Missouri (BB 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS Missouri (BB 63) is the fourth naval vessel to be named for the Show Me state. The first vessel named Missouri was a barque-rigged steam frigate which was launched at the New York Navy Yard in 1842. This was one of the first steam-powered warships of the United States Navy. If the engines failed, how- ever, she could spread 19,000 square feet of canvas sails. She displaced 3,200 tons and mounted two 10-inch guns and eight 8-inch guns. Missouri was hailed by the American press as the world ' s most modern war- ship. In 1843, she left Norfolk Navy Yard with all flags flying and President John Tyler on the quarterdeck. In Hampton Roads, Virginia, she maneu- vered proudly, as President Tyler watched her twenty-eight foot paddle wheels driven by her single-cylinder engine. The President disembarked and Missouri headed for the open sea. Her voyage, if all went well, would earn her a niche in naval history as the first war- ship to cross the Atlantic under steam power alone. After 19 days at sea, Missouri pad- dled smartly into the harbor at Gibral- tar. On August 26, the day after complet- ing her historic crossing, fire broke out in one of her enginerooms as a result of some turpentine spilled by a crew- member. Amid a series of gigantic explosions and the crush of falling masts, spars, and rigging, the pride of the U.S. Navy settled on the harbor floor, a scattered mass of wreckage. The second Missouri was originally a Confederate shallow-draft river iron- clad ram launched at Shreveport, Lou- isiana, April 14, 1863. She had a length of 183 feet and was 53 feet wide at the beam. She was a unit of the Confederate States Western Navy. Her principal service to the Confed- erate States of America was transport and mining details between Alexandria and Shreveport. Missouri surrendered to the Union forces June 3, 1865. She became part of the U.S. Navy, although she was never activated as a commis- sioned ship. In November 1865, she was sold for scrap. The third Missouri (BB 11) was a first class battleship launched in New- port News, Virginia, December 28, 1901. This vessel was 388 feet long and of 12,500-ton displacement. She mounted four 12-inch and sixteen 6-inch guns. Missouri was one of 16 battleships Steaming out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, in De- cember 1907. USS Missouri (BB 11) is a unit of the Great White Fleet that circumnavigated the world and returned in February 1909. comprising the Great White Fleet which sailed with colliers and auxil- iaries from Hampton Roads on an un- precedented around-the-world cruise. Conceived by President Theodore Roo- sevelt, the voyage was undertaken in 1907, as a dramatic demonstration of America ' s naval power. No cruise ap- proaching this length had ever been at- tempted by steam-powered, steel bat- tleships. The fleet, which took its name from the battleships ' dazzling white hulls, completed a voyage of 46,000 miles without a single serious breakdown. They returned to Hampton Roads, Feb- ruary 22, 1909. When the U.S. entered World War I, Missouri joined the Atlantic Fleet and operated in the Chesapeake Bay and along the eastern seaboard, training thousands of recruits. Following the Armistice, Missouri made four trips to France to pick up returning servicemen. She was decom- missioned in 1919 and sold for scrap. January 6, 1941, a new chapter began as the keel was laid for the fourth Mis- souri (BB 63) — the last battleship ever built by the United States.

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A Legacy Of Strength The First Missouri, barque- rigged steam frigate, 1842- 1843 The Second Missouri, iron- clad ram, 1863-1865 The Third USS Missouri (BB 11), 1901-1919

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Strength From The Beginning il ■ % USS Missouri (BB 63) is launched at the New York Navy Yard on January 29, 1944. JUL; r - h ' • •■■ ' «