What type of warship was USS Missouri when it hosted Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony?

USS Missouri was an Iowa-class battleship when it hosted Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony.

The Iowa class was the United States Navy’s last completed class of battleships. The ships combined heavy armor and 16-inch main guns with unusually high speed, allowing them to operate alongside fast aircraft-carrier task forces.

Missouri, designated BB-63, was the fourth ship of the Iowa class. She was launched in January 1944 and commissioned on 11 June 1944. Her World War II service included operations in the Pacific before she hosted the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.

The ship’s class is sometimes confused with the vessel’s role in the ceremony. Missouri was not an aircraft carrier or transport; it was a heavily armed battleship. Its large weather deck provided the public setting for the signing on 2 September 1945.