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USS IOWA 

 BB-61 "The Big Stick" battleship

Why did the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World War take place on USS Missouri, a battleship that had served for less than a year in the Pacific War, and not a lead ship of her class? 

When Task Force 58 became Task Force 38 in May 1945, USS Missouri became Admiral Bull Halsey’s 3rd Fleet flagship.  It was in this capacity that Missouri led the Allied armada that entered Tokyo Bay.

Numerous distinguished ships were present at the surrender. USS South Dakota had perhaps the most illustrious record among the battleships, having served in the Pacific theater since 1942. USS West Virginia had survived Pearl Harbor. HMS Duke of York and HMS King George V each had a German battleship to their credit (Scharnhorst and Bismarck) and had each lost a sister to the Japanese, in HMS Prince of Wales. 

The single most deserving ship, USS Enterprise, had suffered kamikaze damage late in the war and was working up off Washington state.

Over the years, some have suggested that the answer lies with President Harry S. Truman. Truman had a personal connection with the ship; his daughter had christened the hull at its launching, and Truman hailed from Missouri.  At the time and later, there was certainly some bitterness about the choice of Missouri.

How ammunition was replenished
			Tomahawk missles (installed in 1985)
Admiral Halsey's seat
Deteriorated wood deck	Where most people take photos:  plywood  deck. Ironic!	Work has been started but too slow due to high cost		We want to help. We'll donate 5% of the proceed of our sales USS Iowa models to the real Iowa.  Thank you for your patronage.

There are a couple hundred more photos showing every single details of the USS Iowa and we can't post them all here.  Please help the magnificent BIG STICK restored to her heroic days.