Tour the USS Missouri Battleship in Pearl Harbor
Ship Was Site of 1945 Japanese Surrender and End of World War II
Feb 10, 2009
The sunken battleship USS Arizona, which blew up during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, is near the USS Missouri.
The USS Arizona marks the United States' entry into World War II and is also a permanent memorial to more than 1,000 sailors and marines still entombed in the ship.
The USS Missouri, the ship that hosted the surrender ceremonies that ended World War II, is moored on Battleship Row near the USS Arizona Memorial - and is open for public tours.
Many visitors tour the USS Missouri after or before visiting the USS Arizona Memorial.
USS Missouri Tour Details
Volunteer guides - many of them U.S. Navy veterans - take visitors on tours of the massive, 887-feet-long, 45,000-ton ship, which has nine 16-inch guns that could fire a 1,800-pound shell 23 miles.
Guides take visitors to a huge, brass marker embedded in the teak deck. The plaque marks the spot where Japanese diplomats and military officers surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945.
Many famous military officers, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Adm. William "Bull" Halsey, attended the surrender, which ended World War II - the worst war in history.
USS Missouri's Long History
The USS Missouri saw combat in the Okinawa and Iwo Jima battles during World War II. The ship also shelled enemy positions during the Korean War.
The USS Missouri was mothballed in Bremerton, Washington from 1955 through 1986. The ship returned to active U.S. Navy service in 1986 - after modernization and the installation of Tomahawk missile batteries.
In 1991, the USS Missouri launched Tomahawk missiles and fired its 16-inch guns at Iraqi positions while during Operation Desert Storm
In 1992, the USS Missouri was decommissioned a second time, and was eventually put in the care of the USS Missouri Memorial Association and taken to its final mooring at Pearl Harbor.
The USS Missouri was the last battleship on active service in the U.S. Navy.
Touring the USS Missouri
Visitors choose between guided and self-guided tours. A guided tour is a much better choice, as visitors hear interesting stories and gain a greater understanding of the workings of the giant warship. Guides also take visitors to parts of the ship that are off-limits to people not on a guided tour.
Visitors tour crew living areas, officer areas, eating areas, the armor-encased combat command center and other interesting parts of the ship.
Much of the ship is open to self-guided tours, and audio receivers give visitors stories from ship veterans, sound effects and historical facts.
Visitors are free to stay on the ship after their guided tour ends.
USS Missouri Hours and Pearl Harbor
Visiting the USS Missouri and the USS Arizona memorial is a full-day trip from Honolulu. The USS Missouri is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, and the ticket office closes at 4 p.m.
The USS Missouri is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The ship is less crowded from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and late in the afternoon.
Most visitors must take a shuttle bus from the ticket office, as Battleship Row on Ford Island is part of the U.S. Navy Base at Pearl Harbor.
The USS Missouri ticket office is located near the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum.
Many USS Missouri visitors also visit the USS Bowfin and the USS Arizona Memorial. While there are no tours of historic Ford Island, the shuttle bus ride gives visitors good views of the old airfield - including the famous air control tower that dates back to the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.
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