Item No.: 300031613 Description: 1:700 US Missouri Battleship WL The ships of the Iowa class were the last large battleships of the US Navy. They included the sister ships BB-61 Iowa and BB-62 New Jersey. However, the most famous battleship of the Iowa class was and is the BB-63 Missouri. 212,000 hp enabled the heavily armed colossus to reach a top speed of 33 knots. The main armament consisted of nine 16-inch (40.6 cm) guns distributed over three triple turrets (2 fore and 1 aft) with a maximum range of up to 40 km. The Iowa class ships were 270.4 m long and had a relatively narrow hull of maximum 33 m, so they could easily pass through the Panama Canal. The USS Missouri was commissioned in 1944 and took part in numerous operations in the Pacific War. On 2 September 1945, the treaty of unconditional surrender of the Japanese forces was signed on board USS Missouri. With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, USS Missouri was deployed with her sister ships for fire support and was relegated to reserve duty in 1955. In 1986, the ship was completely refurbished, modernised and equipped with the latest weapons technology. The Missouri was deployed for the last time in the Gulf War in 1991 and went into well-deserved retirement in 1993 after almost 50 years in service.