USS Missouri

1980s rebuild:

* 9 x 16 in/50 cal guns
* 12 x 5 in/38 cal guns
* 32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles
* 16 x RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-ship missiles
* 4 x 20mm/76 cal Phalanx CIWS

> “It is my earnest hope, and 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.” - General Douglas MacArthur, during the Surrender of Japan, aboard the *Missouri*
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The *USS Missouri* (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship built for the United States Navy. She was the final battleship commissioned into the United States Navy, and is best remembered as the site where the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II.

The *Missouri* was ordered in 1940. Though her sister, *Wisconsin*, was laid down after her, delays in her construction caused her to be commissioned 2 months after *Wisconsin*, making her the last battleship to be commissioned by the United States. She served entirely in the Pacific theater in WWII, participating in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, escorted American aircraft carriers, and shelled the Japanese home islands. When the Japanese surrendered, the surrender documents were signed on the *Missouri*. After the war, she continued to serve, and was the first of her class to join the Korean War in 1950. She served two tours in Korea. She was decommissioned in 1955 and put into the reserve fleet. She remained in the reserve fleet for almost thirty years before being reactivated in the 1980s as part of the 600 ship Navy program. She saw action in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, providing fire support from her guns and cruise missiles for coalition forces.

In late 1991, before she could be decommissioned, the Galactic Republic discovered Earth and made an alliance with many countries of Earth ahead of a Separatist invasion. *Missouri* was retained in the fleet, and took part in the Battle of Vladivostok. Following the Terran campaign, she remained in the fleet until the end of the Clone Wars, finally being decommissioned on December 1, 1994. By this point, she had earned 12 battle stars for her service in WWII, the Korean War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Clone Wars.

*Missouri* was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1995, and three years later, was donated as a museum in Pearl Harbor. She was maintained at a combat ready state in case she was needed again. In 2016, as the Terran Alliance prepared for an attack by the Galactic Empire, *Missouri* was reinstated to the Naval Vessel Register and recommissioned. She provided gunfire support to American forces during the Battle of Seattle. Following Operation Nightcloak, she continued to serve in the Pacific Fleet. She was the last of the Iowa class to remain in service, being decommissioned for the last time at October 30, 2020, after a total of 24.5 years or service. After her decommissioning, she returned to her life as a museum ship in Pearl Harbor.

## Clone Wars

In October, 1991, the Galactic Republic discovered Earth, making first contact with the United States and soon developing an alliance with about three quarters of the nations of Earth. When the Republic informed the world that the Separatists were looking for them with the intention to invade, all plans to retire the *Missouri* were put on hold.

*Missouri* began various training exercises as she prepared for action in the upcoming Separatist invasion. In the midst of these exercises, the *Missouri* traveled to Pearl Harbor on December 7 for the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In January, *Missouri*'s sister *New Jersey* joined her on duty in the Pacific. The two battleships were forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan ahead of the Separatist invasion.

### Battle of Vladivostok

On January 9, 1992, the Separatist arrived in the Terran System and began their attack on Earth. After defeating a protective Republic task force, the Separatists landed forces at 9 different locations across Earth. One of those locations was Vladivostok in the Soviet Union.

When word same in that Vladivostok was under attack, *Missouri* sortied from Yokosuka along with *New Jersey* and their escorts. They arrived off the coast of Vladivostok during the second day of battle.

Upon arrival off the coast of Vladivostok, the *Missouri* opened the bombardment with a full broadside from her sixteen inch guns, subsequently shifting to firing her guns one by one in rotation. Throughout the battle, the *Missouri* focused her fire on droid armored units behind the droid lines to prevent them from reinforcing the front lines. During the bombardment, when she got very close to the shore, a droid tank attempted to fire at her. The bolt struck her side, causing no damage at all.

By the time the battle was over, the *Missouri* had fired a total of 881 shells from her 16 inch guns, 666 five inch shells, and 10 Tomahawk cruise missiles. She also dispatched some of her medical crew over to her sister *New Jersey* after the *New Jersey* took a hit from a proton torpedo.

