USS Missouri firing her 16″ guns during Desert Storm, 6 February 1991.
On January 17, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm (January 17, 1991 February 28, 1991) USS Missouri (BB-63), “Mighty Mo”, fired the first of 28 total Tomahawk Cruise missiles (TLAM) in the campaign at Iraqi land based targets in Kuwait. This strike effectively opened the campaign. Over the next few weeks until the conclusion of the campaign USS Missouri then fired almost 800 rounds of lethal 16-inch projectiles from her main batteries, which pummeled enemy positions. USS Missouri, along with sister-ship USS Wisconsin (also in theater) served as both a practical and psychological weapon for the U.S. led Allied Coalition. She sat off the coast away from enemy fire, and fired at will without fear of counterattack. When fired, her shells reached far inland undetected until impact and detonation, which caused sheer panic and confusion amongst the enemy. Consequently, these fire support salvos were the last fired in anger by any battleship in the world (USS Wisconsin also fired her guns but ceased firing earlier than USS Missouri), signalling the end of the long and storied history of this class of massive warships. Together, USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin passed the million-pound mark of ordnance fired, an astonishing amount of firepower delivered.
Perhaps the most famous warship in U.S. naval history save for USS Constitution, Operation Desert Storm was USS Missouri’s final combat mission after nearly 50 years of active service. Launched in January, 1944 in the midst of World War II (1939-1945), the soon to be famous battleship participated in numerous operations in the Pacific theater against the Japanese. In her illustrious service career, USS Missouri hosted the surrender ceremony of the Japanese Empire on September 2, 1945, earning 11 battle stars during the World War II, the Korean War (1950-1953), and Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). The U.S. Navy decommissioned USS Missouri in 1992 after the Persian Gulf War and struck her permanently from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register in 1995. Today USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States, proudly rests in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she serves as a museum and popular tourist attraction.
Japanese Surrender Ceremony, September 2, 1945
Edmund Carter III