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Ship Characteristics

(Source: United States Battleship Missouri, The Second Decommissioning program, March 31, 1992)
Built New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York
Class Iowa-class battleship
Keel Laid January 6, 1941
Launched January 29, 1944
Commissioned June 11, 1944
Operational December 14, 1944
Decommissioned February 26, 1955
Recommissioned May 10, 1986
Decommissioned March 31, 1992
Length 887'3" (270.4m)
Beam 108' 3" (33m)
Draft 38' (11.6m)
Height 216’ 6” (66m) from keel to mast top
Displacement 58,000 tons loaded: 45,000 tons unloaded
Personnel 134 officers, 2400 enlisted (World War II)
65 officers, 1450 enlisted (1986-1992)
Boilers Eight 600 pounds per square inch Babcock & Wilcox
Main Engines Four geared General Electric Turbines
Horsepower 212,000 shaft horsepower (total of all four shafts)
Propellers Two five-bladed 17' 5" (5.3m) inboard
Two four-bladed 18' 3" (5.6m) outboard
Rudders Two
Speed In excess of 30 knots
Tank capacity 2.5-million gallons of fuel oil
30,000 gallons of aviation fuel
239,000 gallons of fresh water
Armor The main armor of the hull is 13.5" tapering 19 degrees vertically to 1.62"
Aft, for protection of the propellers and shafts, the armor is 13.5
Other armor thicknesses are:
Turret faces: 17"
Turret tops: 7.25"
Turret backs: 12"
Turret sides: 9.25"
Second deck armor: 6"
Conning tower sides: 17.3"
Armament
Main Gun Battery Nine 16".50 caliber guns in three, three-gun turrets
Range: 23 miles
Projectiles: Armor piercing – 2,700 pounds High capacity – 1,900 pounds Powder: standard load of six, 110-pound bags
Rate of fire: two rounds per minute, per gun
Use: Anti-surface and shore bombardment
Secondary Battery Twelve 5"/38 caliber guns in six dual mounts
Range: 9 miles
Projectiles: 55 pounds
Powder: 30 pounds
Rate of fire: 15 rounds per minute, per gun
Use: Anti-surface, anti-air and shore bombardment
Air Defense

Four Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Gatling-style guns, capable of firing 20mm ammunition at a rate of 50 rounds per second (3000 rounds per minute) for self-defense against missiles and aircraft

Missiles

Capable of carrying up to 32 Tomahawk Anti-Surface or Land Attack missiles and up to 16 Harpoon anti-surface missiles