Quote:
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Originally Posted by sparten
I have always wished that the surrender had taken place aboard the USS Enterprise.
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Given the Sea Battles that raged through out the Pacific and the Atlantic I think the Allies chose the battleships as an example of the force that could still be brought to bear against the Japanese if they chose not to accept the terms. Yes the Atomic bomb was a nightmare for them and caused a great loss of life but to the Americans they still had a naval base called Pearl and the thousands of sailors that died there due to their aggression burning in their minds. It was not a chance coincidence that USS Missouri was given to Pearl. She is there to mark the close of WWII as the USS Arizona marked the opening of WWII. IMO the reason none of the major US carriers of the third fleet were in Tokyo Bay was a safety net just in case the Japanese did not honor the formal surrender the carriers would not be in any danger and a majority of their planes were flying in formation overhead of the Bay.
The ships present were:
Battleships (BB)
USS Colorado (BB-45) USS Mississippi (BB-41)
HMS Duke of York (17) USS Missouri (BB-63)
USS Idaho (BB-42) USS New Mexico (BB-40)
USS Iowa (BB-61) USS South Dakota (BB-57)
HMS King George V (41) USS West Virginia (BB-48)
Small Aircraft Carriers (CVL)
USS Bataan (CVL-29) USS Cowpens (CVL-25)
Escort Carriers (CVE)
HMS Ruler (D.72) HMS Speaker (D.90)
Salamaua
Heavy Cruisers (CA)
USS Boston (CA-69) USS St. Paul (CA-73)
USS Chicago (CA-136) HMAS Shropshire (96)
USS Quincy (CA-71)
Light Cruisers (CL)
USS Detroit (CL-8) USS Pasadena (CL-65)
HMNZS Gambia (48) USS San Diego (CL-53)
HMAS Hobart (I.63) USS San Juan (CL-54)
HMS Newfoundland (59) USS Springfield (CL-66)
USS Oakland (CL-95) USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103)
Destroyers (DD)
USS Ault (DD-698) USS Mayo (DD-422)
USS Benham (DD-796) HMAS Napier (G.97)
USS Blue (DD-744) HMAS Nizam (G.38)
USS Buchanon (DD-484) USS Nicholas (DD-449)
USS Caperton (DD-650) USS Perkins (DD-877)
USS Charles F. Hughes (DD-428)# HMS Quality (G.62)
USS Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668) USS Robert K. Huntington (DD-781)
USS Cogswell (DD-651) USS Southerland (DD-743)
USS Colahan (DD-658) USS Stockham (DD-683)
USS Cotten (DD-669) USS Taylor (DD-468)
USS Cushing (DD-797) HMS Teazer (R.23)
USS De Haven (DD-727) HMS Tenacious (R.45)
USS Dortch (DD-670) HMS Terpsichore (R.33)
USS Frank Knox (DD-742) USS Twining (DD-540)
USS Gatling (DD-671) USS Uhlmann (DD-687)
USS Halsey Powell (DD-686) USS Wadleigh (DD-689)
USS Healy (DD-672) HMS Wager (R.98)
USS Hilary P. Jones (DD-427) USS Wallace L. Lind (DD-703)
USS Ingersoll (DD-652) HMAS Warramunga (I.44)
USS Kalk (DD-611) USS Wedderburn (DD-684)
USS Knapp (DD-653) HMS Whelp (R.37)
USS Lansdowne (DD-468) HMS Wizard (R.72)
USS Lardner (DD-487) USS Wren (DD-568)
USS Madison (DD-425) USS Yarnell (DD-541)
Destroyer Escorts (DE)
USS Goss (DE-444) USS Ulvert M. Moore (DE-442)
USS Kendall C. Campbell (DE-443) USS Waterman (DE-740)
USS Lyman (DE-302) USS Weaver (DE-741)
USS Major (DE-796) USS William Seiverling (DE-441)
USS Roberts (DE-749)
Frigates
HMS Derg (K.257) HMAS Gascoyne (K.354)
HMS Woodcock (U-90)#
Sloops
HMS Crane (U.23) HMS Whimbrel (U.29)
Light Mine layer (DM)
USS Gwin (DM-33) USS Thomas E. Fraser (DM-24)
Mine Sweeper, High Speed (DMS)
USS Ellyson (DMS-19) USS Hopkins (DMS-13)
USS Fitch (DMS-25) USS Jeffers (DMS-27)
USS Gherardi (DMS-30) USS Macomb (DMS-23)
USS Hambleton (DMS-20)
Submarines (SS)
USS Archerfish (SS-311) USS Pilotfish (SS-386)
USS Cavalla (SS-244) USS Razorback (SS-394)
USS Gato (SS-212) USS Runner (SS-476)
USS Haddo (SS-255) USS Sea Cat (SS-399)
USS Hake (SS-256) USS Segundo (SS-398)
USS Muskallunge (SS-262) USS Tigrone (SS-419)
Submarine Chasers (PC)
*Numbered ships given names in 1956.
