USS‌ ‌‌Missouri‌

The USS Missouri (BB-63) ("Mighty Mo,” "Big Mo,” or “Lucky Mo”) is a warship that appears prominently throughout the Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms series. She is an Iowa-class battleship and the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the US state of Missouri.

The ship in the series is heavily based off of the real ship of the same name.

World War II and later service
The USS Missouri was ordered in 1940 and completed on June 11, 1944. Upon her completion, she was among the most potent war vessels in the U.S. Navy. Soon afterward, she deployed for combat service in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese Empire. She saw action at the Battle of Iwo Jima with the USS Yorktown task force, where she provided cover fire for infantry forces on the island. She later took part in the Battle of Okinawa, where she bombarded the island in preparation for the impending American invasion of the island. In addition to this, Missouri launched numerous raids against Japan from 1944 to 1945, causing massive infrastructural damage.

On August 29, 1945, Missouri arrived in Tokyo Bay to accept Japan’s formal surrender following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The signing of Japan’s submission to the Allies on Missouri’s decks on September 2, 1945, brought World War II’s end. After the war's end, Missouri was overhauled and would continue to see action in the Cold War’s early stages. After the Korean War outbreak in 1950, Missouri provided fire support for United Nations troops landing at Incheon, South Korea, allowing the Allies to push the North Koreans out of Seoul, eventually recapturing the city. It would carry out several such missions throughout the entire war, bombarding Communist positions as U.N. forces vied for control of South Korea. Following the war's end, Missouri was decommissioned in 1955 and joined the reserve fleet, also known as the “Mothball Fleet."

Years later, in the 1980s, the Missouri was reactivated and recommissioned into the fleet as a part of a "600-Ship Navy" plan from the presidential administration. The modernization plan included removing all 20 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and some of the 5 in (127 mm) secondary guns and replacing them with modern electronics and weapons. The Missouri would then be outfitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS). Upon her recommissioning, the ship took part in an around-the-world tour before being sent to operate in the Persian Gulf to escort tankers in and out of a danger zone. From there, the battleship would take part in several naval exercises with ships from other navies.

In the 1990s, the Missouri would take part in a war against Iraq after that nation had seized Kuwait. Through it all, the Missouri launched Tomahawk missiles and fire her large 16 in (406 mm) cannons at enemy positions ashore. By war's end, the ship had fired over 700 rounds of 16-inch rounds and just under 30 Tomahawk missiles.

The Missouri would go on to serve a few more years before being decommissioned before the decade ended having received eleven battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf. Shortly after, she was donated to the Missouri Memorial Association and was turned into a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Reactivation
In the early 2010s, the American government was beginning to have concerns about the Urocyan Empire which had recently begun a massive military build up in the Pacific region. Though they had collaborated with Russia back in the 1990s to defeat the Urocyans in a previous war, the aforementioned empire was quickly began preparing for future conflict. The drums of war had begun to beat, and the Urocyans had advanced quite a bit since the First Urocyan War. The United States had to be ready, especially since it appeared that the Urocyans were likely to target the US and Russia for what the two nations had done during the war 20 years prior.

The likelihood of another Urocyan conflict grew as several threatening messages came across, and talks with Imperial officials ceased. In response to this, the President signed an executive order, and Congress authorized a large military budget. The Navy was tasked with building up a large surface and submarine fleet. But the construction rate of new carriers, destroyers, and submarines was just not enough to satisfy the higher ups, so alternative methods were looked to. Ships began being pulled from the Navy Reserve, also called the “Mothball Fleet,” and the Navy even went to the states and asked for help.

USS Missouri was one of the ships under consideration for reactivation. In 2015, the museum contract was soon to expire, and plans were to renew it. But naval officials from Pearl Harbor asked the local Hawaiian government and the USS Missouri Memorial Association if they could lend over the aging battleship over to them. The Association hesitated at first, but the Navy assured them that the ship would be used as a training vessel. With that assurance, an agreement was reached, and the battleship was turned over to the Navy, being placed back in the Mothball Fleet until a time could be scheduled for her to undergo a massive overhaul.

Return to Service
The Navy scheduled the Missouri to be placed in drydock by May of 2015. Before the end of the month, Missouri entered drydock at Naval Base Pearl Harbor for a restoration overhaul. Thankfully, the museum directors kept the ship in fairly decent condition, but a lot of work would be required. Dockworkers had to work off of plans dating back as early as the 1980s and as late as the 1940s to complete the project. The hull had to be made watertight and seaworthy again. New 406 mm (16-inch) and 127 mm (5-inch) gun barrels had to be constructed in addition to ammunition. And many of the aging equipment had to be retrofitted to get the ship at least seaworthy again.

