WI: More Severe USS Missouri Grounding (1950)

Discussion in 'History After 1900' started by Delta Force, Jun 7, 2017.

  1. Delta Force

    Delta Force Administrator
    Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2017
    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    3
    USS Missouri was the only battleship of the United States Navy not to be placed in reserve status prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. In fact, President Truman personally intervened to keep the battleship in commission due to a fondness for the ship due to it being christened by his daughter, being named after his home state, and being the ship on which Japan formally surrendered. However, on January 17, 1950, Missouri ran aground near Hampton Roads while on a training exercise. After weeks of effort Missouri was refloated February 1 and repaired in time for service in Korea, but if things had gone differently repairs might have been more complicated.

    What if Missouri had taken longer to refloat or had been more damaged during the grounding incident and rendered unavailable for service when the Korean War broke out? How long would it take for other battleships to be brought back into service for naval operations? Would heavy cruisers be able to pick up the slack? How might amphibious warfare doctrine change?
     

Share This Page