PC-466 [USS Carmil]* PCE(R)-849 [USS Somersworth]*
PCE-877 [USS Havre]* PCE(R)-850 [USS Fairview]*
PCE(R)-848
Motor Gunboat (PGM)
PGM-16 PGM-32
PGM-26
Minesweeper (AM)
HMAS Ballarat (K.34) USS Pochard (AM-375)
HMAS Cessnock (J.175) USS Revenge (AM-110)
HMAS Ipswich (J.186) USS Token (AM-126)
USS Pheasant (AM-61) USS Tumult (AM-127)
HMAS Pirie (J.189)
Motor Mine Sweeper (YMS)
*Numbered ships named and reclassified in 1947
YMS-177 YMS-390
YMS-268 YMS-415
YMS-276 YMS-426
YMS-343 YMS-441 [USS Pelican (AMS-32)]*
YMS-362 [USS Hawk (AMS-17)]* YMS-461 [USS Swallow (AMS-36)]*
YMS-371 [USS Hornbill (AMS-19)]* YMS-467
Auxiliary Mine Layer (ACM)
USS Picket (ACM-8)
Amphibious Force Flagship (AGC)
USS Ancon (AGC-4) USS Teton (AGC-14)
USS Mount Olympus (AGC-8)
High Speed Transport (APD)
USS Barr (APD-39) USS Pavlic (APD-70)
USS Burke (APD-65) USS Reeves (APD-52)
USS Gosselin APD-126) USS Runels (APD-85)
USS Hollis APD-86) USS Sims (APD-50)
USS Horace A. Bass APD-124) USS Wantuck (APD-125)
USS John Q. Roberts(APD-94) USS William M. Pattison (APD-104)
Tank Landing Ship (LST)
*Numbered ships named in 1955.
LST-567 LST-789
LST-648 LST-846 [USS Jennings County]*
LST-717 LST-1083 [USS Plumas County]*
LST-718 LST-1139
Landing Ship, Dock (LSD)
USS Catamount (LSD-17) USS Shadwell (LSD-15)
Landing Craft, Infantry (LCI)
LCI(L)-438 LCI(L)-469
LCI(L)-441 LCI(L)-726
LCI(L)-450 LCI(L)-752
LCI(L)-457 LCI(L)-798
LCI(L)-458
Medium Landing Ship (LSM)
LSM-13 LSM-290
LSM-15 LSM-362
LSM-71 LSM-368
LSM-101 LSM-371
LSM-208 LSM-419
LSM-252 LSM-488
LSM-284
Landing Ship, Vehicle (LSV)
USS Monitor (LSV-5) USS Ozark (LSV-2)
Attack Transport (APA)
USS Bosque (APA-135) USS Highlands (APA-119)
USS Botetourt (APA-136) USS Lavaca (APA 180)
USS Briscoe (APA-65) USS Lenawee (APA-195)
USS Cecil (APA-96) USS Mellette (APA-156)
USS Clearfield (APA-142) USS Missoula (APA-211)
USS Cullman (APA-78) USS Rutland (APA-192)
USS Darke (APA-159) USS St. Mary's (APA-126)
USS Dauphin (APA-97) USS Sherburne (APA-205)
USS Deuel (APA-160) USS Sheridan (APA-51)
USS Dickens (APA-161) USS Talladega (APA-208)
USS Hansford (APA-106)
Transport (AP)
USS General Sturgis (AP-137)
Attack Cargo Ship (AKA)
USS Libra (AKA-12) USS Todd (AKA-71)
USS Medea (AKA-31) USS Tolland (AKA-64)
USS Pamina (AKA-34) USS Whiteside (AKA-90)
USS Sirona (AKA-43) USS Yancy (AKA-93)
USS Skagit (AKA-105)
Cargo Ship (AK)
USS Lesuth (AK-125)
Civilian Cargo Ships
St. Lawrence Victory (US) Winthrop Victory (US)
Stores Issue Ship (AKS)
USS Cybele (AKS-10)
Repair Ship (AR)
USS Delta (AR-9)
Landing Craft Repair Ship (ARL)
USS Patroclus (ARL-19)
Oiler (AO)
USS Chiwawa (AO-68) USS Niobrara (AO-72)
USS Mascoma (AO-83) USS Tamalpais (AO-96)
USS Neches (AO-47)
Civilian Oilers
Carelia (British) Fort Wrangell (British)
City of Dieppe (British) Wave King (British)
Dingledale (British)
Gasoline Tanker (AOG)
USS Genesee (AOG-8)
Destroyer Tender (AD)
USS Piedmont (AD-17)
Hospital Ship (AH)
USS Benevolence (AH-13) HMHS Tjitjalengka (Dutch)
Marigold (U.S. Army)
Seaplane Tender (AV)
USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) USS Hamlin (AV-15)
Small Seaplane Tender (AVP)
USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39) USS Suisun (AVP-53)
USS Mackinac (AVP-13)
Submarine Tender (AS)
USS Proteus (AS-19)
Submarine Rescue Ship (ASR)
USS Greenlet (ASR-10)
Fleet Ocean Tug (ATF)
USS Moctobi (ATF-105) USS Wenatchee (ATF-118)
Auxiliary Ocean Tug (ATA)
*Numbered ship named in 1955
ATA-205 [USS Sciota]*
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NOTE: #USS Hughes was listed in the report, but according to the ship's deck log was crossing the international date line enroute to Japan. USS Charles F. Hughes was sweeping mines. At 10:27 the ship passed Ashika Light. At 10:30 the war ended. At 10:44 the ship made preparations for entering the port and anchored at 12:21 in Tokyo Bay.
#USS Woodcock (ATO-145) is listed in the report, but that ship spent World War II in Central and South American waters. The ship named Woodcock that was present was HMS Woodcock, a frigate.