These Are the Last 10 Surviving Battleships in the World

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 A century ago, the great navies of the world built hundreds of battleships to project power on the high seas. Today, only 10 remain, preserved as museum ships.

Between the 1880s and the end of World War II, the navies of the world built hundreds of “all-big-gun” battleships, including dreadnoughts and fast battleships. The massive seagoing behemoths evolved from 19th-century ironclads into warships that dominated the seas, albeit only for a brief window of time.

The exact number of “battleships” is open to debate, based on what one considers a true “battleship.” However, the US Navy’s classification scheme gave it a total of 59 battleships of 23 different classes between 1888, when the class came into existence, and 1947. Battleship construction in the United States was concentrated in two major phases: first during America’s initial rise to naval power, ending around 1922; and second during the military buildup in the years leading up to (and during) World War II, from 1937 to 1944.

The US Navy has retired all of its battleships. However, even in the age of the aircraft carrier, the battleship continued to play a role long after its purported demise. The USS Missouri, the final active battleship anywhere in the world, retired in 1992!

Such massive—even majestic—vessels will never be built again, despite President Donald Trump’s plans for an eponymous Trump class. Even if those are built, which is unlikely, they won’t be the big gun battleships, and their role would be quite different.

Today, around the world, only 10 warships are preserved as floating museums that are true battleships. Eight of those warships are now retired US Navy battlewagons, all of which saw service in World War II.

The 10 surviving battleships are listed below, in order of commissioning into their respective navies.

Navy: Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)

Year Commissioned: 1902

Year Decommissioned: 1923

Location: Yokosuka, Japan

Preserved as a museum ship in Yokosuka, Japan, the Mikasa is the oldest and only surviving pre-dreadnought battleship preserved in the world. The warship was the last of four Japanese battleships laid down under the terms of Japan’s 1896 10-Year Naval Expansion program. The warship was built under contract by Armstrong, Elswick, in the United Kingdom.

Commissioned in 1902 for the Imperial Japanese Navy, Mikasa displaced 15,140 tons with a length of 432 ft (131.7 m). Although smaller than the warships to follow, she was armed with 12-inch main guns. At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, she served as Admiral Heihachirō Tōgō’s flagship, and saw action at the famed Battle of Tsushima Strait.

In her capacity as fleet flagship, she attracted significant Russian fire. Yet a combination of factors were in favor, including her Krupp-cemented 9-inch belt of armor and the lackluster Russian targeting. Mikasa survived the battle with little damage. However, on September 12, 1905, the mighty battleship sank in port at Sasebo following a devastating magazine explosion, possibly similar to that of the US Navy’s USS Maine.

Mikasa was refloated and recommissioned with new main and secondary gun batteries. She was maintained as a national memorial to Japan’s victory at Tsushima, but was heavily damaged during the US bombing of Japan in World War II. Heavily restored, with replica guns and newly fabricated superstructure, she is preserved at Yokosuka.

Navy: Royal Hellenic Navy (Greece)

Year Commissioned: 1911

Year Decommissioned: 1952

Location: Thessaloniki, Greece

Technically, the RHN Georgios Averof is only an armored cruiser, but the Hellenic Navy describes her as a “battleship.” Either way, she is the only surviving warship of this type, and is the largest military vessel ever in Greek service.

Like the IJN’s Mikasa, the RHN Georgios Averof was foreign-built—in this case, built at the Orlando Shipyards in Italy for the Italian Royal Navy.

However, due to financial constraints, Rome decided that the first two of the class of armored cruisers were sufficient and allowed the shipyard to sell the already-under-construction warship. Athens used funds left by the Greek businessman and philanthropist George M. Avergoff, who stipulated in his will that 20 percent of his estate would fund a warship to be named in his honor.

