What type of battleship was USS Missouri, the ship used for Japan’s 1945 surrender?

USS Missouri was an Iowa-class battleship when Japan signed its surrender aboard the ship in 1945.

Missouri was commissioned into the United States Navy in June 1944 as the last battleship commissioned by the United States. The Iowa class was designed for high speed and heavy armament, allowing these ships to escort aircraft carriers and operate with fast naval task forces.

Missouri’s most famous World War II moment came on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on her deck in Tokyo Bay. The ship later served in the Korean War and was recommissioned for the Gulf War.

The ship is sometimes confused with an aircraft carrier because both types operated in major carrier fleets. Missouri was instead a battleship, armed primarily with nine 16-inch guns arranged in three turrets.