Missouri’s overhaul would end up taking just under two years total to complete, with sea trials being conducted in March 2017. In addition to all the technical stuff, there was still a need to find individuals who understood how the ship operated. Many Second World War veterans were “old and past it” just like the ship, but the most recent people could’ve been veterans who served on this ship and Wisconsin during the 1991 Gulf War. And then again, the ship was intended to be used as a training ship and not a combative vessel; to get younger recruits used to life out at sea and to be able to handle the systems on an analog ship. Though some of the missile systems were made operational, since the Harpoons and Tomahawk missiles were still widely used by the Navy, and the 127 mm guns would be used as naval gunnery training. But within the coming months, the circumstances changed, and the Navy found that it would need as many ships as they could get.

Prelude to War
In January 2018, the USS Missouri was recommissioned under Arthur Snow's command with his younger brother Sewell Snow serving as the ship's Executive Officer, or XO. At first, the idea was to make the ship a naval training vessel, but due to the U.S. Navy's build up of extensive military power, the battleship was brought out of retirement and made combat ready once again. Early actions the Missouri is noted in having includes destroying an enemy stronghold on a remote Pacific island, during which she suffered significant damaged and went into drydock for repairs.

Following her repairs, the Missouri would see action again in the South Pacific, even after having additional troubles with her aft turret, which had been repaired after the previous engagement. An enemy vessel came and attacked the battleship, which was being accompanied by the amphibious assault ship USS Essex and an assortment of cruisers and destroyers. The foe was incredibly powerful, even for the Missouri's main guns to handle. Thankfully, with some air support from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and Arthur's effective leadership skills, the fleet managed to successfully escape the enemy and regroup at Yokosuka, Japan.

Even after that close brush with the enemy, nothing would compare with the horrors that awaited Missouri within the closing months of 2018. An event that would turn the tides of history for years to come.

Known Crew
Within the coming series, a whole cast of characters are featured as a part of the 1550 sailors that make up this battleships crew. So far, the known list is a combination of animatronics and flesh-and-blood animals. The list goes as follows:

Current

 * Captain Arthur J. “Artoo” Snow the Arctic Fox - Commanding Officer/CO
 * Commander Hunter Hargraves the Grey Fox - Executive Officer/XO
 * Command Master Chief Petty Officer James Winter the Arctic Wolf - Senior Enlisted Advisor
 * Commander Jade Shaw the Red Fox - Operations Officer
 * Lieutenant Commander Swiper Rockefeller the Red Fox - Navigator
 * Lieutenant Commander Swefred G. Hayden the Swift Fox - Chief Medical Officer
 * Lieutenant Commander Jesse Wolffe the Gray Wolf - Chief Engineer
 * Lieutenant, junior grade Jeremy "Jay" Benz the Silver Fox - Tactical Action Officer
 * Lieutenant, junior grade Don "Flash" Eastwood the Coyote - Tactical Action Officer
 * Ensign Edson “Echo” Smith the Red Wolf - Turret Officer/Gunner's Mate
 * Ensign Oliver “Ollie” Frost the Siberian Husky - Medical Officer/Hospital Corpsman
 * Seaman Mike Granderson the Labrador Retriever - Helmsman
 * Petty Officer 1st Class Cody Burke the Kit Fox - Navigator/Signalman
 * Chief Information Systems Technician Bruno “Bravo” Nolan the Maned Wolf - Communications Officer
 * Airman Oscar Walton the Coyote - Flight Deck Officer

Former

 * Commander Sewell D. “Sesix” Snow the Arctic Fox - Executive Officer/XO - Promoted after the attack on Naval Base San Diego
 * Captain Justin F. Redding the Red Fox - Naval Aviation Officer (Temporary) - Returned to flying with VFA-242

Trivia
Missouri’s reactivation took inspiration from the 2012 movie Battleship and the 2008 video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. It is also partially due to the various battleships seen in some of the Ace Combat video games, such as Erusea’s Tanager and Yuktobania’s Upor.

While it isn't an official nickname to the ship, many of the characters use the term “Mo’” when referring to the vessel, referencing the ship’s namesake abbreviation being “MO.”

The Missouri's history within the series has been altered from her real-life counterpart as well as her physical appearance. As of her 2017 recommissioning, depictions of the ship within the series have her aft flight deck patterns match that of her sister USS New Jersey (BB-62). This was also done in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and that version of the ship is how this ship should be perceived.


 * With that said, it should be noted that while the Missouri was still stripped of most of her EW equipment on MGS4, the Missouri here in Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms had most of that lost equipment restored upon her recommissioning; specifically the original '80s-90's equipment was replaced with the latest advancements within those existing systems.

During the Russo-American War, the Missouri was designated the flagship of the Vanguard Fleet. This is noteworthy since most flagships in many modern, real-world navies are aircraft carriers, not battleships. However, during World War II, flagships were often chosen for their speed instead of their power.


 * The Missouri herself was once designated the flagship of the American 3rd Fleet during World War II, so in the series, this could still hold some ground even in a 21st Century setting.

"Lucky Mo'" is an unofficial nickname the ship has within the series; she earned it during her deployment in the Russo-American War. The nickname could stem from the WWII aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) which had the nickname "Lucky E."