Editing USS Missouri (BB-63) (section)

===Construction===
''Missouri'' was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the [[Missouri|US state of Missouri]].{{sfn|DANFS}} The ship was authorized by Congress in 1938{{sfn|Stillwell|p=1}} and ordered on 12 June 1940 with the [[hull number]] BB-63.<ref name = NVR/> The [[keel]] for ''Missouri'' was [[laid down]] at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] on 6 January 1941 in [[slipway]] 1. The ship was [[ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 29 January 1944 before a crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 spectators. At the launching ceremony, the ship was [[Ship christening|christened]] by [[Margaret Truman]], the [[ship sponsor]] and daughter of [[Harry S. Truman]], then one of the senators from the ship's namesake state; Truman himself gave a speech at the ceremony. [[Fitting-out]] work proceeded quickly, and the ship was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 11 June; [[Captain (US Navy)|Captain]] [[William M. Callaghan|William Callaghan]] served as her first commander.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=1–11}}

''Missouri'' conducted her initial sea trials off New York, beginning on 10 July, and then steamed south to [[Chesapeake Bay]], where she embarked on a [[shakedown cruise]] and conducted training. During this period, she operated with the new large [[cruiser]] {{USS|Alaska|CB-1|2}}, which had also recently entered service, and several escorting [[destroyer]]s. The ship got underway on 11 November, bound for the [[West Coast of the United States]]. She passed through the [[Panama Canal]] a week later and continued on to [[San Francisco]]. There, additional fitting-out work was carried out at [[Hunters Point Naval Shipyard]] to prepare the vessel for use as a fleet [[flagship]].{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=14–25}}