| Act of 3 March 1903: |
|
"... The President is hereby authorized to
have
constructed by the contract or
in navy-yards ... three first class
battle ships carrying the heaviest
armor and most powerful ordnance
for vessels of their class upon
a trial displacement of not more
than sixteen thousand tons, and
to have the highest practicable
speed and great radius of action,
and to cost, exclusive of armor
and armament, not exceeding four
million two hundred and twelve
thousand dollars each; ... Said
vessels ... in all their parts shall
be of domestic machinery; and
the steel material shall be of
domestic manufacture, ... Not
more than two of ... battle ships
provided for in this act shall
be built by one contracting party:
..." |
| The second Mississippi (BB-23) was laid down 12 May 1904 by William
Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
launched 30 September 1905; sponsored by
Miss M. C. Money, daughter of Senator H.
P. Money of Mississippi; and commissioned
at Philadelphia Navy Yard 1 February 1908,
Capt. J. C. Fremont in command. |
| Following shakedown off the coast of Cuba,
15 February to
15 March 1908, the new battleship
returned to Philadelphia for
final
fitting out. Standing out 1 July,
she operated along the New England
coast, until returning to Philadelphia
10 September. The warship
next put to sea 16 January 1909
to represent the United States
at
the inauguration of the President
of Cuba at Havana, 25 to 10
February, sailing that day to
join the "Great White Fleet"
as it
returned from its famous world
cruise. With the fleet on
Washington;s Birthday, the battlewagon
was reviewed by President Theodore Roosevelt. On 1 March she
returned to the Caribbean. |
| The ship departed Cuban waters 1 May for
a cruise up the
river which shared her name,
the mighty Mississippi. Calling at the
major ports of this great inland
waterway, she arrived at Natchez 20
May, and then proceeded 5 days
later to Horn Island where she
received a silver service from
the State of Mississippi. Returning
to Philadelphia 7 June, the battleship
operated off the New England
coast until sailing 5 January
1910 for winter exercises and war
games out of Guantanamo Bay.
The battleship departed 24 March for
Norfolk and operated off the
east coast until fall, calling at a
number of large ports, serving
as a training ship for Naval Militia,
and engaging in maneuvers and
exercises designed to keep the ship
and crew in the finest possible
fighting trim. |
| She departed Philadelphia 1 November for
a fleet
rendezvous at Gravesend Bay,
England, 16 November, and then sailed 7
December for Brest, France, arriving
on the 9th. On 30 December,
Mississippi set course for Guantanamo Bay for winter
maneuvers until 13 March 1911. |
| Returning to the United States, the battleship
operated
off the Atlantic coast, basing
alternately out of Philadelphia and
Norfolk for the next year and
2 months, serving as a training ship
and conducting operational exercises.
She cleared Tompkinsville, New
York, 26 May 1912 with a detachment
from the 2d Marine Regiment on
board to protect American interests
in Cuba. Landing her Marine
detachment at El Cuero 19 June,
she remained on station in
Guantanamo Bay until 5 July,
when she sailed for home. |
| Following exercises with the 4th Battleship
Division off
New England, she returned to
Philadelphia Navy Yard where she was
put in the 1st Reserve 1 August
1912. |
| Mississippi remained in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
at Philadelphia until detached
30 December 1913 for duty as
aeronautic station ship at Pensacola,
Florida. Departing 6 January
1914, the battleship arrived
21 January, transporting equipment for
the establishment of a naval
air station. At Pensacola, she stood by
while her crew, along with the
early naval aviators, rebuilt the old
naval base, laying the foundation
for the largest and most famous
American naval air station. |
| With the outbreak of fighting in Mexico,
Mississippi sailed 21 April to Vera Cruz, arriving on
the
24th with the first detachment
of naval aviators to go into combat.
Serving as a floating base for
the fledgling seaplanes and their
pilots, the warship launched
nine reconnaissance flights over the
area during a period of 18 days,
making the last flight 12 May. One
month later, the battleship departed
Vera Cruz for Pensacola.
Serving as station ship there
from 15 to 28 June, she then sailed
north to Hampton Roads where
she transferred her aviation gear to
armored cruiser North Carolina (CA-12), 3 July. |
| On the 10th, Mississippi shifted to Newport News
to prepare for transfer to the
Greek Government. Mississippi
decommissioned at Newport News
21 July 1914, and was turned over to
the Royal Hellenic Navy the same
day. Renamed Lemnos, the
battleship served for the next
17 years as a coast defense vessel.
She was sunk in an air attack
by German bombers on Salamis harbor in
April 1941; and, after World
War II, her hull was later salvaged as
scrap. |
| Note: while the DANFS lists this ship as
having been sold
to Greece and renamed Lemnos, other sources state that she
was renamed Kilkis. |
| |
USS Mississippi, Battleship (BB-23)
Bibliography
|
|
Larry W. Jewell, Who's Who of United States
Battleships, (Internet publication), edition: 30 August,
1993. |
|
|
James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American
Naval Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1964), Vol.1
-- A-B, p. 192 |
|
James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American
Naval Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1969), Vol.4:
L-M, p.
388 | |
