Figure 1: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) fitting out at the Cramp shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1907. Note: Ship's name on stern; hull primed for painting; after 12-inch gun turret with roof not yet installed. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) "cleared for action" in 1908, soon after she was completed. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) dressed with flags, off Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during Founders' Week, 1908. Note motor launch off the starboard quarter, with Mississippi's name painted on its stern, and the ship's name in large letters atop the after superstructure. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) underway, circa 1909, soon after she received a "cage" mainmast. Note that she is still fitted with a bow decoration. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) photographed by Brown & Shaffer, 1909. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) photographed by J.W. Dawson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1910, shortly after she was fitted with a "cage" foremast. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1972. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) photographed on 3 October 1911, probably off New York City. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view on the foredeck, looking aft, with the forward 12-inch gun turret trained to starboard, 1908. Note: anchor chain and capstans, hatches, and the bridge structure with ship's bell attached below its forward end. Photographed by Enrique Muller. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view looking forward from the ship's port bridge wing, 1908. Note the 12-inch gun turret with grating hatches open; also winch and capstans, with decorated tops on the latter. An old fortification is in the left distance. Photographed by Enrique Muller. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view on the afterdeck, looking forward, 1908. Note: 12-inch gun turret; after bridges with stump mainmast, searchlights and 3-pounder guns; winches, hatches and hose reel on the main deck. Photographed by Enrique Muller. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) view on the ship's afterdeck, while she was carrying the Navy's first combat air group to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in April 1914. Planes visible include a Curtiss "AB" type flying boat (on deck at left), and a Curtiss "AH" type floatplane (atop the after 12-inch gun turret). Note boom rigged to the battleship's superstructure, at left, for hoisting the planes on and off the ship. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: Greek battleship (either Kilkis or Lemnos) photographed in a US port. Kilkis was the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23). Lemnos was originally USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24), sister ship to Mississippi. Courtesy of the US Naval Institute. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: Greek battleship Kilkis under attack by German JU 87 dive bombers, at the Greek naval base at Salamis, 23 April 1941. In the lower left, in the floating drydock, is the destroyer Vasilefs Georgios. Kilkis, the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23), was sunk in this attack. The floating dock and destroyer were also sunk, but Vasilefs Georgios was subsequently raised and placed in service by the German Navy as Hermes (ZG-3). Photograph and some caption information were provided by Franz Selinger. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 14: Greek battleship Kilkis sunk at the Greek naval base at Salamis after she was hit by German air attacks on 23 April 1941. Photographed from a German Heinkel HE 60 seaplane after the base was occupied by the German Army. Note bomb damage to the nearby pier. Kilkis was the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23). Photograph and some caption information were provided by Franz Selinger. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 15: Greek battleships Kilkis and Lemnos sunk in the basin of the Greek naval base at Salamis after they were hit by German air attacks on 23 April 1941. Seen from the harbor pier following the arrival of the German army. Kilkis, the former USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23), is in the foreground. Lemnos, ex-USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24), is in the distance, with her guns removed. Photograph and some caption information were provided by Franz Selinger, via the US Naval Institute. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) was the lead ship in a class of 13,000-ton battleships, was built by William Cramp and Sons at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 1 February 1908. The ship was approximately 382 feet long and 77 feet wide, had a top speed of 17 knots, and had a crew of 744 officers and men. Mississippi was armed with four 12-inch guns, eight 8-inch guns, eight 7-inch guns, twelve 3-inch guns, and two 21-inch torpedo tubes.
Mississippi spent the bulk of her early years patrolling off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. But she also made a voyage up the Mississippi River in May 1909 to demonstrate contemporary naval technology to Americans living in the south and central parts of the United States. She also served as a floating recruitment poster, hoping to stimulate interest in and gain recruits for America’s new steel navy.
In late 1910, Mississippi sailed across the Atlantic to visit ports in England and France. She then returned to her normal duties off the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. In June 1912, Mississippi landed US Marines in Cuba to protect American lives and property, but she then was placed in reserve from mid-1912 to the end of 1913. In 1914, Mississippi carried men and equipment to Pensacola, Florida, where she supported the conversion of an old naval base into a new naval air station. In April and May 1914, the battleship transported seaplanes and pilots to Vera Cruz, Mexico, and served as a seaplane tender during the US Navy’s first combat aviation deployment. After her mission was completed off the coast of Mexico, Mississippi briefly returned to Pensacola before being sent to Newport News, Virginia.
Unfortunately, Mississippi and her only sister ship USS Idaho (Battleship No. 24) were poorly designed and were thoroughly unpopular ships in the fleet. They were small for battleships, which meant that they had limited range and endurance. With a top speed of only 17 knots, Mississippi and Idaho also were unable to keep up with the main battle squadrons. Since newer, larger, and more capable battleships were joining the fleet at that time, there seemed to be little reason to maintain two battleships nobody wanted. Therefore, Mississippi and Idaho were sold to Greece in July of 1914.
The Greek government renamed Mississippi the Kilkis and Idaho the Lemnos. Both ships saw extensive service in the Royal Hellenic Navy until 1932. Kilkis then was placed in reserve but returned to service in 1935 as a training ship. Lemonos was retained as a hulk, probably as a source of spare parts for Kilkis. Kilkis continued functioning as a training ship until 23 April 1941, when German dive bombers sank both Kilkis and Lemnos in Salamis harbor during Germany’s invasion of Greece. Kilkis remained partially submerged in the shallow waters of the harbor until well after the end of World War II, but the ship eventually was salvaged for scrap in the 1950’s.
