USS MISSOURI, Batttleship Row, Ford Island, Pearl City, Honolulu County, HI

Significance: USS MISSOURI was the last battleship built by the United States. Her type dominated naval strategy and tactics until World War II when aircraft carriers supplanted battleships as the dominant capital ship fielded by navies. Though aircraft carriers came to the fore during World War II, MISSOURI, along with other battleships, played an important role in the war effort. They screened the carriers from air attack, bombarded targets on shore, and engaged enemy surface units. MISSOURI participated in several important campaigns against the Japanese during the final eighteen months of World War II. Japanese officials even signed their surrender at a ceremony held on MISSOURI's decks. MISSOURI went into action again during the Korean War where her heavy gun batteries engaged enemy installations ashore. After her Korean service, the U.S. Navy placed MISSOURI in reserve status for almost three decades. She was reactivated during the American military buildup in the 1980s and conducted attacks against Iraqi targets as part of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The U.S. Navy decommissioned her for a second time on March 31, 1992. Though designed for an era of warfare that passed even before her launch, MISSOURI served intermittently for almost fifty years and participated in three major conflicts involving U.S. forces.
Survey number: HAER HI-62
Building/structure dates: 1941-1944 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1950 Subsequent Work