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Battleship USS MISSOURI
in Korean War
When North
Korea invaded South Korea, the USS Missouri was the
Navy’s only active battleship. She was on a midshipman
cruise, a hands-on at-sea summer training course for
young officers. She returned to Norfolk, VA to offload
midshipman and in order to be stocked up on ammunition,
supplies, and crew. On 19 August 1950, she headed for
the Pacific and for war.
USS
Missouri underwent a quick minor modification at Pearl
Harbor. Because some of her guns had been removed in the
interwar years, the Pearl Harbor shipyard replaced
fourteen Oerlikon 20mm cannon mounts, added four Bofors
40mm gun mounts to empty gun tubs.
On her
first day at war on 15 September, USS Missouri fired 52
16” projectiles, destroying two railroad bridges. In the
following days, she conducted shore bombardments along
the coast, before returning to Japan for supplies.
In
October, USS Missouri became the flagship for Vice
Admiral Arthur D. Struble and Seventh Fleet. On 12
October, she bombed the Mitsubishi Iron Works, firing 96
rounds from her main battery in an hour. On 13 October,
she bombarded Tanchon. On 26 October, she supported the
amphibious landing of Wonsan.
On 27
October, Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell celebrated Navy
Day on board. Hope performed three times that day: one
for the enlisted, one for the commissioned, and again
for those who had missed the original performances.
When China and the Soviet Union entered the war,
battleship USS Missouri was at Hungnam to provide
curtain fire for retreating Marines from Chosin
Reservoir in December. She sailed with Task Group 90.8
under the leadership of Rear Admiral Roscoe
Hillenkoetter, one of Missouri’s former commanding
officers.
From
December 1950 to March 1951, battleship Missouri
continued to conduct shore bombardments of Korea’s
eastern coast and provided cover for aircraft carriers
in Task Force 77.
On 3 February, her crew hosted South Korean President
Syngman Rhee. By the end of the month, USS Missouri was
en route to Hawaii.
First Deployment Stats
(September 1950 - March 1951)
|
Ammunition Type |
Number of Rounds Fired |
|
16-inch/50 Cal. Rounds |
2,895 rounds |
|
5-inch/38 Cal. Rounds |
8,043 rounds |
Battleship Missouri saw war again in September 1952. By
that point, all four Iowa-class battleships were brought
back to the active fleet and had rotating deployments in
Korea.
This time,
USS Missouri was the flagship for Seventh Fleet Admiral
Joseph J. Clark. As with her first deployment, Missouri
steamed again with Task Force 77 and conducted shore
bombardments.
On 20
November, the crew manned welcome President Syngman Rhee
on board one more time.
On 5
March, a North Korean shore battery opened fire on USS
Missouri. This would be the first time the battleship
came under enemy fire during the Korean War. She came
under fire again on 10 March. USS Missouri responded
with 998 rounds fired that day from her 5-inch, the most
prolific day for her 5-inch guns. On 25 March, the
battleship fired 102 16-inch rounds and 61 5-inch
rounds. That was her final gunfire mission of the war.
In July 1953, armistice was signed in Panmunjom, Korea.
A line of demarcation kept North and South Korea
divided.
Second Deployment Stats
(September 1952 - March 1953)
|
Ammunition Type |
Number of Rounds Fired |
|
16-Inch/50 Cal. Guns |
3,861 |
|
5-Inch/38 Cal. Guns |
4,379 |
We offer
this primarily wood model of the USS
Missouri battleship, Korean War version in two sizes:
54" long x 15" tall x 7"
wide. $7,800
Shipping and insurance in
the
contiguous US
included. Other
places: $500 flat rate.
30.5"
long.
$3,500
Shipping and insurance in
the
contiguous US
included. Other
places: $300 flat rate.
Models are built per commission only. We require
only a small deposit (not full amount, not even
half) to start the process
$900. The
remaining balance won't be due until the model is
completed,
in
several months.
For the
USS
Missouri model
WW 2 version,
please click here:
WW II Missouri model.
To
construct this accurate model, we visited the USS
Iowa many times. She is about 30 minute drive from
us. Here are some photos of it:
USS IOWA.
If you are looking for a historic ship from the US Navy
to display with this Missouri model, click here:
USS Constitution.
Learn more about the USS
Missouri here:
Korean War
USS Missouri. |