In the end, Greece paid less for the Georgios Averof than Italy paid for her sister ship, the Pisa. It was also likely among the only cases of a warship named for someone with nearly no ties to his nation’s navy—although the US Navy did name a supercarrier for Senator John C. Stennis, who never served, and might yet name a class of vessels for the sitting president, who also never served.

RHN Georgios Averof served as the flagship of the Hellenic Navy, seeing service in the Balkan War of 1912 and both World Wars. Near the end of World War II, the warship—then in the service of the Greek government-in-exile—sailed from Cairo to recently-liberated Athens and had its flag raised over the Acropolis as a symbol of a free nation.

The vessel served as a Fleet Headquarters of the Hellenic Navy until she was decommissioned in 1952. In the 1980s, RHN Georgios Averof underwent restoration and now serves as a floating museum in Thessaloniki.

Year Commissioned: 1914

Year Decommissioned: 1948

Location: Galveston, Texas

The USS Texas (BB-35) is the oldest surviving US Navy battleship, the last surviving dreadnought battleship, and the only remaining capital ship to see service in both World Wars. The New York-class battlewagon was launched in May 1912 and commissioned in March 1914.

Although she did not see significant combat action during World War I, USS Texas was still part of the Battleship Force of the Atlantic Fleet. Upgraded during the interwar era, BB-35 took part in multiple combat operations in World War II, beginning with Task Group 34.8 (TG 34.8) in support of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. It was from the battleship that then-Lt. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower made his first “Voice of Freedom” broadcast, in which he called on the Vichy French forces defending Morocco not to oppose the Allied landings.

USS Texas was among the warships to provide supporting fire during the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, and she later participated in the bombardment of Cherbourg, during which she was hit by enemy coastal artillery fire but suffered no serious damage.

After undergoing repairs in Plymouth, England, the USS Texas played a role in the Allied invasion of the South of France during Operation Dragoon. She then returned to the United States and underwent an overhaul in New York City, during which her main battery barrels were replaced. The USS Texas was subsequently deployed to the Pacific, where she provided naval gunfire support during the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. For her service in World War II, BB-35 earned a total of five battle stars.

USS Texas also has the distinction of being the first vessel from World War II to be designated a museum ship. Over the past 80 years, her greatest enemy has been time and the elements. At one point, the wear on her hull had become so significant that there were real fears she might sink. However, a lengthy restoration effort is nearing completion, ensuring that the honorary flagship of Texas will be preserved for future generations.

Today, the Texas’ renovation is ongoing, and she remains closed to the public. The Battleship Texas Foundation is working to raise $15 million in funding to complete renovations, and is roughly halfway to this goal. The venerable warship can be seen in port near Galveston, Texas, with plans to eventually move her to Pier 15 along the city’s wharf.

7. USS North Carolina (BB-55)

Year Commissioned: 1941

Year Decommissioned: 1947

Location: Wilmington, North Carolina

The lead vessel of the North Carolina-class of fast battleships, the first such built for the US Navy, USS North Carolina was constructed under the Washington Treaty system, which limited her displacement and armament. That could have seriously impacted her capabilities; however, the US was able to use a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty to increase the main battery from the original armament of 12 14-inch (356 mm) guns in quadruple turrets to 9 16-inch (406 mm) guns in triple turrets.

The fourth US Navy warship to be named for the Tar Heel State, the North Carolina was actually built in the heart of Yankee land at the New York Naval Shipyard. She was commissioned into the Navy in April 1941, seven months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II.

Although she was still in the Atlantic Ocean during Pearl Harbor, BB-55 spent the vast majority of her combat career (38 months) in the Pacific—earning 15 battle stars for taking part in every major action from Guadalcanal to Japan. Among her more notable engagements were the Battles of Eastern Solomons, the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The North Carolina also survived a Japanese torpedo strike and made it through “Halsey’s Typhoon” in December 1944.

USS North Carolina earned 15 battle stars, the most of any American battleship during World War II.

