]] at the front of the superstructure that used the [[Mark 27 radar|Mark 27 fire-control radar]] positioned on the top of the conning tower. Each turret is fitted with a rangefinder {{convert|46|ft|m|0}} long and can act as a director for the other turrets. Four Mark 37 gunnery directors, two on the centerline at the ends of the superstructure and one on each broadside, control the five-inch guns. Each director was equipped with a {{convert|15|ft|m|1|adj=on}} rangefinder and a pair of radars on its roof. These were a [[Mark 12 radar|Mark 12]] fire-control system and a [[Mark 22 radar|Mark 22]] [[height-finder radar]]. Each 40&nbsp;mm mount was remotely controlled by a Mark 51 director that incorporated a Mark 14 lead-computing [[gyro gunsight]] while the sailors that used the 20&nbsp;mm gun used a Mark 14 sight to track their targets.{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=91—94, 98–100, 102–103}}

A [[SK radar|SK-2]] [[early-warning radar]] was fitted on the ship's [[foremast]]; above it was a [[SG radar|SG]] [[surface-search radar]]. The other SG radar was mounted at the top of the mainmast positioned on the rear [[funnel (ship)|funnel]].{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=109, 113}}

The ''Iowa''s were built with two rotating [[aircraft catapult]]s on their stern for [[floatplane]]s and a large [[crane (machine)|crane]] was fitted to recover them. Initially a trio of [[Vought OS2U Kingfisher]]s were carried, but these were replaced by [[Curtiss SC Seahawk]]s in December 1944.{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=94–95}}{{sfn|Draminski|p=29}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=25}}

===Protection===
The internal waterline [[armor belt]] of the ''Iowa''-class ships is {{cvt|12.1|in|0}} thick and has a height of {{cvt|10|ft|6|in|m|1}}. Below it is a [[strake]] of Class B [[rolled homogeneous armor|homogeneous armor]] plate that tapers in thickness from 12.1 inches at the top to {{cvt|1.62|in|mm}} at the bottom and is {{cvt|28|ft|m|1}} high. The two strakes of armor are inclined outwards at the top 19 degrees to improve the armor's resistance to horizontal fire. In general the vertical armor plates are made from Class A [[Krupp armour#Krupp cemented armour|cemented armor]] and the horizontal armor from Class B or [[special treatment steel]] (STS). The belt armor extends to the two transverse [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkhead]]s fore and aft of the main-gun [[barbette]]s, forming the [[armored citadel]]. Part of the lower armor belt extends aft from the rear bulkhead to protect the ships' steering gear. Its maximum thickness ranges from {{cvt|13|to|13.5|in|mm|0}} at the top and the plates taper to 5 inches at the bottom. Unlike the ''Iowa'' and ''New Jersey'', the armor plates in the forward transverse bulkhead in ''Missouri'' and ''Wisconsin'' have a maximum thickness of {{cvt|14.5|in|0}} at the top that tapers to {{cvt|11.7|in|0}}. The aft bulkhead is a consistent 14.5 inches in thickness, but does not go below the lower belt extension due it meeting the armored third deck protecting the shafts and steering gears; the steering gear is closed by another 14.5-inch aft bulkhead.{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=128–129, 170–171}}

The main-gun turrets has Class B plates {{cvt|19.5|in|0}} thick on their faces and {{cvt|9.5|in|0}} of Class A plates on their sides. The armor plates protecting their barbettes range in thickness from {{cvt|17.3|in|0}} to {{cvt|14.8|in|0}} and {{cvt|11.6|in|0}} with the thickest plates on the sides and the thinnest ones on the front and back. The sides of the conning tower are {{cvt|17.3|in}} thick. The [[main deck]] of the ''Iowa''s consists of {{cvt|1.5|in}} of STS. Below this deck, the roof of the armored citadel is formed by {{cvt|6|in|0}} of armor in two layers. Below this is a deck of {{convert|0.625|in|adj=on|0}} STS plates intended to stop splinters from shells that pierced the armored deck above it. The armor deck extends aft and the roof of the steering gear compartment is {{cvt|6.2|in}} thick.{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=129–130}}

The [[Torpedo belt|underwater protection system]] of the ''Iowa''-class battleships consists of three [[watertight compartment]]s outboard of the lower armor belt and another behind it. The two outermost compartment are kept loaded with fuel oil or seawater to absorb the energy of the torpedo [[warhead]]'s detonation and slow the resulting splinters so they can be stopped by the lower armor belt. Behind the belt is a [[Torpedo bulkhead|holding bulkhead]] intended to protect the ships' inner spaces from any splinters that might penetrate and the subsequent flooding. For protection against [[naval mine]]s, the ''Iowa''s have a [[double bottom]] that runs the full length of the ships and increases to a triple bottom except at the bow and stern.{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=130, 132}}

==History==
===Construction===
''Missouri'' was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the [[Missouri|US state of Missouri]].{{sfn|DANFS}} The ship was authorized by Congress in 1938{{sfn|Stillwell|p=1}} and ordered on 12 June 1940 with the [[hull number]] BB-63.<ref name = NVR/> The [[keel]] for ''Missouri'' was [[laid down]] at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] on 6 January 1941 in [[slipway]] 1. The ship was [[ship launching|launched]] on 29 January 1944 before a crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 spectators. At the launching ceremony, the ship was [[Ship christening|christened]] by [[Margaret Truman]], the [[ship sponsor]] and daughter of [[Harry S. Truman]], then one of the senators from the ship's namesake state; Truman himself gave a speech at the ceremony. [[Fitting-out]] work proceeded quickly, and the ship was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 11 June; [[Captain (US Navy)|Captain]] [[William M. Callaghan|William Callaghan]] served as her first commander.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=1–11}}

''Missouri'' conducted her initial sea trials off New York, beginning on 10 July, and then steamed south to [[Chesapeake Bay]], where she embarked on a [[shakedown cruise]] and conducted training. During this period, she operated with the new large [[cruiser]] {{USS|Alaska|CB-1|2}}, which had also recently entered service, and several escorting [[destroyer]]s. The ship got underway on 11 November, bound for the [[West Coast of the United States]]. She passed through the [[Panama Canal]] a week later and continued on to [[San Francisco]]. There, additional fitting-out work was carried out at [[Hunters Point Naval Shipyard]] to prepare the vessel for use as a fleet [[flagship]].{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=14–25}}

=== World War II (1944–1945) ===
[[File:USS Missouri (BB-63) underway in August 1944.jpg|thumb|left|''Missouri'' underway in August 1944]]

On 14 December, ''Missouri'' departed San Francisco and sailed for [[Ulithi]] in the [[Caroline Islands]], where she joined the rest of the fleet on 13 January 1945. She became a temporary [[headquarters ship]] for [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]] [[Marc A. Mitscher]].{{sfn|DANFS}} She then joined [[Task Force 58]], which [[sortie]]d on 27 January to launch an air attack on [[Bombing of Tokyo|Tokyo]] in support of the planned operation against [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]]. ''Missouri'' served as part of the anti-aircraft screen for Task Group 58.2, centered on the carriers {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|2}}, {{USS|Hancock|CV-19|2}}, and {{USS|San Jacinto|CVL-30|2}}, during the raid on Tokyo.{{sfn|Rohwer|p=393}} In addition to guarding the carriers, ''Missouri'' and the other battleships acted as [[Replenishment oiler|oilers]] for the escorting destroyers, since the fleet's logistics train could not accompany the strike force during raids.{{sfn|Stillwell|p=27}}

By 16 February, the task force had arrived off the coast of Japan to begin a series of [[airstrike]]s. The fleet then proceeded to Iwo Jima, which was invaded by American ground forces on 19 February. That evening, while patrolling with the carriers, ''Missouri'' shot down a Japanese aircraft, probably a [[Nakajima Ki-49]] bomber. Task Force 58 departed in early March and returned to Ulithi to replenish fuel and ammunition. ''Missouri'' was transferred to the {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|2}} task group, TG&nbsp;58.4 at that time.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=28–30}}

