Act of 30 June 1914: |
"._._. The President is hereby authorized to have
constructed two first-class battleships carrying
as heavy armor and as powerful armament as
any vessel of their class, to have the highest
practicable speed and greatest desirable
radius of action, and to cost, exclusive
of armor and armament, not to exceed $7,800,000
each. One of the battleships hereby authorized
shall be built and constructed at a government
navy yard.
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. . . . . . .
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"The president may, in his discretion,
direct the sale ._._. of the two battleships Idaho and Mississippi
After said sale, in addition to the two battleships
herein have constructed a first-class battleship
carrying as heavy armor as powerful armament
as any vessel of its class, to have the highest
practicable speed and the greatest desirable
radius of action, and to cost, exclusive
of armor and armament, not to exceed $7,800,000
._._."
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Mississippi (BB-41) was laid down 5 April 1915 by Newport
News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Virginia;
launched 25 January 1917; sponsored by Miss
Camelle McCeath; and commissioned 18 December
1917, Capt. J. L. Jayne in command. |
Following exercises off Virginia, Mississippi steamed 22 March 1918 for training in the
Gulf of Guacanayabo, Cuba. One month later
she returned to Hampton Roads and cruised
between Boston and New York until departing
for winter maneuvers in the Caribbean 31
January 1919. ON 19 July she left the Atlantic
seaboard and sailed for the west coast. Arriving
at her new base, San Pedro, she operated
along the west coast for the next 4 years,
entering the Caribbean during the winter
months for training exercises. |
During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924 off
San Pedro, 48 of her men were asphyxiated
as a result of an explosion in her No. 2
main battery turret. On 15 April 1925 she
sailed from San Francisco for war games off
Hawaii, and then steamed to Australia on
a good will tour. She returned to the west
coast 26 September, and resumed operations
there for the next 6 years. During this period
she frequently sailed into Caribbean and
Atlantic waters for exercises during the
winter months. |
Mississippi entered Norfolk Navy Yard 30 March 1931
for a modernization overhaul, departing once
again on training exercises in September
1933. Transiting the Panama Canal 24 October
1934, she steamed back to her base at San
Pedro. For the next 7 years she operated
off the west coast, except for winter caribbean
cruises. |
Returning to Norfolk 15 June 1941, she prepared
for patrol service in the North Atlantic.
Steaming from Newport, Rhode Island, she
escorted a convoy to Hvalfjordur, Iceland.
She made another trip to Iceland 28 September
1941, and spent the next 2 months there protecting
shipping. |
Two days after the treacherous attack on
Pearl Harbor, Mississippi, and sister ship Idaho, left Iceland for the Pacific. Arriving
22 January 1942 at San Francisco, she spent
the next 7 months training and escorting
convoys along the coast. On 6 December, after
participating in exercises off Hawaii, she
steamed with troop transports to the Fiji
Islands, returning to Pearl Harbor 2 March
1943. On 10 May she sailed from Pearl Harbor
to participate in a move to restore the Aleutians
to their rightful possessors. Kiska Island
was shelled 22 July, and a few days later
the Japanese withdrew. After overhaul at
San Francisco, Mississippi sailed from San Pedro 19 October to take
part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.
While bombarding Makin 20 November, a turret
explosion, almost identical to the earlier
tragedy, killed 43 men. |
On 31 January 1944 she took part in the Marshall
Islands campaign, shelling Kwajalein. She
bombarded Taroa 20 February, and struck Wotje
the next day. On 15 March she pounded Kavieng,
New Ireland. Due for an overhaul, she spent
the summer months at Puget Sound. |
Returning to the war zone, Mississippi supported landings on Peleliu, in the palau
Islands, on 12 September. After a week of
continuous operations she steamed to Manus,
where she remained until 12 October. Departing
Manus, she assisted in the liberation of
the Philippines, shelling the east coast
of Leyte on 19 October. On the night of the
24th, as part of Admiral Oldendorf's battleline,
she helped to destroy a powerful Japanese
task force at the Battle of Suriago Strait.
As a result of the engagements at Leyte Gulf,
the Japanese navy was no longer able to mount
any serious offensive threat. |
Mississippi continued to support the operations at Leyte
Gulf until 16 November, when she steamed
to the Admiralty Islands. She then entered
San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 28 December, to prepare
for the landings on Luzon. ON 6 January 1945
she began bombarding in Lingayen Gulf. Despite
damages near her waterline received from
the crash of a suicide plane, she supported
the invasion forces until 10 February. Following
repairs at Pearl Harbor, she sailed to Nakagusuki
Wan, Okinawa, arriving 6 May to support the
landing forces there. Her powerful guns leveled
the defenses at Shuri Castle, which had stalled
the entire offensive. On 5 June, a kamikaze
crashed into her starboard side, but the
fighting ship continued to support the troops
as Okinawa until 16 June. |
After the announced surrender of Japan, Mississippi steamed to Sagami Wan, Honshu, arriving
27 August as part of the support occupation
force. She anchored in Tokyo Bay, witnessed
the signing of the surrender documents, and
steamed for home on 6 September. She arrived
27 November at Norfolk, where she underwent
conversion to AG-128, effective 15 February
1946. As part of the operational development
force, she spent the last 10 years of her
career carrying out investigations of gunnery
problems and testing new weapons, while based
at Norfolk. She helped launch the Navy into
the age of the guided-missile warship when
she successfully test fired the Terrier missile
on 28 January 1953 off Cape Cod. She also
assisted in the final evaluation of the Petrel,
a radar-homing missile, in February 1956. |
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Mississippi received eight battle stars for World War
II service.
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USS Mississippi, Battleship (BB-41) Bibliography
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Larry W. Jewell, Who's Who of United States Battleships, (Internet publication), edition: 30 August,
1993. |
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James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1964), Vol.1 -- A-B, p. 196 |
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James L. Mooney, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1969), Vol.4: L-M, p. 388-389 |
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