#### Rest of the Clone Wars

Following the Terran campaign, *Missouri* remained off the coast of Vladivostok for two days providing humanitarian support before returning to Yokosuka. *Missouri* remained forward deployed in Yokosuka for two months before returning to Long Beach, where she entered a short 3 month refit before moving to her new homeport at San Diego.

In July, *Missouri* took part in the RIMPAC war exercise. While her sister *New Jersey* escorted the carrier forces, *Missouri* took part in amphibious landing exercises during the war games, performing exceptionally well in concert with landing forces. Following the exercise, *Missouri* sailed on a goodwill visit to China and Japan. During the visits, in August, *Missouri* was sent on a brief deployment to Korea in response to terrorist attacks by North Korean loyalists, trying to prevent a planned reunification of North and South Korea. She cruised off the coast of North Korea for three months as a deterrence, and on 4 occasions shelled insurgent positions ashore. During the course of her deployment, she fired 73 rounds from her main guns, as well as three Tomahawk cruise missiles. A few weeks after the official reunification of the countries following the signing of the Treaty of Seoul, *Missouri* returned to the United States.

In mid 1993, *Missouri* was considered to be sent to the Mediterranean to take part in Operation Deny Flight, but it was decided to send *Wisconsin* instead. However, only months later, in early September, as Terran Alliance involvement in the Somali Civil War was increasing, the Navy decided to send the *Missouri* to assist in UN operations. She arrived off the coast of Somalia on September 25. She began patrolling up and down the coast, shelling designated targets ashore when called upon.

When the Battle of Mogadishu began, *Missouri* was just 15 miles north of Mogadishu. The ship immediately headed south to get into better position to assist, eventually stopping about 7 miles from the site of the fighting. The ship launched Pioneer drones to monitor the fight so she could provide supporting fire. Throughout the course of the battle, *Missouri* helped to rely intelligence to the other rescue forces, and occasionally fired a shell at known enemy positions, mostly firing her 5 inch guns, but occasionally firing her main guns when it could be confirmed safe. Ultimately, *Missouri*'s fire took a lot of pressure off the trapped special ops forces and allowed rescue forces to reach them. As the rescue convoy escaped, *Missouri* continued to provide supporting fire. She fired the last shot of the battle at 0624 local time when she fired a 16 inch shell at Somali insurgents attempting to attack clones that were supporting the Alliance forces. By the end of the battle, she had fired five 16 inch shells and 29 5 inch shells.

*Missouri* remained off the coast of Mogadishu for a straight week after the battle, keeping her guns trained on the city. The presence of the battleship greatly intimidated local resistance forces, enabling greater success for Alliance forces. During that week, she fired two more 16 inch shells and 30 more 5 inch shells at known enemy positions.

*Missouri's* tour off Somalia lasted until early March, 1994, when she finally left to return home to San Diego, reaching the city by the end of the month.

In August, *Missouri* was again sent to the Middle East. She spent three months in the Persian Gulf serving as part of peacekeeping force against terrorists and insurgents, as well as escorting oil tankers to protect them from pirates. She returned to the United States from her deployment in late November, and on December 1, 1994, she was decommissioned at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

## Museum Ship

After the *Missouri* was decommissioned, she was assigned to the reserve fleet at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She remained in the reserve fleet for about a year until she was removed from the Naval Vessel Register. She remained in Bremerton following this, but was not open to the public. Despite civilian efforts to have her preserved as a tourist site in Bremerton, the Navy wanted to pair the *Missouri*, a symbol of WWII's end, with a symbol of it's beginning.

In 1998, then Secretary of the Navy John Dalton signed a donation contract that transferred her to the USS Missouri Memorial Association in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was towed from Bremerton to Astoria, Oregon, where she sat in fresh water to kill barnacles that had grown on her hull. Since the *Iowa*s had been maintained very well during their time in the reserve fleet, the *Missouri* was able to make the trip to Hawaii under her own power. Upon arrival at Oahu, she was docked at Ford Island, just 500 yards from the *Arizona* Memorial. Only months later, on January 29, 1999, *Missouri* was officially opened as a museum.