The ships departed again on 14 March for another round of air strikes on Japan.{{sfn|Rohwer|p=399}} Four days later, ''Missouri''{{'}}s anti-aircraft guns assisted in the destruction of four Japanese aircraft. American carrier aircraft struck a variety of targets around the [[Seto Inland Sea|Inland Sea]], which prompted a Japanese counter-attack that struck several carriers. The carrier {{USS|Franklin|CV-13|2}} was badly damaged and ''Missouri''{{'}}s task group was detached to cover her withdrawal. By 22 March, ''Franklin'' had left the area of operations and the group returned to the fleet to join the preparatory bombardment for the upcoming [[invasion of Okinawa]].{{sfn|DANFS}} ''Missouri'' was temporarily transferred to TF&nbsp;59, along with her sisters ''New Jersey'' and ''Wisconsin'', to bombard the southern coast of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] on 24 March,{{sfn|Rohwer|p=402}} part of an effort to draw Japanese attention from the actual invasion target on the western side of the island, during which she fired 180 [[Cartridge (firearms)|rounds]]. ''Missouri'' thereafter returned to TG&nbsp;58.4.{{sfn|Rohwer|p=408}}

[[File:USS Missouri Zero Kamikaze.jpg|thumb|A [[kamikaze]] (top left) moments before striking ''Missouri''{{'}}s side]]
While operating with the carriers on 11 April, ''Missouri'' came under attack from a [[kamikaze]] that struck the side of the vessel below the main deck. The impact shattered the aircraft, throwing gasoline on the deck that rapidly ignited, but it was quickly suppressed by her crew. The attack caused superficial damage and the battleship remained on station. Two crewmen were wounded on 17 April when another kamikaze clipped the stern crane and crashed in the ship's [[wake (physics)|wake]].{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=33–37}} ''Missouri'' left Task Force 58 on 5 May to return to Ulithi; in the course of her operations off Okinawa, she claimed five aircraft shot down and another probable kill, along with partial credit for another six aircraft destroyed.{{sfn|DANFS}} While en route, ''Missouri'' refueled from a fleet oiler that also brought the ship's new commander, Captain [[Stuart S. Murray]], who relieved Captain Callaghan on 14 May.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=37–38}}

On 9 May, ''Missouri'' reached Ulithi, before continuing on to [[Apra Harbor]], [[Guam]], where she arrived nine days later. [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William F. Halsey Jr.]], the commander of [[United States Third Fleet|Third Fleet]], came aboard the ship that day, making her the fleet flagship of what was now re-designated as TF&nbsp;38. On 21 May, the battleship got underway again, bound for Okinawa. She had reached the operational area by 27 May, when she took part in attacks on Japanese positions on the island. Together with the rest of the Third Fleet, she then steamed north to conduct a series of air strikes on Japanese airfields and other installations on the island of [[Kyūshū]] on 2 and 3 June. The fleet was struck by [[1945 Pacific typhoon season#Typhoon Connie|a major typhoon]] on the night of 5–6 June, which caused extensive damage to many ships of the fleet, though ''Missouri'' suffered only minor damage. Another round of air strikes against targets on Kyūshū took place on 8 June. The fleet then withdrew to [[Leyte Gulf]] to replenish fuel and ammunition, arriving there on 13 June.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Rohwer|pp=418–419}}

Third Fleet got underway again on 1 July to launch another series of attacks on the Japanese [[Japanese archipelago|Home Islands]]. During this period, ''Missouri'' operated with TG&nbsp;38.4. The carrier aircraft struck targets around Tokyo on 10 July, and then further north between [[Honshū]] and [[Hokkaidō]] from 13 to 14 July. The following day, ''Missouri'' and several other vessels were detached to form TG&nbsp;38.4.2 which was tasked with bombarding industrial facilities in [[Muroran, Hokkaido]]. A second bombardment mission followed on the night of 17–18 July, by which time the British battleship {{HMS|King George V|41|6}} had joined the formation.{{sfn|Rohwer|pp=421–422}} The battleships then returned to [[Screening (tactical)|screen]] the carriers during strikes against targets around the Inland Sea and then Tokyo later in the month. After a brief pause, the carriers resumed attacks on northern Japan on 9 August, the same day as the [[atomic bombing of Nagasaki]]. The following day, rumors circulated that Japan would surrender, which was formally announced on the morning of 15 August.{{sfn|DANFS}}

==== Signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender ====
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{{Main|Japanese Instrument of Surrender}}

[[File:Douglas MacArthur signs formal surrender.jpg|thumb|left|Allied sailors and officers watch [[General of the Army]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] sign documents during the surrender ceremony aboard ''Missouri'' on 2 September 1945. The unconditional surrender of the Japanese to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] officially ended the Second World War.]]

Over the course of the following two weeks, Allied forces made preparations to begin the [[occupation of Japan]]. On 21 August, ''Missouri'' sent a contingent of 200&nbsp;officers and men to ''Iowa'', which was to debark a landing party in Tokyo to begin the process of demilitarizing Japan. Two days later, Murray was informed that ''Missouri'' would host the surrender ceremony, with the date scheduled for 31 August. The ship's crew immediately began preparations for the event, including cleaning and painting the vessel. ''Missouri'' began the approach to [[Tokyo Bay]] on 27 August, guided by the {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Hatsuzakura||2|up=yes}}. That night, the ships stopped at [[Kamakura]], where a courier brought the flag that [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[Matthew C. Perry|Matthew Perry]] had flown during his [[Perry Expedition|expedition to open Japan]] in 1853; the flag was to be displayed during the surrender ceremony. The flotilla then entered Tokyo Bay on 29 August, and ''Missouri'' was anchored close to where Perry had anchored his own vessels some ninety-two years earlier. Poor weather delayed the ceremony until 2 September.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=50–51, 53–57}}

[[Fleet admiral (United States)|Fleet Admiral]] [[Chester Nimitz]] boarded shortly after 08:00, and [[General of the Army (United States)|General of the Army]] [[Douglas MacArthur]], the Supreme Commander for the Allies, came on board at 08:43. The Japanese representatives, headed by [[Foreign Minister]] [[Mamoru Shigemitsu]], arrived at 08:56, 2 September 1945. At 09:02, General MacArthur stepped before a battery of [[microphone]]s and opened the 23-minute surrender ceremony to the waiting world by stating,{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=65}} "It is my earnest hope—indeed the hope of all mankind—that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past, a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice."<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=''Missouri''{{'}}s place in history |magazine=[[All Hands]] |date=September 1985 |publisher=United States Navy |issue=822 |page=16}}</ref>{{efn|Another U.S. flag was raised and flown during the occasion, a flag that some sources have indicated was in fact that flag which had flown over the U.S. Capitol on 7 December 1941. This is not true; it was a flag taken from the ship's stock, according to Murray, and it was "...just a plain ordinary GI-issue flag".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ussmissouri.org/learn-the-history/surrender/admiral-murrays-account |title=Reminiscences of the Surrender of Japan and the End of World War II |first=Stuart S. |last=Murray |author-link=Stuart S. Murray |website=USS Missouri Memorial Association |access-date=25 October 2019 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026130431/https://ussmissouri.org/learn-the-history/surrender/admiral-murrays-account  }}</ref>}}

By 09:30 the Japanese emissaries had departed. In the afternoon of 5 September, Halsey transferred his flag to the battleship {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}}, and early the next day ''Missouri'' departed Tokyo Bay. As part of the ongoing [[Operation Magic Carpet]] she received homeward-bound passengers at Guam, then sailed unescorted for Hawaii. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 20 September and flew Admiral Nimitz's flag on the afternoon of 28 September for a reception.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=78}}

=== Post-war (1946–1950) ===

The next day, ''Missouri'' departed Pearl Harbor bound for the [[East Coast of the United States]]. She reached New York City on 23 October and hoisted the flag of [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]] commander Admiral [[Jonas Ingram]]. Four days later, the battleship fired a [[21-gun salute]] (the first of 3 that day) as Truman—who had since become President of the United States—boarded for [[Navy Day]] ceremonies.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=86}}

[[File:USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Power (DD-839) and TCG Yavuz (B-70) off Istanbul on 5 April 1946.jpg|thumb|left|''Missouri'' (center) and [[SMS Goeben|TCG ''Yavuz'']] (right) in the Bosphorus, April 1946]]
After an overhaul in the [[New York Naval Shipyard]]{{sfn|Stillwell|page=356}} that included the replacement of the Mark 8 fire-control radars with [[Mark 13 radar|Mark 13]] models,{{sfn|Sumrall|p=92}} and a training cruise to [[Cuba]], ''Missouri'' returned to New York. During the afternoon of 21 March 1946, she received the remains of the [[Turkey|Turkish]] Ambassador to the United States, [[Munir Ertegun]]. She departed on 22 March for [[Gibraltar]], and on 5 April anchored in the [[Bosphorus]] off [[Istanbul]]. She rendered full honors, including the firing of 19-gun salutes during the transfer of the remains of the late ambassador and again during the funeral ashore.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=100-102}}

