USS Mississippi (BB-41)

USS Mississippi (BB-41) at sea in the late 1930s
History
United States
Name	Mississippi
Namesake	Mississippi
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down	5 April 1915
Launched	25 January 1917
Commissioned	18 December 1917
Decommissioned	17 September 1956
Stricken	30 July 1956
Honors and awards	8 × battle stars
Fate	Broken up, 1957
General characteristics
Class and type	New Mexico-class battleship
Displacement	Normal: 32,000 long tons (32,514 t) Full load: 33,000 long tons (33,530 t)
Length	624 ft (190 m)
Beam	97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft	30 ft (9.1 m)
Installed power	9 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 32,000 shp (24,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × steam turbines 4 × screw propellers
Speed	21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	55 officers 1,026 enlisted
Armament	12 × 14 in (356 mm)/50 cal guns 14 × 5 in (127 mm)/51 cal guns 4 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns 2 × Mark 8 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor	Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm) Turret face: 18 in (457 mm) Conning tower: 16 in (406 mm) Decks: 3.5 in (89 mm)

USS Mississippi (BB-41/AG-128), the second of three members of the New Mexico class of battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state. The ship was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News, Virginia, from her keel laying in April 1915, her launching in January 1917, and her commissioning in December that year. She was armed with a battery of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in four three-gun turrets, and was protected by heavy armor plate, with her main belt armor being 13.5 inches (343 mm) thick.

The ship remained in North American waters during World War I, conducting training exercises to work up the crew. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the ship served in the Pacific Fleet. In May 1941, with World War II and the Battle of the Atlantic raging, Mississippi and her two sister ships were transferred to the Atlantic Fleet to help protect American shipping through the Neutrality Patrols. Two days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mississippi departed the Atlantic to return to the Pacific Fleet; throughout her participation in World War II, she supported amphibious operations in the Pacific. She shelled Japanese forces during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands and the Philippines campaigns and the invasions of Peleliu and Okinawa. The Japanese fleet attacked American forces during the Philippines campaign, and in the ensuing Battle of Leyte Gulf, Mississippi took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait, the last battleship engagement in history.

After the war, Mississippi was converted into a gunnery training ship, and was also used to test new weapons systems. These included the RIM-2 Terrier missile and the AUM-N-2 Petrel missile. She was eventually decommissioned in 1956 and sold to ship breakers in November that year.