Mississippi Class Battleship

Mississippi Class Battleship

The Mississippi class of battleships comprised two ships which were authorized in the 1903 naval budget: Mississippi and Idaho. They were the last pre-dreadnought battleships to be designed for the United States Navy; however, they were not the last to be built as one more ship of a prior design was completed later under the 1904 naval budget. While the quality and technology of the weaponry and armor were first-rate, these ships included a variety of main, intermediate, secondary, and tertiary gun sizes in a pre-dreadnought configuration which became obsolete before the ships were completed.

The first several years of the twentieth century were a period of confusion and transition in U.S. naval strategy, tactics, and ship-design. The Mississippi class, along with the preceding Connecticut class, were designed based on lessons learned in the Spanish–American War, but while they were under construction, the Russo Japanese War, war games, and experimentation demonstrated new priorities and concepts which would influence future designs. This was also a period where rapid development of techniques and training in the use of large guns made the inclusion of rapid-fire intermediate and secondary weapons unnecessary. Future U.S. designs would reduce the confusing array of guns sizes in pre-dreadnought battleships and rely on one gun size for the main armament, the "all-big-gun" concept, along with many small guns of a uniform caliber to combat small vessels in close proximity.

The Mississippi class ships were smaller than the several preceding classes of U.S. battleships. In essence, the Mississippi class ships were smaller versions of the preceding Connecticut class with virtually the same armament and armor, but the reduction in length, engine size, and fuel capacity caused them to be slow and short-ranged. Other design compromises caused them to perform poorly in terms of steering, stability, and sea keeping.

These ships served in the U.S. Navy from 1908 to 1914, when they were sold to Greece. Most U.S. service was with the Atlantic Fleet, though these ships did not perform well in fleet-operations due to their lower speeds and shorter ranges. The ships were frequently detached for special tasks, including goodwill tours, and for a time the Mississippi was used as a seaplane support vessel. In 1914, both Mississippi class ships were sold to Greece. From 1914 to the early 1930s, the ships were active in the Greek Navy, serving mostly in coastal defense and attack roles. In these missions and in the calmer waters of the Mediterranean their limitations were less pronounced. They saw service in the Russian Civil War and the Greco-Turkish War. By the mid-1930s, they were relegated to reserve and auxiliary roles. Both were sunk by German aircraft in 1941, and raised in the 1950s to be sold for scrap.