''Missouri'' departed Istanbul on 9 April and entered [[Phaleron Bay]], [[Piraeus, Greece]], the following day for a welcome by Greek government officials and [[anti-communist]] citizens. Greece had become the scene of a [[Greek Civil War|civil war]] between the [[Communist Party of Greece|pro-communist]]-dominated left-wing [[Resistance during World War II|resistance]] organization [[National Liberation Front (Greece)|EAM]]-[[ELAS]] and the returning Greek government-in-exile. The United States saw this as an important test case for its new doctrine of [[containment]] of the Soviet Union. The Soviets were also pushing for concessions in the [[Dodecanese]] to be included in the [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947|peace treaty with Italy]] and for access through the [[Dardanelles]] strait between the [[Black Sea]] and the Mediterranean. The voyage of ''Missouri'' to the eastern Mediterranean symbolized America's strategic commitment to the region. News media proclaimed her a symbol of US interest in preserving Greece and Turkey's independence.{{sfn|DANFS}}

[[File:Helicopter lands on USS Missouri (BB-63) gun turret, 1948 Midshipmen’s Practice Cruise (37781879662).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|A helicopter lands on a ''Missouri'' gun turret during the 1948 Midshipmen's Practice Cruise]]
''Missouri'' departed Piraeus on 26 April, touching at [[Algiers]] and [[Tangiers]] before arriving at Norfolk on 9 May. She departed for [[Culebra Island]] on 12 May to join Admiral Mitscher's [[United States Eighth Fleet|8th Fleet]] in the Navy's first large-scale postwar Atlantic training maneuvers. The battleship returned to New York City on 27 May, and spent the next year steaming Atlantic coastal waters north to the [[Davis Strait]] and south to the [[Caribbean]] on various training exercises.{{sfn|DANFS}} On 3 December, during a gunnery exercise in the North Atlantic, a [[star shell]] fired by the [[light cruiser]] {{USS|Little Rock|CL-92|2}} accidentally struck the battleship, killing one crewman and wounding three others.{{sfn|Stillwell|p=110}}

''Missouri'' arrived at [[Rio de Janeiro]] on 30 August 1947 for the [[Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Hemisphere Peace and Security]]. President Truman boarded on 2 September to celebrate the signing of the [[Rio Treaty]], which broadened the [[Monroe Doctrine]] by stipulating that an attack on any one of the signatory American countries would be considered an attack on all.{{sfn|DANFS}}

The Truman family boarded ''Missouri'' on 7 September 1947 to return to the United States and disembarked at Norfolk on 19 September. Her overhaul in New York, which lasted from 23 September to 10 March 1948{{sfn|DANFS}} included upgrading most of her radar suite. The SK-2 system was replaced by a [[SR-3 radar]] and both SG fire-control radars were removed, an improved [[SG-6 radar|SG-6]] replaced the forward antenna and the aft SG was exchanged for a [[SP radar|SP height-finding radar]]; [[Mark 25 radar|Mark 25]] fire-control radars replaced the combination Mark 12/22 installations on the roofs of the Mark 37 directors.{{sfn|Sumrall|pages=101, 110–112}} After the overhaul, the ship worked up at [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]]. The summer of 1948 was devoted to midshipman and reserve training cruises. Also in 1948, ''Missouri'' became the first battleship to host a [[helicopter]] detachment, operating two Sikorsky [[Sikorsky H-5|HO3S-1]] machines for utility and rescue work.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usna.com/SSLPage.aspx?pid=656 |title=Helo Operations |last=Close |first=Robert A. (Cmdr) |website=U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation |access-date=25 October 2019  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214182049/https://www.usna.com/SSLPage.aspx?pid=656 |archive-date=14 February 2012}}</ref> The battleship departed Norfolk on 1 November 1948 for a second three-week [[Arctic]] cold-weather training cruise to the Davis Strait. During the next two years, ''Missouri'' participated in exercises from the [[New England]] coast to the Caribbean, alternated with two midshipman summer training cruises. She was overhauled at Norfolk Naval Shipyard from 23 September 1949 to 17 January 1950.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=365}}

Throughout the latter half of the 1940s, the various service branches of the United States had been reducing their inventories from their World War II levels. For the Navy, this resulted in several vessels of various types being decommissioned and either sold for scrap or placed in one of the various [[United States Navy reserve fleets]] scattered along the coasts. As part of this contraction, three of the ''Iowa''-class battleships had been de-activated and decommissioned but President Truman refused to allow ''Missouri'' to be decommissioned. Against the advice of [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Louis A. Johnson|Louis Johnson]], Secretary of the Navy [[John L. Sullivan (Navy)|John L. Sullivan]], and Chief of Naval Operations [[Louis E. Denfeld]], Truman ordered ''Missouri'' to be maintained with the active fleet partly because of his fondness for the battleship and partly because the battleship had been christened by his daughter Margaret.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.historynet.com/magazines/american_history/3037591.html |title=USS ''Missouri'': Served in World War II and Korean War |last=Stillwell |first=Paul |date=February 1999 |journal=[[American History]] |issn=1076-8866 |access-date=3 December 2007 |oclc=30148811  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219024924/http://www.historynet.com/magazines/american_history/3037591.html |archive-date=19 December 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://starbulletin.com/1999/08/09/news/story2.html |title=Mighty Mo anchors $500,000 donation |last=Adamski |first=Mary |work=[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]] |date=9 August 1998 |access-date=14 June 2007}}</ref>

[[File:USS_Missouri_February_1_1950_Final_Pull.jpg|thumb|left|Configuration for final successful pull]]
Captain William D. Brown assumed command of the battleship on 10 December while she was being overhauled.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=145–148}} Then the only US battleship in commission, ''Missouri'' was proceeding from [[Hampton Roads]] on her first training exercise at sea since the overhaul, early on 17 January 1950 when she [[USS Missouri grounding incident|ran aground]] {{convert|1.6|mi|km|abbr=on}} from [[Thimble Shoal Light]], near [[Old Point Comfort]]. She hit shoal water a distance of three ship-lengths from the main channel.{{sfn|DANFS}} The error resulted from a combination of many factors, including Brown's inexperience maneuvering such a large ship. The grounding occurred during a particularly high tide making the effort to free her even more difficult as did having an abandoned [[anchor]] becoming embedded in her hull. After off-loading ammunition, fuel and food to lighten the battleship,{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=153–157}} she was refloated on 1 February with the aid of [[tugboats]], [[Pontoon (boat)|pontoons]], [[Beach gear (ship salvage)|beach gear]] and a rising tide.{{sfn|Butler|pp=114–128}}

After the subsequent [[Naval Board of Inquiry]], Brown and three of his officers were [[court-martial]]led. Brown was relieved of command and his subordinates were reprimanded. Captain [[Harold Page Smith]] assumed command on 7 February as the ''Missouri''{{'}}s repairs were being completed. Having repaired morale aboard during his tenure as the ship was relegated to training duties in an effort to cut costs by Johnson, Page Smith was replaced by Captain Irving Duke on 19 April.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=160–164}}

=== Korean War (1950–1953) ===
[[File:USS Missouri at the Harbor of Inchon, Republic of Korea. Landing of Inchon is the largest amphibious landing since World War 2..jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[Vought F4U Corsair]] overflies [[Battle of Inchon|Inchon Harbor, Republic of Korea]] with ''Missouri'' below the aircraft's tail]]

In 1950, the [[Korean War]] started, prompting the United States to intervene on behalf of the [[United Nations]] (UN). President Truman ordered US forces stationed in Japan into South Korea. Truman also sent US-based troops, tanks, [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] and [[bomber]] aircraft, and a strong naval force to Korea to support the Republic of Korea. As part of the naval mobilization ''Missouri'' was transferred to the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]] and dispatched from Norfolk on 19 August to support UN forces on the Korean peninsula.{{sfn|DANFS}} Due to the urgency of her mission Duke took the battleship directly through a [[hurricane]] off the coast of [[North Carolina]] on 20 August that blew her helicopters off the stern and damaged her enough that she required nearly a week's worth of repairs once she reached Pearl Harbor.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=166–168}}

