The caption for this early color photo from the Naval History and Heritage Command web site reads: "Signal flags flying from her port side halyards, as the battleship speeds along during her shakedown cruise, circa August 1944. Note 5"/38 twin gun mounts below." (Photo # 80-G-K-4571)

The USS Missouri (BB-63) is one of four 45,000-ton Iowa class battleships built for operations in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Launched in 1944 from the Brookly Navy Yard (the New York Naval Shipyard), she was decommissioned in February 1955, reactivated in May 1986 and decommissioned for the second and last time in March 1992. Since June 1998, the ship has been a memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. All four Iowa class battleships still exist. Three are museum ships, open to the public.