On February 26, 2018, the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, revealed the highly restored superstructure of the legendary “Mighty Mo”, a momentous occasion in preserving this iconic vessel. Three years of detailed planning and a year-long repair project had gone into it, all funded by the USS Missouri Memorial Association without any help from the government, mainly through ticket sales to those touring the battleship, thereby making this four-year journey full circle.
The Mighty Mo’s superstructure rose about 110 feet above the main deck, with a mast higher than 50 feet above the major structure. It took an immense preservation effort b[]. According to Michael A. Carr, the President and CEO of the USS Missouri Memorial Association, “The work that was done to the ship’s Superstructure was essential preservation work to ensure the USS Missouri is being properly maintained for future generations.” This project was so detailed that it took replacing about 17,000 pounds of steel, sandblasting nearly 27,000 square feet of steel surface to eradicate rust and corrosion, and a completely new coat with protective coatings to enhance rainwater drainage and preserve the superstructure for generations to come. Indeed, the restoration work was carried out very diligently in the evenings so as not to affect the daily tours, which testifies to how seriously the Association takes both visitor experience and operational efficiency.
The newly restored Navigation Bridge, including the Chart House, Captain’s At-Sea Cabin, Pilot House, and Conning Tower, now offers an immersive audio experience to visitors. This feature was captured with the assistance of active-duty sailors to provide a sense of what it might have been like onboard the vessel during its operational mission on December 7, 1991, in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. Further adding to this exhibit are multilingual text panels in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean; as such, it joins a few other museums in Hawaii in this kind of inclusiveness.
The $3.5 million project also included the installation of replicas for two SLQ-32 electronic warfare antennas and a radome, which were part of the USS Missouri before its decommissioning in 1992. This only shows how detailed the Association is with restorations, bringing it one step closer to its aim of restoring Mighty Mo to her 1991 glory, the final year of the battleship’s 48-year operational history across three wars: World War II, the Korean War, and Operation Desert Storm.
The USS Missouri was an Iowa-class battleship, the last battleship ever built, and probably the most powerful. She was a giant of naval engineering at 887 feet in length with a speed of over 30 knots. With nine 16-inch guns, each firing a 2,700-pound shell 23 miles in 50 seconds, she was a legend.
In great measure, the preservation of the USS Missouri’s superstructure symbolizes a tribute not only to the integrity of the vessel itself but to America’s maritime history, and it means peace and strength. By restoring the Battleship Missouri Memorial to the former greatness of the Mighty Mo before its decommissioning, the Association is dedicated to preserving the past, to educate future generations about the USS Missouri’s service in peace and war,” reveals Carr. Therefore, future generations will be able to walk the decks of the Mighty Mo, learn of her role in world history, and remember those who have served aboard her through the preservation of the USS Missouri as offered by the Association.