Was launched in 1984 and first saw action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. In 2001 on the evening of October 4th, the carrier launched the initial strike of Operation Enduring Freedom against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan from the North Arabian Sea. The ship is 1,092 feet long and holds up to 90 fixed wing and helicopters.
Referred to as Big Mo, this United States Navy battleship is best remembered as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.
Big Mo was commissioned in June 1944. In World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and later saw action in the Korean War.
Big Mo was decommissioned in 1955 but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan. In January 1991 provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm.
There once was a real ship named Black Pearl captained by Henry Morgan, one of the world’s most notorious pirates. The Black Pearl which first sailed in 1669 fought many battles; the most famous of which was an invasion in Panama in 1671. The following year Captain Morgan was put in prison in England. Years later he returned to Jamaica as a judge and governor. Henry Morgan died in England in 1688 after a long illness.