U.S.S. Missouri Museum and Honolulu

These are the photos I took of the U.S.S. Missouri as well as a few photos of downtown Honolulu.

This is a picture you have already seen. It's the U.S.S. Missouri on the left, with the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial on the right. 

This picture, taken from the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, shows the U.S.S. Missouri on the left and several other concrete markers which show where other battleships were parked when the Japanese attacked. 

This is plaque before the entrance to the U.S.S. Missouri, and as the inscrption suggests, it contains the names of all the donors who made it possible for the U.S.S. Missouri to become a museum. 

This is what greets you when you enter the U.S.S. Missouri museum grounds. As you can see, it is quite and impressive bit of hardware. 

This, and the next picture are of the forward guns on the U.S.S. Missouri; it gives you an idea of how big they are. In the First Gulf War, based on markings on the side of the turrets, the forward guns fired more than 300 shells at enemy positions. 

See with previous picture. 

This is the bow of the U.S.S. Missouri. Note the enormous anchor chains in the bottom center of the photo. 

This is what the Surrender Deck looks like under the awning. It's really not as big as you would think. There were quite a number of military men and dignitaries present if you watch movies of the event. 

This is what the Surrender Deck looks like under the awning. It's really not as big as you would think. There were quite a number of military men and dignitaries present if you watch movies of the event.  

Just beside the Surrender Deck is this flag and plaque. The plaque commemorates the surrender and lists the names of the various people involved. The flag is not backwards, technically, because naval flag protocol demands that any flag always appear to be flying in a manner if the ship was moving forwrard. In the case of the U.S., this means that the canton must always face the bow. 

This is a plaque located on the spot where the Japanese surrender was accepted. It is buried within the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri. 

This is just another shot of the same plaque. I think I took it in a larger format so that if you were to bring it up, the words would appear more clearly. 

This is the document which officially ended the Second World War, called the Instrument of Surrender. If you look closely on the right side, where everyone singed, you'll notice that there is a space where there should be a signature. Apparently, the representative for Canada did not sign in the proper place and because of protocol, every signature after that had to be moved down one space, making the whole document look strange. 

This is the United States' copy of the Instrument of Surrender. Everyone signed in the proper place here. 

This is a mat which has the coat-of-arms of the U.S.S. Missouri on it. 

This is a picture of a working radar instrument on board the U.S.S. Missouri. I have a movie that goes along with it but I haven't figure out how to post those yet. 

These are the aft guns of the U.S.S. Missouri and I assure you, they are even more impressive if you see them for yourself. 

This is the aft deck of the U.S.S. Missouri. The tents are for a function that was to happen later that day. You can rent out the U.S.S. Missouri for certain occaisions, but I'm told it's expensive. 

This is a Phalanx gattling gun used to destroy incoming missiles. Although I'm not sure of the caliber, I'm fairly certain that it can fire up to 3 000 rounds per minute (that's 50 rounds per second).  

These are signal flags that were used to send messages to other vessels. Each letter and number has a particular flag. This system, though hundreds of years old, is still in use today. 

This is a shot of the reenforced bridge of the U.S.S. Missouri. 

This is a view of the bow from the bridge of the U.S.S. Missouri at this point, I'm about 20 m above the water's surface. This is where the captain would stand when the battleship was at general quarters (battle stations). 

This is another view of the bridge and you can see the captian's chair in the right side of the photo. 

This is the state room of the U.S.S. Missouri, located next to the Surrender Deck. This is the epitome of luxury in the navy. 

You can also wander inside the ship where there are several exhibits. This is a model of the U.S.S. Missouri.