''Missouri'' arrived just west of [[Kyūshū]] on 14 September, where she became the flagship of Rear Admiral [[Allan Edward Smith]]. The first American battleship to reach Korean waters, she bombarded [[Samchok]] on 15 September in an attempt to divert troops and attention from the [[Battle of Incheon|Incheon landings]].{{sfn|DANFS}} After a brief visit to [[U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]], Japan, to resupply, the ship arrived at [[Incheon]] on 19 September, and began bombarding North Korean troops as they retreated north.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=171–172}} On 10 October she became flagship of Rear Admiral [[John Higgins (admiral)|John M. Higgins]], commander of Cruiser Division 5. She arrived at Sasebo on 14 October, where she became flagship of Vice Admiral [[Arthur Dewey Struble|A. D. Struble]], Commander, [[United States Seventh Fleet|Seventh Fleet]]. After screening the carrier {{USS|Valley Forge|CV-45|2}} along the east coast of [[Korea]], she conducted bombardment missions from 12 to 26 October in the [[Chongjin]] and [[Tanchon]] areas on the west coast, and at [[Wonsan]] where she again screened carriers eastward of Wonsan.{{sfn|DANFS}} During this time, [[comedian]] [[Bob Hope]] visited the battleship and gave three performances for the crew.{{sfn|Stillwell|page=178}}

MacArthur's amphibious landings at Incheon had severed the [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) supply lines; as a result, the KPA had begun a lengthy retreat from South Korea into North Korea. This retreat was closely monitored by the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC), out of fear that the UN offensive against Korea would create a US-backed enemy on China's border, and out of concern that the UN offensive in Korea could evolve into a UN war against China.<ref name="Dogfights">{{cite episode |title=MIG Alley |series=Dogfights |series-link=Dogfights (TV series) |network=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]] |air-date=3 November 2006 |season=1 |number=1}}</ref> In an effort to dissuade UN forces from completely overrunning North Korea, the People's Republic of China issued diplomatic warnings that they would use force to protect North Korea, but these warnings were not taken seriously for a number of reasons.<ref>{{cite book |title=United States Army in the Korean War |first1=James F. |last1=Schnabel |first2=Roy Edgar |last2=Appleman |author3=United States Department of the Army, Office of Military History |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[Office of the Chief of Military History]], United States Army |date=1961–1972 |oclc=81433331 |page=212 |isbn=1-4102-2485-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Tumultuous Years: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1949–1953 |first=Robert J. |last=Donovan |location=New York |publisher=Norton |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-393-01619-2 |oclc=8345640 |page=[https://archive.org/details/tumultuousyearsp0000dono_n2q0/page/285 285] |url=https://archive.org/details/tumultuousyearsp0000dono_n2q0/page/285 }}</ref> This changed abruptly on 19 October 1950, when the first of an eventual total of {{nowrap |380,000 [[People's Liberation Army]]}} soldiers under the command of General [[Peng Dehuai]] crossed into North Korea, launching a full-scale [[Battle of Chosin Reservoir|assault against advancing UN troops]]. The PRC offensive forced UN troops to retreat. The ''Missouri'' provided gunfire support during the [[Hungnam evacuation]] in December until the last UN troops, the American [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3rd Infantry Division]], departed on 24 December.{{sfn|DANFS}}
[[File:Forecastle of USS Missouri (BB-63) in heavy seas c1951.jpg|alt=|thumb|The [[forecastle]] of ''Missouri'' in heavy seas {{c.}} 1951]]

[[File:KoreanWarNavyGunfire.jpg|thumb|right|''Missouri'' fires her guns against enemy positions during the Korean War]]
In early 1951 ''Missouri'' alternated carrier escort duty and shore bombardments off the east coast of Korea until 19 March.{{sfn|DANFS}} During a visit to [[U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]], Japan, Captain George Wright relieved Duke as commanding officer on 2 March.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=185, 389}} The battleship arrived at Yokosuka on 24 March and departed the port four days later for the United States,{{sfn|DANFS}} having fired 2,895 sixteen-inch rounds and 8,043 five-inch shells during her deployment.{{sfn|Stillwell|page=187}} Upon her arrival at Norfolk on 27 April the ship became the flagship of Rear Admiral [[James L. Holloway, Jr.]], commander, Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet.{{sfn|DANFS}} From May to August, she engaged in two [[midshipman]] training cruises. ''Missouri'' entered [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] 18 October for an overhaul which lasted until 30 January 1952.{{sfn|DANFS}} Captain [[John Sylvester (admiral)|John Sylvester]] assumed command of the ship the same day her overhaul began.{{sfn|Stillwell|page=389}}

''Missouri'' spent the next six months training out of Guantanamo Bay and Norfolk and made a port visit to New York in May where she participated in Navy Day celebrations, hosting nearly 11,000 visitors.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=198–202}} She returned to Norfolk on 4 August and entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard to prepare for a second tour in the Korean combat zone.{{sfn|DANFS}} Captain Warner Edsall relieved Sylvester at the beginning of the overhaul.{{sfn|Stillwell|page=202}} The battleship departed Hampton Roads on 11 September and arrived at Yokosuka on 17 October.{{sfn|DANFS}}

Vice Admiral [[Joseph J. Clark]], commander of the Seventh Fleet, brought his staff onboard on 19 October. Her primary mission was to provide naval gunfire support, codenamed "Cobra strikes", in the Chaho-Tanchon area, at Chongjin, in the Tanchon-Sonjin area, and at Chaho, Wonsan, [[Hamhung]], and Hungnam from 25 October through 2 January 1953.{{sfn|DANFS}} One of the ship's helicopters crashed on 21 December while trying to assess the damage from a bombardment; all three men aboard were killed.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=206–207}} ''Missouri'' put into Incheon on 5 January and then sailed to Sasebo. General [[Mark W. Clark]], Commander in Chief, UN Command, and Admiral Sir [[Guy Russell]], the British [[Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet]], visited the battleship on 23 January. In the following weeks, ''Missouri'' resumed "Cobra" missions along the east coast of Korea.{{sfn|DANFS}} As part of these, the ship would enter Wonsan Harbor to bombard targets there. North Korea artillery fruitlessly engaged her there on two occasions, 5 and 10 March, as their shells were fused to burst in the air. In retaliation for the latter incident, ''Missouri''{{'}}s five-inch guns fired 998 shells at the North Korean positions.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=209–210}} The last bombardment mission by ''Missouri'' was against the Kojo area on 25 March; she had fired 2,895 sixteen-inch and 8,043 five-inch shells during the deployment. The following day, Edsall suffered a fatal [[heart attack]] while [[Conn (nautical)|conning]] her through the [[anti-submarine net]]s defending Sasebo Harbor. Captain Robert Brodie assumed command on 4 April. ''Missouri'' was relieved as the Seventh Fleet flagship on 6 April by ''New Jersey'' and departed Yokosuka on 7 April.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=211–212}}

[[File:Civil Defense Shelter Sign (MSA) (23736048800).jpg|thumb|[[United States civil defense|Civil Defense]] shelter sign held by [[John M. Dalton|Missouri Governor John Dalton]] (right) in 1963 beside ''Missouri'' painting in Tokyo Bay on 4 July 1945, by William A. Knox]]
''Missouri'' arrived at Norfolk on 4 May; Rear Admiral E. T. Woolridge, commander, Battleships-Cruisers, Atlantic Fleet, hoisted his flag aboard her 10 days later. She departed on 8 June on a midshipman training cruise to Brazil, Cuba and Panama and returned to Norfolk on 4 August. Woolridge hauled down his flag in October as he transferred to another ship; Rear Admiral Clark Green, commander of Battleship Division 2 replaced him. The battleship was overhauled in Norfolk Naval Shipyard from 20 November to 2 April 1954 that included replacing her 16-inch guns{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=215–219}} and exchanging her SP radar for a [[AN/SPS-8|SPS-8]] system that required strengthening the mainmast to handle its weight.{{sfn|Sumrall|p=112}} The day before the end of the overhaul, Captain [[Taylor Keith]] relieved Brodie in command of the ship. As the flagship of Rear Admiral [[Ruthven Libby]], who had relieved Woolridge, ''Missouri'' departed Norfolk on 7 June as the flagship of the midshipman training cruise to [[Lisbon]], Portugal, [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]], France, and Cuba.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=219–221, 224–227, 389}} During this voyage ''Missouri'' was joined by the other three battleships of her class, the only time the four ships sailed together.{{sfn|Kaplan|p=166}} She returned to Norfolk on 3 August and departed on 23 August to be placed in reserve on the West Coast. The ship hosted 16,900 people at [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], but more than 20,100 visited in San Francisco.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=229–231}} ''Missouri'' arrived in [[Seattle]] on 15 September where she again hosted visitors and subsequently off-loaded her ammunition at the facility in [[Naval Submarine Base Bangor|Bangor]].{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=232}} The ship was decommissioned on 26 February 1955 at [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] where she was assigned to the Bremerton group of the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]].{{sfn|DANFS}}<ref name=mqnawe>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4DlYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VPcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1432%2C2679818 |work=The Bulletin |location=Bend, Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Missouri Quiet Now 29 Years after War Ended |date=2 September 1974 |page=7}}</ref>{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=238–246}} ''Missouri'' retained her Mark 27 radar until the mid-1950s.{{sfn|Sumrall|p=94}}

