On which battleship did Japan formally sign its World War II surrender?

Japan formally signed its World War II surrender aboard USS Missouri. The ceremony took place in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, bringing the war to its official conclusion.

The American battleship had entered service in 1944 and was part of the United States Third Fleet. General Douglas MacArthur presided as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, while Japanese representatives signed on behalf of the emperor, the government, and Imperial General Headquarters.

The ship’s deck also displayed a historic American flag associated with Commodore Matthew Perry’s 1853–1854 expedition to Japan. This flag is often mistaken for the one flown over the White House during the attack on Pearl Harbor. USS Missouri later became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, where a replica surrender deck marks the ceremony’s location.