The battleship was chosen to be the stage for the signing of Japan’s Formal Instrument of Surrender to the Allied Powers in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, ending World War II. The formidable appearance of the USS Missouri did much to project an image of strength and invincibility. In 1944, the warship’s armament consisted of nine 16-inch guns in three triple turrets with a range of 23 miles, twenty five-inch guns in 10 twin mounts with a range of nine miles, 80 40mm guns in twenty quad mounts, and 49 20mm guns in single mounts. The Iowa-Class battleship has a length of 887 feet, a beam of 108 feet, a displacement of 45,000 tons (unloaded) and a maximum speed of 33 knots. Navy and the second battleship to bear the name Missouri. Launched January 29, 1944, at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, the "Mighty Mo" is the last battleship commissioned by the U.S. She is moored beside the memorial to those lost on the USS Arizona when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor - together the two represent the beginning and the end of the war. After a controversial decision-making process, in 1998 the Missouri was towed to Pearl Harbor, where she serves to commemorate the Japanese surrender. In 1992, she was decommissioned for the second time, eventually entering the Navy's ship donation program. In 1984, she was towed to the Long Beach (California) Naval Yard, renovated and fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles, and in 1986 reactivated. Moored at Bremerton for 30 years, she was that city's number one tourist attraction. She arrived in Seattle in September 1954, and was given the grand welcome. This occurred in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, ending the war. A formidable vessel with numerous guns mounted in gun turrets, "Mighty Mo" saw action on the Eastern Front and at the end of the war was chosen as the stage for the signing of Japan's formal surrender to the Allied Powers. She was launched in 1944 toward the end of World War II at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York. The USS Missouri (BB-63), moored at Bremerton's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from 1954 to 1984, was the last battleship commissioned by the United States Navy and the second battleship to bear the name Missouri.
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