USS Missouri, host of Japan’s 1945 surrender, had the hull classification number BB-63.
The “BB” designation identified Missouri as a battleship, while “63” was its hull number in the U.S. Navy. Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the United States and belonged to the Iowa class, alongside USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, and USS Wisconsin.
The ship entered service in June 1944 and operated in the Pacific during the final phase of World War II. Its most famous moment came on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on its deck in Tokyo Bay.
The number is useful for distinguishing Missouri from other famous Iowa-class battleships. USS Iowa was BB-61, USS New Jersey was BB-62, and USS Wisconsin was BB-64. After later service in the Korean War and the Gulf War, Missouri became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor.