Memorial is open daily from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Transfers are NOT included.

One of the most incredible battleships of the US Navy, the “Mighty Mo” served from World War II through Desert Storm. Open daily 9:00am - 5:00 pm. Check-in is from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm at the ticket office located at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum. After check-in guests ride on the open air trolley over the Ford Island Bridge to the pier. Admission includes 35-minute guided tour & choice of Acoustiguide Audio Tour or Guide 2 Go iPod Tour. Battleship Stations Guided Tour includes admission and 90-minute guided tour. No large camera bags, purses or backpacks allowed at the visitors center. Closed 1/1, 11/25 & 12/25/10.

THE "MIGHTY MO"

Iowa-class battleships were designed for speed and firepower. Four Iowa-class battleships were built during World War II including the USS Missouri, the keel of which was laid on January 6, 1941 at the New York Naval Shipyard. Its armament included the main battery of nine 16-inch guns and twelve 5-inch anti-aircraft guns.

The USS Missouri was launched on January 29, 1944 and commissioned on June 11, 1944. It was assigned to the Pacific Third Fleet and steamed into Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1944.

The Missouri was part of the force that carried out bombing raids over Tokyo and provided firepower in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During the war's final month the "Mighty Mo" served as Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's flagship for the Pacific Third Fleet.

The USS Missouri secured its place in history as the site of Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces on September 2, 1945, ending World War II. The ceremony for the signing of the Formal Instrument of Surrender was conducted by General Douglas MacArthur.

In 1955, after providing heavy artillery support for the United Nations forces in the Korean War, the Missouri was decommissioned and mothballed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

In 1986, the USS Missouri was recommissioned after undergoing an extensive modernization and refurbishment. In 1991, the Mighty Mo was deployed to the Persian Gulf where it fired its 16-inch guns and launched Tomahawk missiles against Iraqi positions during Desert Storm.

The Missouri's final operational mission occurred on December 7, 1991, when the battleship led a contingent of ships into Pearl Harbor as part of the commemoration to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack that thrust America into World War II.

In 1992, the Missouri was decommissioned for the second time. In 1995, it was removed from the Navy's ship registry, clearing the way for the battleship to be donated by the Navy for preservation as a memorial museum.

In August 1996, the Navy selected the USS Missouri Memorial Association as caretaker for the battleship and Pearl Harbor as its permanent home. On May 4, 1998, the Navy made it official, transferring the Mighty Mo's care to the Association.

INTERESTING FACTS

Designing the Missouri took 175 tons of blueprint paper. The ship was built in three years and required over 3 million man-days to complete the job.

For comparison's sake, the Missouri is 279 feet longer and 11 feet wider than the USS Arizona. The Mighty Mo is also 5 feet longer and 18 feet wider than the RMS Titanic.

Just how big is the Missouri? If you could stand the ship on end, it would be 332 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

The nine 16-inch guns are the Mighty Mo's trademark feature. Each gun barrel is 65 feet long, weighs an incredible 116 tons, and can fire a 2,700-pound shell 23 miles in 50 seconds - with pinpoint accuracy.

The Missouri was the last battleship ever built. It was also the most formidable. Along with its firepower was a thick steel armor plating that protected the hull (13.5 inches), the gun turrets (17 inches in front; 13 inches on the sides), the citadel (17 inches), and the conning tower sides (17.3 inches.)

Rates are per person including 4.712% state tax.