BB-55 has been preserved as the USS Battleship North Carolina since 1961. It is currently located across the Cape Fear River from downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, and serves as one of the Tar Heel State’s most-visited tourist sites, receiving 250,000 visitors in 2022.

The former battleship was declared a National Historic Landmark in November 1982. Having remained in its wartime configuration, efforts to maintain the ship and improve the facility for visitors have continued.

6. USS Massachusetts (BB-59)

Year Commissioned: 1942

Year Decommissioned: 1947

Location: Fall River, Massachusetts

The seventh vessel to be named for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the USS Massachusetts (BB-59) saw significant service during World War II, earning her the moniker “Work Horse of the Fleet.” Built by Bethlehem Steel Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, the South Dakota-class warship measures 681 feet in length with a 108-foot beam and weighs 35,000 tons.

She played a crucial role in Operation Torch, where she engaged the French battleship Jean Bart and destroyers off Casablanca in 1942. USS Massachusetts was subsequently deployed to the Pacific, where she escorted carriers and took part in shore bombardments until the end of World War II.

BB-59 went on to receive a total of 11 battle stars for her service during World War II.

Unlike many other battleships, BB-59 was spared from scrapping through veterans’ efforts, and the former USS Massachusetts now resides as the centerpiece of Battleship Cove. The Massachusetts and her sister ship, USS Alabama (BB-60), are the only two South Dakota-class battleships to survive to the present day.

Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, is home to the world’s largest historic naval ship exhibit. It is also home to several warships, including the Gearing-class destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy (DD-850), the Balao-class submarine USS Lionfish (SS-298), the only remaining Elco PT boat. 

5. USS Alabama (BB-60)

Year Commissioned: 1942

Year Decommissioned: 1947

Location: Mobile, Alabama

Even if you haven’t seen the USS Alabama (BB-60) in person, chances are you’ve seen the second of the preserved South Dakota-class battleships on the big screen. Because she was preserved as a museum ship, BB-60 has been used as a filming location in multiple movies—notably 1992’s highly acclaimed Under Siege and 2016’s critically panned USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage.

Long before USS Alabama was ready for her close-up, the warship saw service in both the Atlantic and Pacific during World War II, where she served primarily as an escort for the fast carrier task force to protect the aircraft carriers from surface and air attacks, but bombarded Japanese positions in support of amphibious assaults.

BB-60 was the fourth and final South Dakota-class battleship constructed for the US Navy under the terms of the Washington Treaty system, with the same clauses as the Massachusetts.

Decommissioned after the war, there had been plans to convert the warship into a guided missile battleship, but the costs of the conversion proved to be prohibitive. Instead, she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1962. She might have been scrapped—the fate that awaited the first two vessels in the class, USS South Dakota and USS Indiana—yet lawmakers from the Heart of Dixie sought to preserve the vessel as a museum ship.

In June 1964, the US Navy officially awarded the ship to her namesake state, with the provision that she could be recalled to service in the event of an emergency. During the voyage from Seattle to Mobile, the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) served as escort, a reversal of the two ships’ wartime roles. It was the longest tow of a vessel that was not an active warship.

The Alabama never did return to service, but in the 1980s, when the US Navy reactivated its four Iowa-class battleships, parts from the former battleship, including much of its engine room, were cannibalized for use on the ones that were. BB-60 was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Year Commissioned: 1943–1949; recommissioned 1951–1958, 1984–1990

Year Decommissioned: 1990 (final)

Location: San Pedro, California

Known as the “Presidential Battleship”—as she was specially fitted with a bathtub to accommodate then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his trip to Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria, en route to the Tehran Conference—USS Iowa (BB-61), the lead ship of the Iowa class, is also the last lead ship of any class of US Navy battleships and the only ship of her class to serve in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.

USS Iowa was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, where she supported multiple amphibious landings and served as the Third Fleet flagship, flying Admiral William F. Halsey’s flag at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.

