Missouri (BB 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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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 ' • •■■ ' «

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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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In 1944, the newspapers heralded the launching of the battleship Mis- souri with headlines such as, World ' s Greatest Warship Is Launched In Brooklyn. In 1986, the newly recommissioned dreadnought was greeted with the headline, Mighty Mo Rules The Waves Again. From the moment she was launched, the history of the USS Missouri has been a drama of adventure and tri- umph. No Hollywood moviemaker could have come up with a better script. January 29, 1944 — the USS Missou- ri is launched. Harry S. Truman, the junior Senator from the State of Mis- souri, was the main speaker. He predict- ed in his speech that this great warship would sail victoriously into Tokyo Bay. At the conclusion of his speech that cold, gray morning, his daughter, Mar- garet, took a magnum of Missouri champagne and gripping it like a base- ball bat gave a mighty bash against the ship. The bottle broke but nothing else happened. It seemed to have a mind of its own and was not in the mood for launch- ing, Margaret Truman related. Since a great deal of the superstruc- ture was in place, it was the heaviest ship ever launched at that time. Playfully, the college student put her hand on the bow and gave the ship a shove. Miraculously, at that moment, the ship began to slide down the ways. Just as she struck the water, the sun came out for the first time that day. A perfect ending for the first scene in this real-life drama. It had been only three years from the time the keel was laid at the New York Naval Shipyard. This was to be the last battleship built by the United States, but her destiny called her to be more than a warship. At the ship ' s first commissioning, June 11, 1944, James V. Forrestal, the Secretary of the Navy, sent the battle- wagon into action with these simple, but prophetic words, Good luck, good hunting, God bless you and may you come back soon. November 10, 1944 — USS Missouri was underway for the Pacific. Her last port in the United States was San Fran- cisco, a city that would be selected as the ship ' s home port in the ' 80s. USS Missouri reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet on Christmas Eve, 1944. To the soldiers, sailors and Ma- rines throughout the Pacific theater of war, this was more than a battlewagon. This was Santa Claus and a taste of home. Every available space on the ship was crammed with mailbags bringing Christmas greetings and packages from loved ones back in the U.S.A. What followed is recorded in the rib- bons now painted on her superstruc- ture. She received three battle stars. The first for the Iwo Jima Operations, the second for Okinawa Sunto Oper- ations and the third for Third Fleet Op- erations against Japan. The Iwo Jima Operations included raids against Honshu and the Nansei Shore as well as the final assault and occupation of Iwo Jima in February and March 1945. In March through June 1945, Missou- ri took part in the 5th and 3rd fleet raids in support of the Okinawa Sunto Operation and then followed this with the 3rd Fleet Operations against the mainland of Japan in July and August. September 2, 1945 — Harry S. Tru- man, former junior Senator from Mis- souri, is now President of the United States. The entire world has their at- tention focused on the deck of USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. Just as the junior Senator, then Vice President, moved with resolute dignity and grace into the highest office in the The Christening Bottle, top left, was used by Margaret Truman, sponsor for USS Missouri, at left, during the launching ceremony as her father, Harry S. Truman, a Missouri senator, witnesses the smashing event.