USS
IOWA
BB-61
"The Big
Stick"
battleship
Why did
the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World
War take place on USS Missouri, a battleship that had
served for less than a year in the Pacific War, and not
a lead ship of her class?
When
Task Force 58 became Task Force 38 in May 1945, USS
Missouri became Admiral Bull Halsey’s 3rd Fleet
flagship. It was in this capacity that Missouri
led the Allied armada that entered Tokyo Bay.
Numerous distinguished ships were present at the
surrender. USS
South Dakota had perhaps the most illustrious
record among the battleships, having served in the
Pacific theater since 1942. USS West Virginia had
survived Pearl Harbor. HMS Duke of York and HMS King
George V each had a German battleship to their credit
(Scharnhorst and Bismarck) and had each lost a sister to
the Japanese, in HMS Prince of Wales.
The
single most deserving ship,
USS Enterprise,
had suffered kamikaze damage late in the war and was
working up off Washington state.
Over
the years, some have suggested that the answer lies with
President Harry S. Truman. Truman had a personal
connection with the ship; his daughter had christened
the hull at its launching, and Truman hailed from
Missouri. At the time and later, there was
certainly some bitterness about the choice of Missouri.
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How ammunition was
replenished |
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Tomahawk missles
(installed in 1985) |
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Admiral Halsey's seat
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Deteriorated
wood deck |
Where most people take
photos:
plywood deck. Ironic! |
Work has been started but too slow due to high cost
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We want to help. We'll donate 5% of the proceed
of our sales USS Iowa models to the real Iowa. Thank you for your patronage.
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There
are a couple hundred more photos showing every single
details of the USS Iowa and we can't post them all here. Please
help the magnificent BIG STICK restored to her heroic days. |