Which battleship hosted Japan’s formal surrender ceremony in World War II?

USS Missouri hosted Japan’s formal surrender ceremony in World War II.

The ceremony took place on the battleship’s deck in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. Missouri was an Iowa-class battleship commissioned by the United States Navy in 1944 and was one of the largest and most modern American warships of the war.

General Douglas MacArthur opened the ceremony shortly after 9 a.m. Japanese representatives, followed by Allied delegates, signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender there. The ship was chosen partly because it was already operating with the U.S. Third Fleet near Japan.

Missouri is sometimes confused with other famous American battleships, especially USS Iowa and USS New Jersey, because all three served in the Pacific and belonged to the Iowa class. Missouri later became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.