====Deactivation====
''Missouri'' was moored at the last pier of the reserve fleet berthing. She served as a tourist attraction, logging about 250,000 visitors per year,<ref name=bsimof>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yVdWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8O4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4974%2C6656323 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |last=Camden |first=Jim |title=Big Ship in Midst of Fight |date=13 March 1984 |page=A6}}</ref> who came to view the "surrender deck" where a bronze plaque memorialized the spot ({{coord|35.3547<!--22-->|139.76}})<!-- [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=35.354722,+139.760000&aq=&sll=37.6,-95.665&sspn=55.236004,111.357422&vpsrc=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&z=12&iwloc=A 35° 21' 17" N, 139° 45' 36" E])--> in Tokyo Bay where Japan surrendered to the Allies. The accompanying historical display included copies of the surrender documents {{nowrap|and photos.<ref name=mqnawe/>}} Nearly thirty years passed before ''Missouri'' returned to active duty.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=238–246}}

===Reactivation (1984–1990)===
[[File:Missouri Recomissioned (1986).jpg|thumb|right|Crewmen [[manning the rails]] of ''Missouri'' during her recommissioning ceremony in San Francisco]]

Under the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan Administration]]'s program to build a [[600-ship Navy]], led by Secretary of the Navy [[John F. Lehman]], ''Missouri'' was reactivated and towed by the [[salvage ship]] {{USS|Beaufort|ATS-2|2}} to the Long Beach Naval Yard in the summer of 1984 to undergo modernization in advance of her scheduled recommissioning.{{sfn|DANFS}}<ref name=bsimof/> In preparation for the move, a skeleton crew of 20 spent three weeks working 12 to 16-hour days preparing the battleship for her tow.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Weissleder |first=Bob |date=November 1984 |title=Mighty Mo Rejoins Fleet |magazine=All Hands |location=Alexandria, VA |publisher=United States Navy |issue=813 |pages=26–28}}</ref>

Over the next several months, the ship had her obsolete armament removed: 20&nbsp;mm and 40&nbsp;mm AA guns, their directors, and four of her ten 5-inch gun mounts. Installed in their place on the superstructure were four Mk 141 quad cell launchers for 16 [[Harpoon (missile)|RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles]], eight Mk 143 Armored Box Launcher mounts for 32 [[Tomahawk (missile family)|BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles]], and a quartet of 20&nbsp;mm [[Phalanx CIWS]] [[rotary cannon]] for defense against enemy [[anti-ship missile]]s and enemy aircraft. She also received upgrades to radar and fire-control systems for her guns and missiles, and improved [[electronic warfare]] capabilities. Additions included an [[AN/SPS-49]] early-warning radar and an [[AN/SPS-67]] surface-search radar{{sfn|Stillwell|page=393}} while the SPS-8 radar and the mainmast were removed.{{sfn|Sumrall|p=143}} The added missile capacity necessitated additional fire-support systems to launch and guide the ordnance. To fire the Harpoon anti-ship missiles, the ship was equipped with the SWG-1 fire-control system. ''Missouri'' was also outfitted with the [[AN/SLQ-25 Nixie]] to be used as a decoy against enemy torpedoes, an [[AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite]] electronic-warfare system that can detect, jam, and deceive an opponent's radar and a [[Mark 36 SRBOC]] system to fire [[Chaff (countermeasure)|chaff]] rockets intended to confuse enemy missiles.{{sfn|Sharpe|1991|p=732}} The ship's crew now consisted of 65 officers and 1,450 enlisted men.{{sfn|Sumrall|p=159}}

During the modernization the ship's {{convert|800|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bell, which had been removed from the battleship and sent to [[Jefferson City, Missouri]] for sesquicentennial celebrations in the state, was formally returned to the battleship in advance of her recommissioning.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1985 |title=''Missouri'' bell returned |magazine=All Hands |location=Alexandria, VA |publisher=United States Navy |issue=822 |page=16}}</ref> ''Missouri'' was formally recommissioned in San Francisco on 10 May 1986 with Captain Albert Kaiss in command. "This is a day to celebrate the rebirth of American sea power", Secretary of Defense [[Caspar Weinberger]] told an audience of 10,000 at the recommissioning ceremony, instructing the crew to "listen for the footsteps of those who have gone before you. They speak to you of honor and the importance of duty. They remind you of your own traditions."<ref name="chinfo">{{cite web |title= USS ''Missouri'' (BB-63) |url=http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/battleships/missouri/bb63-mo.html |work=The Battleships |publisher= United States Navy Office of Information |date=24 April 2000 |access-date=15 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207002750/http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/battleships/missouri/bb63-mo.html |archive-date=7 December 2006}}</ref> Margaret Truman gave a short speech especially aimed at the ship's crew, which ended with "now take care of my baby." Her remarks were met with rounds of applause from the crew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beta.abcnewsvsource.com/search/index/keywords/NEWS-NY?page_id=1289 |title=USS Missouri |date=10 May 1986 |website=ABC News |access-date=25 October 2019  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707073746/http://beta.abcnewsvsource.com/search/index/keywords/NEWS-NY?page_id=1289 |archive-date=7 July 2011}}</ref>

[[File:AO-146 refuel CV-63 BB-63 1986.jpeg|thumb|left|''Missouri'' undertaking an [[underway replenishment]] with {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63|2}} from the [[Military Sealift Command|MSC]] ship {{USNS|Kawishiwi|T-AO-146|6}}]]

Only briefly in command, Kaiss was relieved by Captain James A. Carney on 20 June.{{sfn|Stillwell|page=389}} Three months later ''Missouri'' departed from her new home port of [[Naval Station Long Beach|Long Beach]] for an around-the-world cruise, visiting Pearl Harbor Hawaii; [[Sydney]], [[Hobart]], and [[Perth]], Australia; [[Diego Garcia]]; the [[Suez Canal]]; [[Istanbul]], Turkey; [[Naples]], Italy; [[Rota, Andalusia|Rota]], Spain; [[Lisbon]], Portugal; and the [[Panama Canal]]. ''Missouri'' became the first American battleship to [[circumnavigation|circumnavigate]] the globe since [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s "[[Great White Fleet]]" 80 years before—a fleet which included the first battleship named {{USS|Missouri|BB-11}}.{{sfn|DANFS}}

In 1987, ''Missouri'' was outfitted with 40&nbsp;mm [[grenade launcher]]s and 25&nbsp;mm [[chain gun]]s and sent to take part in [[Operation Earnest Will]], the escorting of reflagged [[Kuwait]]i [[oil tankers]] in the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name="BAW">{{cite book |last=Poyer |first=Joe |editor-first1=Andy |editor-last1=Lightbody |editor-first2=Taylor |editor-last2=Blaine |title=Battleships at War: America's Century Long Romance with the Big Guns of the Fleet |publisher=Challenge Publications, Inc |location=Canoga Park, California |pages=50–53 |chapter=Are These the Last Battleships? |year=1991}}</ref> These smaller-caliber weapons were installed due to the threat of [[Iran]]ian-manned, [[Sweden|Swedish]]-made [[Boghammar]] [[cigarette boat]]s operating in the Persian Gulf at the time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently asked questions aboard the ''Missouri'' |url=http://ussmissouri.com/faq.aspx |website= USS Missouri Memorial Association |year=2004 |access-date=24 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016203719/http://ussmissouri.com/faq.aspx |archive-date=16 October 2007}}</ref> On 25 July, the ship departed on a six-month deployment to the Indian Ocean and North [[Arabian Sea]]. She spent more than 100 continuous days at sea in a hot, tense environment. As the centerpiece for Battlegroup Echo, ''Missouri'' escorted tanker convoys through the [[Strait of Hormuz]], keeping her fire-control system trained on land-based Iranian [[Silkworm (missile)|Silkworm missile]] launchers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ussmissouri.com/CmdHist/ch22.htm |first=J. J. |last=Chernesky |title=Command History, Calendar Year 1987, (OPNAV Report Symbol 5750-1) |page=2 |website=USS Missouri Memorial Association |date=October 1987 |access-date=24 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030527231310/http://ussmissouri.com/CmdHist/ch22.htm |archive-date=27 May 2003}}</ref>

