The Ships of Brawling Battleships Steel: United States Battleship Mississippi (BB 41)

Laid down on April 5, 1915, launched on January 25, 1917 and commissioned on December 18, 1917, Mississippi carried a main armament of twelve 14 inch main guns mounted three per turret; two centerline superfiring forward and two centerline superfiring aft. The 14 inch guns were longer than in the previous Pennsylvania class, giving them more muzzle velocity, range and accuracy. Mississippi was a member of the three ship New Mexico class and all had oil-fired turbine engines (used in a turbo electric drive to generate electrical propulsion in the New Mexico only).

Like all U. S. battleships built after the New York class, the Mississippi was built using the "all or nothing" protection scheme and this class had the thickest possible armor for the most important parts of the ship and well-designed internal compartmenting to limit flooding in less valuable places. The ships of the New Mexico class were also the first United States battleships to sport a handsome "clipper" bow. All United States battleships, with the exception of the pre-dreadnought Kearsarge , were named after states, a custom that went back to the naming of wooden ships of the line. Also, dating from 1920, they were assigned a hull number that was normally displayed on the hull indicating its original priority for construction.

An earlier, pre-dreadnought U. S. S. Mississippi (BB-23) served in the United States Navy from 1908 until 1914, when she was sold to Greece and renamed Kilkis. The Kilkis was sunk by dive bombers at Salamis on April 23, 1941. In World War One, Mississippi served with the United States Atlantic Fleet and saw no action.

During gunnery practice on June 12, 1924, an accidental turret fire took 48 lives. Between the wars, she served with both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, with time for an overhaul and updating from 1931–1932, after which she rejoined the Pacific Fleet. Returning to the Atlantic Fleet in mid 1941, she participated in "Neutrality Patrols" until the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941. She continued on Atlantic escort duties until July 1942, and then transferred to the Pacific, where she compiled a superb record in repeated amphibious landings. Mississippi provided heavy fire support during the invasions of the Aleutians, Tarawa, Makin, Kwajalein, Taroa, Watje and Kavieng through March of 1944. After a refit that including replacing her worn gun barrels, she returning to the business of pounding coral and lava into smaller pieces at Saipan, Peleliu and Leyte Gulf. At Leyte Gulf she took part in the overwhelming naval victory at the Battle of Surigao Strait on October 25, 1944, while serving as Rear-Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf’s (1887–1974) flagship.

Off Lingayen Gulf, on January 9, 1945, a kamikaze hit her armored bridge and caused only slight damage and another kamikaze hit off Okinawa was again brushed off. By the end of the war, Mississippi had a reputation as the best shore bombardment ship in the entire U. S. Navy. The ship was proudly present in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, for the formal Japanese surrender.

After the war, she was converted from 1946 – 1947 into a gunnery training and experimental vessel (with the new hull number of EAG-128) to replace the old Wyoming. Progressively disarmed, the second turret was replaced with an automated 6-inch battery in 1950 and the third and fourth turrets were removed for missile turrets in 1952 for use as a guided missile trial vessel. 

Decommissioned on July 31, 1956, she was sold for scrap in November of that same year.

See other United States battleships: Arizona, Delaware, Texas