A bow-on view captures the imposing silhouette of the battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) as she leads the American battle line, cutting powerfully through the sea with her massive guns trained forward. Following closely astern is the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), her sleek profile reinforcing the formidable presence of the formation. Behind them steams the nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN-9), distinguished by her modern superstructure, with additional screening vessel

USS Missouri (BB-63) was an Iowa-class fast battleship of the United States Navy, commissioned in 1944. Nicknamed the “Mighty Mo,” she is most famous as the site of Japan’s formal surrender on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay, officially ending World War II. Missouri served in the Pacific during the final campaigns of the war, providing naval gunfire support at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She later saw action in the Korean War and, after modernization with guided-missile systems, in Operation Desert St