The ship returned to the United States via Diego Garcia, Australia, and Hawaii in early 1988. Captain John Chernesky relieved Carney on 6 July in Pearl Harbor during the biennial [[Exercise RIMPAC|Rim of the Pacific (RimPac) exercises]] that had begun a few weeks earlier. Other highlights during the year included port visits in [[British Columbia]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]].{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=382, 389}}

In the early months of 1989, ''Missouri'' was in the [[Long Beach Naval Shipyard]] for routine maintenance. It was there that the Missouri was the site and setting of [[Cher|Cher's]] music video for [[If I Could Turn Back Time|''If I Could Turn Back Time'']].  A few months later she departed for the multi-national [[Pacific Exercise 89|Pacific Exercise (PacEx) '89]], where she and ''New Jersey'' performed a firepower demonstration off Okinawa for the Japanese and some of the other allied ships. Missouri fired 45 rounds of 16-inch and 263 of 5-inch, considerably more than her sister. The highlight of PacEx was a port visit in [[Pusan]], [[Republic of Korea]] during which she had some trouble docking in the port's shallow water. At the end of the year, the ship visited [[Mazatlan]], Mexico. In early 1990, ''Missouri'' again took part in the RimPac Exercise and Kaiss returned to relieve Chernesky on 13 June.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=296–298, 300, 389}}

=== Gulf War (January–February 1991) ===
{{Main|Gulf War}}
[[File:Missouri missile BGM-109 Tomahawk.JPG|thumb|right|''Missouri'' launches a [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk missile]]]]

On 2 August 1990 [[Iraq]], led by President [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Invasion of Kuwait|invaded Kuwait]]. In the middle of the month US President [[George H. W. Bush]] sent the first of several hundred thousand troops, along with a strong force of naval support, to [[Saudi Arabia]] and the Persian Gulf area to support a multinational force in a standoff with Iraq.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=306–307}}

''Missouri''{{'}}s scheduled four-month Western Pacific port-to-port cruise set to begin in September was canceled just a few days before the ship was to leave; after the cruise was completed, the ship was due to begin the process of inactivation. She had been placed on hold in anticipation of being mobilized as forces continued to mass in the Middle East. As part of the preparations for combat, a detachment of [[AAI RQ-2 Pioneer]] [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s were transferred to the ship to improve her ability to direct her gunfire. ''Missouri'' departed on 13 November 1990 for the troubled waters of the Persian Gulf. She departed Long Beach, with extensive press coverage, and headed for Hawaii and the [[Philippines]] for more work-ups en route to the Persian Gulf. Along the way she made stops at [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]] and [[Pattaya]], Thailand, before transiting the [[Strait of Hormuz]] on 3 January 1991. Before [[Operation Desert Storm]] began later that month, ''Missouri'' prepared to launch Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and provide naval gunfire support as required. The ship fired her first Tomahawk missile at Iraqi targets at 01:40&nbsp;am on 17 January 1991, followed by 27 additional missiles over the next five days.{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=306–314}}

On 29 January, the [[frigate]] {{USS|Curts|FFG-38|2}} escorted ''Missouri'' northward. In her first bombardment action of Desert Storm, she shelled an Iraqi command and control bunker near the Saudi border, the first time her 16-inch guns had been fired in combat since March 1953 off Korea.<ref name="Desert Storm">{{cite book |chapter=V: "Thunder And Lightning"- The War With Iraq |title=The United States Navy in "Desert Shield" / "Desert Storm" |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/dstorm/index.html |chapter-url=http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/dstorm/ds5.htm |author=United States. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Navy |date=15 May 1991 |access-date=26 November 2006 |oclc=25081170  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205205911/http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/dstorm/index.html |archive-date=5 December 2006 }}</ref> The battleship bombarded beach defenses in occupied Kuwait on the night of 3 February, firing 112 main-gun rounds over the next three days until relieved by ''Wisconsin''. ''Missouri'' then fired another 60 rounds off [[Khafji]] on 11–12 February before steaming north to [[Faylaka Island]]. After [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] cleared a lane through Iraqi defenses, the ship fired 133 rounds during four shore bombardment missions as part of the amphibious landing [[feint]] against the Kuwaiti coast the morning of 23 and 24 February. The heavy pounding attracted Iraqi attention; in response to the battleship's artillery strike, the Iraqis fired two HY-2 [[Silkworm missile]]s at the battleship, one of which crashed shortly after launching. The other missile was intercepted by a GWS-30 [[Sea Dart missile]] launched from the British destroyer {{HMS|Gloucester|D96|6}}{{sfn|Stillwell|pages=316, 319–324}} within 90 seconds and crashed into the sea roughly {{convert|700|yd|m|abbr=on}} in front of ''Missouri''.<ref name="P&G">{{cite news |title=Pride & Glory |url=http://starbulletin.com/98/06/15/news/story1.html |first=Gregg K. |last=Kakesako |newspaper=[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]] |date=15 June 1998 |access-date=24 December 2006 |archive-date=20 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060320005236/http://starbulletin.com/98/06/15/news/story1.html  }}</ref>{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=322-323}} Shortly afterwards, the battleship's Pioneer drones located the missile launchers and neutralized them with about fifty 16-inch shells.{{sfn|Stillwell|p=324}}

[[File:USS Missouri firing during Desert Storm, 6 Feb 1991.jpg|thumb|left|''Missouri'' firing her 16-inch guns during Desert Storm, 6 February 1991]]

During the campaign, ''Missouri'' was involved in a [[friendly fire]] incident with the frigate {{USS|Jarrett|FFG-33|2}}. According to the official report, on 25 February, ''Jarrett''{{'}}s Phalanx CIWS engaged the [[Chaff (radar countermeasure)|chaff]] fired by ''Missouri'' as a countermeasure against enemy missiles, and stray rounds from the firing struck the battleship, one penetrating through a bulkhead and becoming embedded in an interior passageway of the ship. One sailor aboard ''Missouri'' was struck in the neck by flying debris and suffered minor injuries.{{sfn|Stillwell|p=325}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du_ii/du_ii_refs/n52en417/8023_034_0000001.htm |title=Lead Report #14246 |website=Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses, Department of Defense |date=23 January 1998 |access-date=3 December 2007  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218082715/http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du_ii/du_ii_refs/n52en417/8023_034_0000001.htm |archive-date=18 December 2007 }}</ref>

During the operation, ''Missouri'' also assisted coalition forces engaged in clearing Iraqi naval mines in the Persian Gulf. By the time the war ended, the ship's crew had destroyed at least 15 naval mines.<ref name="P&G"/>

With combat operations out of range of the battleship's weapons on 26 February, ''Missouri'' had fired a total of 783 sixteen-inch shells and launched 28 [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk cruise missiles]] during the campaign,{{sfn|Polmar|p=129}} and began patrolling the northern Persian Gulf until sailing for home on 21 March. Following stops at [[Fremantle]] and Hobart, Australia, the warship visited Pearl Harbor before arriving home in April. She spent the remainder of the year, hosting visitors in between training missions, the latter including a 7 December "voyage of remembrance" to mark the 50th anniversary of the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor attack]] in 1941. During that ceremony, ''Missouri'' hosted President Bush, the first such presidential visit for the warship since Harry S. Truman's in September 1947.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=328–340}}

=== Museum ship (1998 to present) ===
<!---despite the film, the Missouri CANNOT (and did not) move under her own power. Please do not insert material suggesting this. It is not factual--->
{{see also|Iowa-class battleship#Cultural significance}}

