USS Missouri heads to drydock

ky3.com ^ | 10-13-09 | unattributed

[smokingfrog]

Wednesday morning will present an unusual sight off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor: the uncoupling of the battleship Missouri from its mooring opposite the sunken Arizona in the pairing that symbolizes the beginning and end of World War 2.

The 887-foot Missouri, the last battleship built by the U.S. and site of Japan's unconditional surrender ending the war, will be headed to drydock at about 7 a.m. if all goes as planned.

Officials recommend that people go to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park next to the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center for public viewing of the historic - but temporary - move.

"The battleship Missouri's tow to drydock will be a rare sight indeed," said Paul Dyson, vice president of marketing and sales for the Battleship Missouri Memorial. "You just don't see battleships under way anymore."

It will be the first time that "Mighty Mo" will leave her pier in more than 11 years. The floating museum and memorial is 5 feet longer than the Titanic and 108 feet wide.

*** snip ***

Missouri's exit from drydock is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 7. Following a "soft" reopening in mid-January, a grand opening will take place on Jan. 29, the 11th anniversary of the memorial's grand opening in Hawaii and 66th anniversary of the battleship's launching from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The sunken Arizona is bookended with the Missouri. The Arizona represents the low point of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that launched the U.S. into World War 2, and the Missouri represents the victory since Japan's leaders surrendered on the ship in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.

[smokingfrog]

[hinckley buzzard]

Taking the tours of the Arizona, the Bowfish and the Missouri is a day one won't soon forget.

[hinckley buzzard]

Sorry that's "Bowfin." Across the bay from the Big Mo.

[Tallguy]

Missouri's exit from drydock is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 7. Following a "soft" reopening in mid-January, a grand opening will take place on Jan. 29, the 11th anniversary of the memorial's grand opening in Hawaii and 66th anniversary of the battleship's launching from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

"Soft Openining". Isn't that like an Out-of-town preview? /Oceans 13

[Charlemagne on the Fox]

The Missouri . . . oh, yeah, that’s where Obama said that Hirohito signed the surrender papers ending the war.

[Ramius]

Love that Iowa class. Maybe the finest looking ship ever built.

[Diver Dave]

As a kid of 12 years old, I had the opportunity to go aboard the USS MISSOURI when it was berthed in Bremerton. Will always remember that experience... now 52 years later.

Salute.... two

[steelyourfaith]

Thanks for posting. It is a huge thrill to tour The Mighty Mo.

[ASOC]

Yup - and I was lucky enuf to operate the KH6BB ham station on the Mo as a guest. What fun! Very nice group of folks working the ship.

[Cheetahcat]

Too bad that Kenyan Cockroach is too stupid to recognize and appreciate what this great country did in WW11.

[Vaquero]

My brother, a contractor, worked on the Big Mo back in the 80’s, sea trials from SF to San Diego, the last time it was refitted for use.

I got me a hat,he bought me at the ship store...I wore it for about 2 years....but stopped wearin it when a veteran of the Might Mo wanted to know when I served on her....I didn’t, so I didnt think it was right to wear the baseball cap.

[Vaquero]

Too bad that Kenyan Cockroach is too stupid to recognize and appreciate what this great country did in WW11.

you have denigrated hard working Kenyan Cockroaches everywhere....

[Liberty Valance]

http://spclevents.com/ships/missouri/bb63.html

more pics ...

[RushLake]

You are right about the whole thing. The museum on shore is also a memorable experience. I was pleasantly surprised when we boarded the Arizona to note that even the few backward baseball cap wearing clots had enough sense to remove their covers when entering that hallowed place. When we toured Missouri, we were listening to the guide at one point as he pointed out how the Missouri was laid down during FDR, and the surrender was signed during Truman. At that point some guy in front of me pipes up, "Democrats, good ones". A few seconds later the guide pointed out that the Missouri was reactivated during the Reagan years. I opined, "Republican, great one". The fellow traveler's shoulders noticeably tightend up at that point, but he didn't respond.

You know of course, that Hirohito was humiliated in having to sign the surrender on the Missouri according to Kamerad Zer0.

[RedStateGuyTrappedinCT]

Too bad that Kenyan Cockroach is too stupid to recognize and appreciate what this great country did in WW11.

Sure he does, he knew that Hirohito signed the treaty on the deck of the Missouri, bringing peace to all 57 states.

[NonValueAdded]

WTG!!! He is missed.

[NavyCanDo]

My Dad worked at the shipyard in Bremerton, and hardly a year went by that he didn't take us kids on board the Mighty Mo. And each visit he would remind us that his Battleship, the Mississippi, was also in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered. Mississippi was the first word I learned to spell.

[pnh102]

That is one kick-ass looking ship.

[Ramius]

I was lucky enough on my tour in the CG to go on a Navy exercise with the USS New Jersey, and have the intense experience of having NJ fire her 16in guns over our heads for a shore bombardment of San Clemente island. They were standing off several miles and we were right in between about a mile offshore...

It’ll get yer attention... that’s for sure. It was surreal. First you see the flash and fireball of the gun... then you feel the shockwave of the shot through the water shake your ship... then you hear the [bavooom!] about the time you hear the projectile go singing overhead and Kerblammo... a big dirt fountain appears on the island.

Kewl. :-)

One of my best memories.

[ArmstedFragg]

Along that line, I highly recommend Michael Yon’s latest dispatch on the Dutch reunion for the US vets who participated in Market Garden. You’ll find it at the link below. The first page is an intro, so be patient until you get to page two. It’s really a great piece of photo-journalism, and really brings home what the men who fought that war did.

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/market-garden.htm