The United States battleship retirement debate was a debate among the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Congress, and independent groups over the effectiveness of naval gunfire support (NGFS) provided by Iowa-class battleships, and whether or not an alternative should be implemented. The debate centered on the best way to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops near a shoreline.
The battleship USS New Jersey fires at positions near Beirut on 9 January 1984 during the Lebanese Civil War.
USS Wisconsin, shown moored in Norfolk, Virginia, is one of four Iowa-class battleships open to the public as museums, and was one of two maintained for potential reactivation until 2009.
5-inch (127 mm) gun on an Arleigh Burke-class DDG
F4U-5 Corsairs provide close air support to U.S. Marines during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, December 1950.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
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USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1940s and is currently a museum ship. Completed in 1944, she is the last battleship commissioned by the United States. The ship was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II, where she participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands. Her quarterdeck was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, which ended World War II.
Missouri at sea in her 1980s configuration
Missouri underway in August 1944
A kamikaze (top left) moments before striking Missouri's side
Allied sailors and officers watch General of the Army Douglas MacArthur sign documents during the surrender ceremony aboard Missouri on 2 September 1945. The unconditional surrender of the Japanese to the Allies officially ended the Second World War.