The move was initially met with some resistance, as some feared that *Missouri*'s presence would overshadow the *Arizona*. To address the concern, she was positioned with her bow facing the *Arizona*, so that events on her stern would not be visible from the memorial. The placement, with *Missouri*'s bow and forward guns pointing towards the *Arizona*, was intended to convey that *Missouri* watches over and protects the *Arizona* and the men resting inside her.

During her time as a museum ship, she would spend one month a year in dry dock, undergoing maintenance to make sure she remained in good shape and ready for recall to service, as laws during the Intergalactic Cold War mandated. While these maintenance periods usually lasted only a month, and often took place in the middle of the year, in 2009, on October 9, *Missouri* was moved to a dry dock in Pearl Harbor for a three month overhaul. The three month overhaul saw the installation of a new anti-corrosion system, repainting the ship, and updating some of her systems and internal mechanisms. The work also saw extensive work to plug some leaks that had sprung up on her starboard side. She was returned to her spot at Ford Island on January 7, 2010, and reopened on January 30.

In 2011-2012, *Missouri* was the site of filming for the movie *Battleship*. While most of the filming took place at her berth, some of the filming was taken place at sea. As her engines were not fully ready to be used, shots at sea were made using tugboats.

In 2013, the Terran Alliance declared war on the Empire and entered the Galactic Civil War. In order to prepare for a possible Imperial attack, the regular maintenance on the *Iowa* class was improved, to cut down on the necessary time to actually return the class to service.

## Galactic Civil War

### Recommissioning

In early 2016, the Terran Alliance attacked Coruscant. Believing an Imperial attack on Earth was in the works following the attack, the United States decided to reactivate the *Missouri* and *Wisconsin* just in case, and also prepared to reactivate their other two sisters if necessary.

*Missouri* entered dry dock on January 25. With crews working at maximum efficiency, the work was completed in just under a month, and *Missouri* was recommissioned on February 25, 2016. After her recommissioning, she conducted training exercises to prepare for combat, which lasted for almost two weeks. After the training exercises, she sailed for the West Coast, arriving in Bremerton on March 13.

### Battle of Seattle

On March 18, the Empire launched Operation Nightcloak, their attack on Earth. As soon as the Empire arrived in the system, *Missouri* sortied from Bremerton, ready to responds to attacks on the West Coast.

Within hours of the start of the attack, Imperial forces landed outside Seattle. Pacific Fleet Command ordered *Missouri* and her escorts to provide support to the forces defending Seattle.

The *Missouri* arrived on station three hours into the battle, and immediately began shelling Imperial forces ashore. *Missouri* focused her fire on Imperial armored units, stormtroopers behind enemy lines, and Imperial supplies. A Pioneer drone, launched from the ship, provided aerial reconnaissance for the ship to target its guns. The *Missouri* averaged one 16 inch round every 6 to 7 seconds during her bombardments. She moved stations several times, moving to new spots to allow her to bombard other areas behind Imperial lines.

Three hours after her arrival onto the battlefield, *Missouri* was attacked by two TIE bombers and four TIE fighters. Shoulder launched SAMs launched by her crew destroyed a TIE fighter and a TIE bomber, and her CIWS batteries destroyed the remaining bomber and two TIE fighters. The final TIE fighter was shot down by an SM-2 missile from the cruiser *USS Princeton*. *Missouri* was hit six times by laser fire from the TIE fighters, but took no damage whatsoever, although one crewmember was blown overboard by the shock wave from the explosion caused by one of the bolts. That crewmember was fished from the water within minutes and returned to his battlestation.

By midnight, the Imperial forces had been all but destroyed. *Missouri* fired the last shot of the battle at two minutes past midnight, destroying the last two AT-ATs and convincing the last of the Imperial forces to surrender. By the end of the battle, *Missouri* had fired 743 16 inch shells, 422 5 inch shells, and 5 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

## Trivia

* Missouri appeared on the 2012 Sci-fi movie Battleship as she become the last resort of the US Navy and JMSDF personnel against the unknown Alien invaders.