Despite the fact that the battle of the battleships is already a thing of the past, we continue to admire these handsome steel men, who have long been nicknamed "masters of the seas." Appearing in the second half of the 19th century, these iron monsters for several decades in a row inspired fear and awe. One of the last such ships that left a noticeable mark in naval history was the battleship Missouri.
This giant was laid down at one of the New York shipyards at the beginning of the formidable 1941, and was launched in January 1944. Already during construction, the battleship project underwent very significant changes, which is associated with the peculiarities of the conduct of hostilities by the German and Japanese forces. In particular, considerable attention was paid to the protection of ammunition and turret guns, which was associated with a very real threat from German and Japanese aircraft. The maximum thickness of the ship’s armor reached one and a half thousand millimeters, which made it virtually invulnerable.
The battleship Missouri had a powerful fire fist, the basis of which consisted of three 16-inch cannons. Neither before nor after has any United States warship possessed such weapons. In addition, the ship carried twenty 25-mm guns and 100 anti-aircraft guns to protect against air attacks. The maximum speed of the ship was 35 knots, which made it one of the fastest in its class.
The battleship Missouri proved to be excellent not only in a collision with Japanese ships and aircraft, but also during the storming of ground fortifications.
So, the crew of this steel monster covered itself with unfading glory in the battles for the islands of Ivo and Okinawa. Moreover, with a simultaneous salvo of all the main-caliber guns around the ship and inside it, a
vacuum bag was formed
, so for some time it was impossible for sailors and officers to breathe normally.
The battleship “Missouri” entered world history not only with its military exploits, amazing technical characteristics, but also with the fact that it was on its board that the last page of this monstrous catastrophe was turned. On September 2, 1945, it was here that the act of surrender of Japan was signed, which was accepted by the American commander in chief D. McCarthur.
The battleships of World War II proved that at that time it was they who determined the main directions of confrontations in the ocean. However, time passed, the role of ships of this type gradually decreased. Many of them ended their days at the docks, being cut into separate pieces. In this regard, our hero was lucky: despite his advanced age, he had the opportunity to participate in several more companies. In particular, in 1991, the Missouri battleship was one of the few battleships to launch missiles during the bombing of Iraq. Having fulfilled his military duty to the end, the proud conqueror of ocean spaces went on a well-deserved rest. Now completely different ships carry their watch in the seas and oceans, however, without the experience of their heroic ancestors, there would not have been a modern day navy.