USS Mississippi (BB-41) - World War II Service

World War II Service

Returning to Norfolk, Virginia on 16 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 on 28 September, and spent the next two months there protecting shipping.

Two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mississippi left Iceland for the Pacific. Arriving on 22 January 1942 at San Francisco, she spent the next seven months training and escorting convoys along the coast. Beginning in May 1942, the original 5 in (130 mm)/51 cal guns of the secondary battery were removed to make room for anti-aircraft machine guns. On 6 December, after participating in exercises off Hawaii, she steamed with troop transports to the Fiji Islands, returning to Pearl Harbor on 2 March 1943. On 10 May, she sailed from Pearl Harbor to participate in a move to restore the Aleutian Islands to the United States. Kiska Island was shelled on 22 July, and a few days later the Japanese withdrew. After overhaul at San Francisco, Mississippi sailed from San Pedro on 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. While bombarding Makin on 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 on 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. This overhaul increased the number of 5 in (130 mm)/25 cal guns from eight to 14.

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 24 October, as part of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf's battleline, she helped to destroy a powerful Japanese task force at the Battle of Surigao Strait; Mississippi herself fired the final salvo in history by a battleship against other warships. As a result of the engagements at Leyte Gulf, the Japanese navy was no longer able to mount any serious offensive threat. Her gunfire sank the battleship Yamashiro.

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 on 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 kamikaze, she supported the invasion forces until 10 February. Following repairs at Pearl Harbor, she sailed to Nakagusuku Wan, Okinawa, arriving on 6 May to support the landing forces there. Her powerful guns destroyed the defenses at Shuri Castle, which had stalled the entire offensive. On 5 June, another kamikaze crashed into her starboard side, but the fighting ship continued to support the troops at Okinawa until 16 June.

After the announced surrender of Japan, Mississippi steamed to Sagami Wan, Honshū, arriving on 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.