USS Missouri (BB-63) Battleship (1944)
The Missouri and her sister battleships saw an equal amount of combat action even after the end of World War 2.
USS Missouri Specifications
Make no mistake, the USS Missouri was a huge surface vessel. She maintained a running length of 887.2 feet with a beam (width) of 108.2 feet. Her draught (height) was listed at 28.9 feet. The typical World War 2 crew complement consisted of 2,700 personnel made up of officers and sailors of the United States Navy and United States Marines. In 1984, this complement was reduced to 1,851 personnel. She displaced at 45,000 Standard tons but could balloon up to 58,000 tons on a full maximum sea load.
Missouri Power
Power was supplied from 8 x Babcock & Wilcox Boiler systems delivering energy to General Electric geared turbines and 4 x screws. This supplied the vessel with speeds up to 31 knots with a 35 knot maximum possible in perfect conditions. Range totaled 14,890 miles of sea terrain, allowing her to be called to service in far off places around the world.
Missouri Hull
The hull of the USS Missouri was conventional for her time, made slim at the forecastle with a wide girth amidships and a tapered, oblong stern. Much of her height actually sat under the waterline. Her deck was covered over in a special teak wood and appropriately sealed, further protected by 7.5 inches of armor. Her bow showcased a noticeable upward angle to help in cutting through rough waters. Her belt was protected by 12.1 inches of armor. Anchors and their giant spool control systems were held well aft, ahead of the forward turrets. The hull alone maintained six of the vessels eighteen total floors (when including the superstructure). The superstructure was mostly contained at amidships, nestled in between the three main gun turrets, and held twelve floors consisting of the important operational suites as well as the two funnels. The funnels extracted the necessary exhaust smoke from the four turbines buried in the aft portions of the hull. These funnels were fed by four large vents from each turbine. The turbines were arranged in a staggered formation to keep the vessels width in check and powered four massive propellers held under the stern. The outermost propellers were some distance ahead of the inner most pair. A rudder was situated at the base of the stern, aft of the propellers. A large lattice-type antenna array completed the Missouri's tall, imposing appearance.
The forward gun batteries consisted of two turrets with angular faces and flat tops for a low profile. The second turret overlooked the first turret to allow for firing of the two systems against forward placed targets. Each turret held three main guns. The third turret was directly aft of the superstructure and could be called into play if the target was within its arc of fire. Obviously, a broadside approach against a target was the only way the Missouri could bring all three gun batteries to bear on a single target. While limiting in scope, this was the conventional design method for most warships up to this time.
Life at Sea
In all, the battleship was intended from the beginning to be something of a floating island (in much the same way that aircraft carriers serve sailors today), away from land for months at a time. Thusly, the crew needed facilities to maintain healthy "normal" lives away from home. Services such as dental care, sleeping berths, a post office, accounting office, career counseling all added to the benefit of a serving sailor. US Marines added security police detail aboard the Missouri but maintained separate quarters.
The Decks
The main deck held the main gun battery of turret Number 1, the captain's cabin and gig, main battery turret Number 3, the boat room, a 40' utility boat, the "Officer's Country", the Executive Officer's Stateroom and the ward room. The flight deck was added only after World War 2, when the Missouri's twin aft-mounted seaplane launch rails were removed, and was designed to accept various helicopters temporarily (there was no onboard hangar for storage).
The second deck (this below the main deck) housed the crew's mess hall, library, galley and berths. Additionally, this floor was home to the Chief Petty Officer's mess and quarters, the Master-at-Arms office, the USMC "War Room" and small arms lockers, the bread room and bakery, counselor's office, machine shop, supply office, disbursing office, Command Master Chief's office, the post office, dental facilities, sub-floors of turrets Number 1 and 2, a computer learning center (obviously added only later) and the Warrant Officer stateroom. A small arms lockers contained rifles and pistols for onboard security personnel. Fire control maintained the needed equipment and oxygen stores for fighting onboard fires.
The Superstructure
The superstructure consisted of five major levels of note. This began with Level 01 above the main deck (increasing in number the high up one goes). Level 01 held the captain's cabin and several of the 5" gun mounts. Level 02 was home to the USMC mount and officer staterooms. Level 03 became known as the "Tomahawk Deck" after the installation of said missile systems in 1984. The flag bridge and signal shelter were also found here. Level 04 held the binnacle/compass, navigation bridge and the captain's at-sea cabin (the captain was given at least three cabins across the Missouri, some "loaned" out to important political or military figures who happen to be cruising with the Missouri crew. President Harry Truman toured with the Missouri crew on several occasions, giving rise to what became known as the "Truman Line" in the enlisted man's mess hall (the President insisted on eating with the crew and eating the food they ate). Level 05 was home to the second battery director, the CIWS mountings and came to be known as the "flying bridge". Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
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Specifications for the
USS Missouri (BB-63)
Battleship
Country of Origin: United States
Initial Year of Service: 1944
Operators: United States
Crew: 2,700
Length: 887ft (270.36m)
Beam: 108ft (32.92m)
Draught: 38ft (11.58m)
Displacement: 57,450tons
Machinery: 4 x shafts powered by geared steam turbines of 212,000 shaft horsepower.
Surface Speed: 28kts (32mph)
Range: 14,890miles (23,963km)
Armament:
1943:
9 x 16" Mark 7 main guns in triple mountings across three turrets, two forward and one aft.
12 x 5" Mark 12 DP guns
80 x 40mm anti-aircraft guns
49 x 20mm anti-aircraft guns
1984:
9 x 16" Mark 7 main guns in triple mountings across three turrets, two forward and one aft.
12 x 5" Mark 12 DB guns
8 x Quadruple Tomahawk surface-to-surface cruise missile launchers (32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles)
4 x Quadruple Harpoon surface-to-surface anti-ship missle launchers (16 x RGM-84 Harpoon missiles)
4 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS
8 x Mark 36 SRBOC Super Rapid Bloom chaff rocket launchers
Air Arm:
ORIGINAL: 2 x Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk floatplane (recoverable).
LATER: 1 x Helicopter on stern helipad
Ship Class: Iowa-class
Number-in-Class: 4
Ships-in-Class: USS Iowa (BB-61); USS New Jersey (BB-62); USS Missouri (BB-63); USS Wisconsin (BB-64)
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