[[File:US Navy 100107-N-6412L-253 The battleship EX-USS Missouri (BB 63) begins its 2-mile journey back to Ford Island.jpg|alt=|thumb|''Missouri'' begins her two-mile journey back to [[Ford Island]] after being undocked by hundreds of [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard]] workers in 2010<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/63a.htm|title=Battleship Photo Index BB-63 USS MISSOURI|website=www.navsource.org|access-date=15 March 2020}}</ref>]]

The [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse of the Soviet Union]] in the early 1990s and the absence of a perceived threat to the United States led to [[Peace dividend|drastic cuts in the defense budget]], and the high cost of maintaining and operating battleships as part of the United States Navy's active fleet became uneconomical. As a result ''Missouri'' was decommissioned on 31 March 1992 at Long Beach.<ref name=NVR>{{cite web |title=Missouri (BB 63) |url={{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=BB63}} |work=[[Naval Vessel Register]] |publisher=[[United States Navy]] |date=19 July 2002 |access-date=3 December 2007}}</ref> Her last commanding officer, Captain Albert L. Kaiss, wrote in the ship's final Plan of the Day:

{{Blockquote|Our final day has arrived. Today the final chapter in battleship ''Missouri''{{'}}s history will be written. It's often said that the crew makes the command. There is no truer statement ... for it's the crew of this great ship that made this a great command. You are a special breed of sailors and Marines and I am proud to have served with each and every one of you. To you who have made the painful journey of putting this great lady to sleep, I thank you. For you have had the toughest job. To put away a ship that has become as much a part of you as you are to her is a sad ending to a great tour. But take solace in this—you have lived up to the history of the ship and those who sailed her before us. We took her to war, performed magnificently and added another chapter in her history, standing side by side our forerunners in true naval tradition. God bless you all.|Captain Albert L. Kaiss<ref name="chinfo"/>}}
[[File:USS Missouri Bell.jpg|thumb|The [[Ship's bell|bell]] of the ''Missouri'' in the [[Missouri State Museum]], May 2024]]
''Missouri'' returned to be part of the [[United States Navy reserve fleet]] at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, [[Bremerton, Washington]], until 12 January 1995, when she was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]]. She remained in Bremerton, but was not open to tourists as she had been from 1957 to 1984. In spite of attempts by citizens' groups to keep her in Bremerton and be re-opened as a tourist site, the US Navy wanted to pair a symbol of the end of World War II with one representing (for the United States) its beginning.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local/letting-go-of-the-mighty-mo-ep-422079747-358614641.html |title=Letting Go of the Mighty Mo |newspaper=[[Kitsap Sun]] |date=4 May 2008 |last=Friedrich |first=Ed |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=9 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509134232/http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local/letting-go-of-the-mighty-mo-ep-422079747-358614641.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 4 May 1998, Secretary of the Navy [[John H. Dalton]] signed the donation contract that transferred her to the USS ''Missouri'' Memorial Association (MMA) of [[Honolulu]], Hawaii,<ref name="P&G"/> a [[501(c)(3) non-profit organization]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carr |first=Michael A. |date=2013-05-09 |title=Uss Missouri Memorial Association Inc - Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/990310903 |access-date=12 November 2022 |website=ProPublica}}</ref> She was towed by ''[[Sea Victory]]'' from Bremerton on 23 May to [[Astoria, Oregon]], where she sat in [[fresh water]] at the mouth of the [[Columbia River]] to kill and drop the saltwater [[barnacle]]s and [[sea grass]]es that had grown on her [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] in Bremerton,<ref name="P&G"/> then towed across the eastern Pacific, and docked at [[Ford Island, Pearl Harbor]] on 22 June, {{convert|500|yd|m|abbr=on}} from the [[USS Arizona Memorial|''Arizona'' Memorial]].<ref name="chinfo"/> Less than a year later, on 29 January 1999, ''Missouri'' was opened as a museum operated by the MMA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/hi/hawaii/community/2022/01/17/battleship-missouri-memorial-anniversary-free-day|title=Free admission to the Battleship Missouri Memorial on Jan. 29 |last=Yamanaka |first=Sarah |publisher=Spectrum News |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |date=18 January 2022|access-date=13 June 2022}}</ref>

[[File:USS Missouri watching over USS Arizona - Pearl Harbor.jpg|thumb|left|''Missouri'' facing the sunken ''Arizona'', symbols of the beginning and the end of WWII for the United States]]

Originally, the decision to move ''Missouri'' to Pearl Harbor was met with some resistance. The [[National Park Service]] expressed concern that the battleship, whose name has become synonymous with the end of World War II, would overshadow the battleship {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|2}}, whose dramatic explosion and subsequent sinking on 7 December 1941 has since become synonymous with the attack on Pearl Harbor. To help guard against this impression ''Missouri'' was placed well back from and facing the ''Arizona'' Memorial, so that those participating in military ceremonies on ''Missouri''{{'}}s aft decks would not have sight of the ''Arizona'' Memorial. The decision to have ''Missouri''{{'}}s bow face the ''Arizona'' Memorial was intended to convey that ''Missouri'' watches over the remains of ''Arizona'' so that those interred within ''Arizona''{{'}}s hull may rest in peace.<ref name="iffy">{{cite news |title=Will "Mighty Mo" be too much? |url=http://starbulletin.com/97/10/15/news/story3.html |first=Gregg K. |last=Kakesako |date=15 October 1997 |newspaper=[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]] |access-date=22 December 2006 |archive-date=18 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118225843/http://starbulletin.com/97/10/15/news/story3.html  }}</ref>

''Missouri'' was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on 14 May 1971 for hosting the signing of the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|instrument of Japanese surrender]] that ended World War II.<ref name="iffy"/> She is not eligible for designation as a [[National Historic Landmark]] because she was extensively modernized in the years following the surrender.<ref name = nps1>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/butowsky1/missouri.htm |title=USS Missouri|publisher=nps.gov|date=25 August 2000|access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref>

On 14 October 2009, ''Missouri'' was moved from her berthing station on Battleship Row to a [[drydock]] at the [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard]] to undergo a three-month overhaul. The work, priced at $18&nbsp;million, included installing a new anti-corrosion system, repainting the hull, and upgrading the internal mechanisms. Drydock workers reported that the ship was leaking at some points on the starboard side.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Oct/15/ln/hawaii910150350.html |title=The Mighty Move |date=15 October 2009 |newspaper=[[The Honolulu Advertiser]] |first=Dan |last=Nakaso |access-date=13 August 2012}}</ref> The repairs were completed the first week of January 2010 and the ship was returned to her berthing station on Battleship Row on 7 January 2010. The ship's grand reopening occurred on 30 January.<ref>{{cite news |title=Battleship Returns To Pearl Harbor |date=4 January 2010 |newspaper=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> In 2018 a $3.5 million project was completed to restore and preserve the superstructure. This included the lower navigation bridge on level four which includes the chart house, the captain's at-sea cabin, pilot house and conning tower and the open bridge on level five.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://ussmissouri.org/press/press-releases/mighty-mo-superstructure-unveiled |title="Mighty Mo" Superstructure Unveiled |publisher=Battleship Missouri Memorial |date=February 26, 2018 |access-date=May 16, 2022}}</ref>

== Awards ==
''Missouri'' earned three [[battle star]]s for World War&nbsp;II service, five for Korean War service and further three for Gulf War service. She has also earned the following awards:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-03-13 |title=Missouri Ribbon Bar |url=http://www.ussmissouri.com/missouri_ribbon_bar.htm |access-date=2023-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040313194351/http://www.ussmissouri.com/missouri_ribbon_bar.htm |archive-date=13 March 2004 }}</ref>
{|style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Combat Action Ribbon.svg|width=106}}{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Battle Effectiveness Award ribbon, 4th award.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=China Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=5|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Southwest Asia Service Medal ribbon (1991-2016).svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation (Korea).svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|}
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; margin-bottom: -1px;"
|-
!1st row
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"|[[Combat Action Ribbon]]
| colspan="1" style="text-align:center;"|[[Navy Unit Commendation]]
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; margin-bottom: -1px;"
|-
!2nd row
|[[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]
|[[Navy "E" Ribbon]] with Wreathed [[Battle E device]]
|[[China Service Medal]]
|-
!3rd row
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with three [[Service star|campaign stars]]
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
!4th row
|[[Navy Occupation Service Medal]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] with service star
|[[Korean Service Medal]] with silver service star (5 campaigns)
|-
!5th row
|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
|[[Southwest Asia Service Medal]] with two campaign stars
|[[Sea Service Deployment Ribbon]] with two service stars
|-
!6th row
|[[Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation]]
|[[United Nations Service Medal]]
|[[Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)|Liberation of Kuwait Medal]]
|}

==Appearances in popular culture==
<!-- ============================== ** The subject of this article has appeared in popular cultural contexts such as films, video games, novels, strip cartoons, and the like. These are mostly trivial mentions, and listing them adds no value to the encyclopedic treatment of the subject.

