USS Missouri, where Japan signed its 1945 surrender, was an Iowa-class battleship.
Commissioned in June 1944, Missouri was the last battleship completed by the United States Navy. It was the fourth ship of the Iowa class, a group of fast battleships designed to operate with aircraft carriers and protect the fleet while carrying heavy guns and substantial armor.
Missouri carried nine 16-inch guns and could reach more than 30 knots. Her speed was important because the Iowa-class ships were built to keep pace with fast carrier task forces. The class also included USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, USS Wisconsin, and USS Illinois, although Illinois was never completed.
Missouri became historically famous when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on her deck in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. She later served in the Korean War and was modernized before returning to service in 1984. Today she is preserved at Pearl Harbor, where the surrender deck remains a major historical site.