BB-61 could reach speeds exceeding 33 knots, making her a true “fast battleship,” while she was armed with nine 16-inch/50-caliber guns in three turrets that could fire armor-piercing rounds upwards of 24 miles.

BB-61 was recalled to service during the Korean War, and then again in the 1980s when then-President Ronald Reagan called for a 600-ship US Navy. Since 2012, she has been preserved as the Battleship USS Iowa and the centerpiece of the National Museum of the Surface Navy in San Pedro, California.

3. USS New Jersey (BB-62)

Year Commissioned: 1943–1948; recommissioned 1950–1957, 1968–1969, 1982–1991

Year Decommissioned: 1991 (final)

Location: Camden, New Jersey

The second US Navy ship to be named in honor of the Garden State, BB-62 earned more battle stars for combat actions than any other battleship in US Navy history, earning 19 battle and campaign stars across World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. In addition, USS New Jersey was also the only battleship used to provide gunfire support during the Vietnam War, seeing combat in four major conflicts, more than any of her three sister ships.

Known as the “Big J,” “Black Dragon,” and other names, BB-62 was launched on December 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. She was commissioned in May 1943, serving as the flagship of the 5th Fleet under Adm. Raymond A. Spruance.

She has been preserved as a museum ship since 2001, docked on the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey, across from downtown Philadelphia. In 2024, she underwent a major refurbishment that addressed years of harsh New Jersey winters and hot summers.

2. USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

Year Commissioned: 1944–1948; recommissioned 1951–1958, 1988–1991

Year Decommissioned: 1991 (final)

Location: Norfolk, Virginia

Despite having a higher hull number than USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Wisconsin (BB-64) was built first, making her the third Iowa-class battleship completed during World War II. She was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and launched on December 7, 1943, the second anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

BB-64 served exclusively in the Pacific, participating in the Philippines campaign and the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and shelling the Japanese home islands. USS Wisconsin was later reactivated during the Korean War, where she shelled North Korean targets in support of United Nations and South Korean ground operations. The battleship was returned to service in the 1980s and subsequently participated in Operation Desert Storm in January-February 1991. Along with the USS Missouri (BB-63), the USS Wisconsin became the last of the American battleships to fire her guns in anger.

As with the other Iowa-class battleships, BB-64 became a museum ship and was initially kept in a state of readiness should she be needed again.

However, in December 2009, the US Navy officially transferred Wisconsin to the city of Norfolk, Virginia, thereby ending the requirement to preserve the ship for possible recall to active duty. USS Wisconsin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 2012.

1. USS Missouri (BB-63)

Year Commissioned: 1944–1955; recommissioned 1986–1992

Year Decommissioned: 1992 (final)

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Completed in 1944, USS Missouri (BB-63) was the final battleship commissioned for the United States Navy. She was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II, where the Iowa-class warship participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands.

The “Mighty Mo”’s finest moment arguably at the very end of the war. While anchored in Tokyo Bay, the battleship’s quarterdeck served as the official site for the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, which formally ended the conflict. (In practice, hostilities had mostly ended on August 15, following the Emperor’s surrender announcement.)

BB-63 was returned to service twice; first during the Korean War and then in the 1980s, when she was modernized to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

USS Missouri was decommissioned and converted into a museum ship for the second time in 1998. The warship had been maintained with the reserve fleet at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and attracted about 250,000 visitors per year. After being decommissioned for a third and almost final time, a decision was made to preserve the historic vessel as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, just 500 yards from the famed memorial to the USS Arizona. Initially, the National Park Service expressed concern that the battleship, whose name has become synonymous with the end of World War II, would overshadow the Arizona.

These fears proved largely unfounded. BB-63 was placed far back from the memorial, with its bow facing it, to convey that USS Missouri was watching over the remains of the Arizona, so that those interred in her hull may rest in peace. It is fitting that the two battleships have come to symbolize both the beginning and the end of World War II for the United States.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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