Tag Archives: USS Mississippi (BB-41)

The Final Battlewagon Scrap, 80 Years on

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USS Mississippi (BB-41) bombarding Luzon, during the Lingayen operation, on 8 January 1945. She is followed by USS West Virginia (BB-48) and HMAS Shropshire. Photographed from USS New Mexico (BB-40). Mississippi is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 6D. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-301229

While surface ships have continued to fight it out in isolated instances since WWII– such as HMS Zealous (R39)/INS Eilat vs Egyptian Komar in 1967; HMS Cadiz (D79)/PNS Khaibar vs INS Nirghat in 1971, and USS Joseph Strauss vs IRIS Sahand in 1988– they have invariably been one-sided over-the-horizon missile engagements between very light ships. Well, light compared to a battlewagon anyway.

The golden age of battleships duking it out with big guns, while something that could have possibly occurred well into the late 1950s, ended 80 years ago today for all practical purposes.

As noted in 1958 by RADM Samuel E. Morison, USNR (Ret.), at the end of the age of the battleship, specifically between the New Mexico class of dreadnought USS Mississippi (BB-41), and the Japanese Fusō-class dreadnought Yamashiro, with the latter serving as the doomed flagship of Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura’s Southern Force at the Battle of Surigao Strait:

“When Mississippi discharged her twelve 14-inch guns at Yamashiro at a range of 19,790 yards, at 0408 October 25, 1944, she was not only giving that battleship the coup de grâce, but firing a funeral salute to a finished era of naval warfare.

One can imagine the ghosts of all great admirals from Raleigh to Jellicoe standing at attention as [the] Battle Line went into oblivion, along with the Greek phalanx, the Spanish wall of pikemen, the English longbow and the row-galley tactics of Salamis and Lepanto.”

Mighty Miss

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80 Years Ago Today: New Mexico-class super dreadnaught by Great War standards (or slow battleship by WWII standards) USS Mississippi (BB-41), underway in Puget Sound, Washington, July 13th, 1944, at 3 knots. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 6D.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Catalog #: NH 104835

As noted in past posts, Mississippi would be one of the longest-serving American battlewagons, serving as a test platform for seagoing guided missiles until 1956, truly bridging the Great War-Second World War-Cold War-era perhaps better than any other ship in the fleet.

The Mighty Miss headed West

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80 years ago today. The much-modified New Mexico-class super-dreadnought USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 41), port view, 45 degrees of centerline while off San Francisco, California, 8 October 1943

National Museum of the U.S. Navy photo 19-LCM-Box 196-2

Another shot, taken the same day, shows a great profile of BB-41.

Note that giant new SK radar. 19-LCM-Box 196-3

The third USS Mississippi was laid down on 5 April 1915 by Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.; launched on 25 January 1917; and commissioned 18 December 1917– some eight months after the U.S. entered the Great War.

Her WWI service was limited largely to exercises and working up– plus the British wanted coal-fired battleships for service with the Home Fleet and Mississippi and her sisters had an advanced turbo-electric engineering suite of four Curtis turbines with steam provided by nine oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers.

Modernized in the mid-1930s (changing to a more efficient 4 sets of Westinghouse geared steam turbines powered by 6 Bureau Express boilers in addition to a myriad of other, more minor, changes), Mississippi escaped the great battleship slaughter at Pearl Harbor as she was on the other side of the globe– keeping neutrality watch in Icelandic waters on December 7, 1941.

While she was rushed to the West Coast afterward, limited refueling abilities past Oahu left her there, only venturing out on the occasional convoy run to Fiji and heading north to participate in retaking the Aleutians from the Japanese in 1943. Finally, by October of that year, it was deemed there were enough oilers and Mississippi had enough new anti-aircraft barrels installed (20 Bofors 40mm in 4×4 & 2×2 mounts, as well as 21 Oerlikon 20mm guns) to head to the West Pac.

The above images were taken just before Mississippi sailed from San Pedro on 19 October to take part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands.

She would end up with eight battle stars for World War II service then live on into the Atomic era as a guided missile anti-aircraft training ship and test ship (EAG‑128), remaining in service into 1956– the last American Great War era battlewagon on active duty. Of note, her two sisters were broken up in 1947.

SAMs and casemates! USS Mississippi (EAG-128) Fires a Terrier surface-to-air missile during at-sea tests, circa 1953-55. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-K-17878

Magnolia Christmas in the Big Apple

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New Yorkers gazing at the brand new New Mexico-class dreadnought USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 41) as she lies at anchor in the Hudson River for the Great War victory fleet review, Christmas Eve, 1918.

Note the red flag and two stars of a Junior Rear Admiral flying from the main. Photo by Underwood & Underwood. National Archives Identifier: 45513317 Local Identifier: 165-WW-337D-7.

Under the command of CAPT William A. Moffett (USNA 1890, MoH recipient, and future “Air Admiral”), at the time of these images, she was the newest U.S. battleship in commission at the time.

“A deck view of the new MISSISSIPPI, one of the mightiest fighting ships afloat December 25, 1918.” NH 123911

Commissioned 18 December 1917, she had spent her first world war on a series of training and workups along the East Coast and did not have a chance to fire a shot in anger.

Her second world war would be a lot less tranquil.

Panama, class of ’21

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“Combined Atlantic and Pacific Fleets in Panama Bay, Jan. 21st 1921,” taken by M.C. Mayberry, of Mayberry and Smith, Shreveport, Louisiana:

Click to big up 1777x529 Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, D.H. Criswell Collection. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 86082-B

Click to big up 1777×529. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, D.H. Criswell Collection. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 86082-B

Among the ships present in this image are (from left to right): USS Stoddert (DD-302), USS Melville (AD-2), USS Texas (BB-35), USS Partridge (AM-16), USS Birmingham (CL-2), USS Arkansas (BB-33), USS Idaho (BB-42), USS Mississippi (BB-41), USS Wyoming (BB-32), USS New York (BB-34), USS New Mexico (BB-40) and USS Pennsylvania (BB-38).