Before adding items to this section, please read [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Content guide#Popular culture]]. Additions that appear to be insignificant and/or are not attributed to a reliable source WILL be removed.

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[[Cher]] asked to film her 1989 music video of her song "[[If I Could Turn Back Time]]" aboard a US Navy ship and the Navy's Office of information in Washington approved. The Navy intended to have it filmed aboard ''New Jersey'' because ''Missouri'' would be at sea at the planned time. ''Missouri''{{'}}s information officer told the producer: "We're the most historic battleship in the world. This is where World War II ended. You want to do it on here."{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=294–295}} Cher changed her schedule so that it could be filmed aboard ''Missouri''. The performance was filmed over the [[4th of July]] weekend. "The production people did a spectacular job of rigging the ship with lights; The battleship became a dramatic stage for the...video."{{sfn|Stillwell|p=294}} Her performance was racier than expected with her wearing a very revealing costume and straddling one of the 16-inch guns during a part of the performance.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=294-295}} The video was mostly well received, especially by the crew, but the Navy received some complaints. Columnist [[Jack Anderson (columnist)|Jack Anderson]] wrote "If battleships could blush, the USS ''Missouri'' would be bright red".{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=294-295}} Afterwards, ''Missouri''{{'}}s captain directed that the song be played when the ship was conducting underway replenishments with other ships.{{sfn|Stillwell|p=295}}

The ship was central to the plot of the 1992 film ''[[Under Siege]]'' (many of the on-ship scenes were shot aboard the similar but older battleship {{USS|Alabama|BB-60|6}}). The ship was also prominently featured in the 2012 sci-fi action film [[Battleship (film)|''Battleship'']]. As ''Missouri'' has not moved under her own power since 1992, shots of the ship at sea were obtained with the help of three tugboats.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/05/21/battleship_movie_and_the_u_s_s_missouri_is_the_u_s_s_missouri_really_still_seaworthy_.html |title=Fact-Checking Battleship: Could We Really Revive the "Mighty Mo"? |magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |first=Forest |last=Wickman |date=21 May 2012 |access-date=23 February 2015}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of broadsides of major World War II ships]]
* [[List of museum ships]]
* [[United States Navy Memorial#Other Navy memorials|U.S. Navy memorials]]
* [[U.S. Navy Museum#See also|U.S. Navy museums]] (and other battleship museums)

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|20em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
|last=Butler
|first=John 
|title=Strike Able-Peter: The Stranding and Salvage of the USS ''Missouri'' 
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|year=1995
|isbn=1-55750-094-0
|ref={{sfnref|Butler}}
}}
*{{cite book |last1=Draminski |first1=Stefan |title=The Battleship USS ''Iowa''|publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, UK|year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4728-2729-6|ref={{sfnref|Draminski}}}}
* {{cite book
|last=Friedman
|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Friedman
|title=U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History
|publisher= Naval Institute Press
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|year=1985
|isbn= 0-87021-715-1
|ref={{sfnRef|Friedman 1985}}
}}
* {{cite book|author1-last= Friedman|author1-first= Norman|editor1-last= Chesneau|editor1-first= Roger|year= 1980|chapter=United States of America|pages=86–166|title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|location= New York|publisher= Mayflower Books |isbn = 0-8317-0303-2|ref= {{sfnRef|Friedman 1980}}|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book
|last=Kaplan
|first=Philip
|date=2004
|title=Battleship
|location=London
|publisher=Aurum Press
|isbn=1-85410-902-2
| ref = {{sfnRef|Kaplan}}
}}
* {{cite DANFS
| url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/missouri-iii.html| title=Missouri III (BB-63) 1944–1995| publisher= US Navy History and Heritage Command|date=24 June 2019| access-date=3 August 2022
| ref = {{sfnRef|DANFS}}
}}
* {{cite book
|date=1946
|title=Man of War: Log of the United States Heavy Cruiser ''Louisville''
|publisher=The Dunlap Printing Co.
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Polmar
|first=Norman
|author-link=Norman Polmar 
|date=2001
|title=The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|isbn=1-55750-656-6
| ref = {{sfnRef|Polmar}}
}}
* {{cite book |title=Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |first=Jürgen |last=Rohwer|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2005|isbn=1-59114-119-2 |edition=3rd rev.|ref= {{sfnRef|Rohwer}}
}}
* {{cite book 
|last= Sharpe 
|first= Richard 
|date= 1991 
|title= Jane's Fighting Ships 1991–92 
|publisher= Bulter & Tanner 
|location= London 
|isbn= 0-7106-0960-4 
|url= https://archive.org/details/janesfightingshi00rich }}
* {{cite book
|last=Stillwell
|first=Paul
|title=Battleship ''Missouri'': An Illustrated History
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|year=1996
|isbn=1-55750-780-5
|ref={{sfnref|Stillwell}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Sumrall
|first=Robert F.
|year=1988
|title=''Iowa'' Class Battleships: Their Design, Weapons, and Equipment
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|location=Annapolis, Maryland
|isbn=0-87021-298-2|ref={{sfnref|Sumrall}}
}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book
|last1=Garzke
|first1=William H.
|first2=Robert O.
|last2=Dulin
|title=Battleships: United States Battleships in World War II
|location=Annapolis
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|year=1976
|isbn=0-87021-099-8
|name-list-style=amp
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/battleshipsunite00garz
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Muir
|first=Malcolm
|year=1987
|title=The ''Iowa'' Class Battleships
|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company
|location=New York
|isbn=0-8069-8338-8
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Newell
|first=Gordon
|title=Mighty Mo: The Biography of the Last Battleship
|publisher=Superior Publishing Company
|location=Seattle
|lccn=72-87802
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Reilly
|first=John C. Jr.
|year=1989
|title=Operational Experience of Fast Battleships: World War II, Korea, Vietnam
|publisher=Naval Historical Center
|location=Washington DC
|oclc=19547740
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Whitley
|first=M. J.|author-link=Michael J. Whitley
|title=Battleships of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia
|location=Annapolis
|publisher=Naval Institute Press
|year=1998
|isbn=1-55750-184-X
}}

== External links ==
<!--Note: the general style guide for this page is: 1) do not to add external links to this section if they already appear in the notes sections, and 2) do not add links that don't deal primarily with the specific ship that is the subject of this article. If you're not sure if link fits this page, you should probably ask first at the talk page. You don't HAVE to follow any of these suggestions, but if you don't your contribution may be declined. -->
{{Commons and category|USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS Missouri (BB-63)}}
* [https://www.ussmissouri.org/ Battleship ''Missouri'' Memorial] museum website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041009235230/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/bb63.htm Photo gallery] at Naval Historical Center
* {{HNSA|uss-missouri-bb-63}}
* {{navsource|01/63a|USS Missouri}}
* {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=BB63|title=nvr.navy.mil: USS ''Missouri''}}
* {{HAER |survey=HI-62 |id=hi0700 |title=USS ''Missouri'', Battleship Row, Ford Island, Pearl City, Honolulu County, HI |photos= |color= |dwgs=6|data=21 |cap=}}

{{Iowa class battleship}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Ford Island}}
{{1950 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri (Bb-63)}}
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Battleship museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War battleships of the United States]]
[[Category:Existing battleships]]
[[Category:Gulf War ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Iowa-class battleships]]
[[Category:Korean War battleships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1950]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Military history of Japan during World War II]]
[[Category:Museum ships in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1998]]
[[Category:Museums in Honolulu]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu]]
[[Category:Naval museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Surrender of Japan]]
[[Category:World War II battleships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II museums in Hawaii]]
[[Category:World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii]]
[[Category:World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument]]