Its construction began at Brooklyn Shipyard in 1941. USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship and was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the U.S. state of Missouri. It has a length of 270 meters, a width of 32.9 meters, and a speed of 33 knots. It entered service in 1944 and won three and five battle stars in World War II and Korean War respectively. Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the United States and is best remembered as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, which ended World War II.