USS Mississippi ( BB - 23 ) USS " Mississippi " ( Battleship No . 23 ) , the lead ship of her class of battleship s , was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U . S . state of Mississippi . After her career in the USN , she was sold to Greece and renamed " Kilkis " in 1914 . " Kilkis " was sunk by German bombers in April 1941 . Her keel was laid down on 12 May 1904 by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . She was launched on 30 September 1905 sponsored by Miss Mabel Clare Money , daughter of United States Senator Hernando D . Money of Mississippi , and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 1 February 1908 , Captain J . C . Fremont in command . Design . " Mississippi " and her sister were designed in response to Congressional desire to cap the growth and expense of new battleships , whose size and cost had increased dramatically since the first US battleships , the s of 1893 , had been authorized . Displacement was limited to 13 , 000 tons ( 13 , 200 metric tons ) , a reduction of 3 , 000 tons ( 3 , 000 metric tons ) from the prior . In terms of design , the two ships were essentially a reduced version of the " Connecticut " s which had preceded them , and by comparison with which they sacrificed of speed , four guns , eight guns , two torpedo tube s and some freeboard . They were indifferent sea boats and were obsolete upon commissioning in consequence of the advent of . Though intended to recapitulate in steel and steam the concept of the 74 - gun third - rate , which had formed the backbone of the sailing battle fleets of the previous century , the tactical and technical calculus of early 20th century naval warfare had made the third - rate concept obsolete ; to be viable , a battle line needed to consist entirely of what could be considered first - rate units . This combination of Congressional displacement restrictions and a flawed tactical premise produced a class that was never satisfactory in US service . They were close to being second - class units at a time and in a navy which could neither afford to tie up tonnage and money in second - tier designs nor place such vessels in its battle line . U . S . Navy service . The second " Mississippi " ( Battleship No . 23 ) was laid down on 12 May 1904 at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , by the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co . She was launched on 30 September 1905 , and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , League Island , on 1 February 1908 , with Capt . John C . Fremont in command . The ship was sponsored by Miss Mabel Clare Money , daughter of Senator Hernando DeSoto Money of Mississippi . " Mississippi " departed Philadelphia in February 1908 for Hampton Roads , and then sailed for Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . Following her shakedown off the coast of Cuba in 1908 , she returned to Philadelphia for final fitting out . In early 1909 she attended the inauguration of the President of Cuba , met the Great White Fleet upon its return , and was reviewed by the President . For the remainder of the year and into 1910 she traveled the waters off New England , the Caribbean , and the Gulf of Mexico , took a voyage up the Mississippi River , and participated in war games out of Guantanamo Bay . In late 1910 she sailed to Gravesend Bay , England and to Brest , France , as part of Atlantic Fleet maneuvers , returning to Guantanamo Bay in early 1911 . She then spent about 14 months off the Atlantic coast , based alternately out of Philadelphia and Norfolk , serving as a training ship and conducting operational exercises . In June 1912 she landed a Marine detachment at El Cuero , Cuba , to protect American interests and remained on station in Guantanamo Bay until July , when she sailed for home . Following exercises with Battleship Division 4 ( BatDiv 4 ) off New England , she returned to Philadelphia Navy Yard , where she was put in the First Reserve in August 1912 . " Mississippi " remained in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia until detached in December 1913 for duty as an aeronautic station ship at Pensacola , Florida . At Pensacola , she stood by while her crew , along with the early naval aviators , rebuilt the old naval base , laying the foundation for the Pensacola Naval Air Station . With the outbreak of fighting in Mexico in April 1914 , " Mississippi " sailed to Veracruz , arriving with the first detachment of naval aviators to go into combat . Serving as a floating base for the fledgling seaplanes and their pilots , the warship launched nine reconnaissance flights over the area during a period of 18 days . One month later , the battleship departed Veracruz for Pensacola . In June 1914 she returned to Hampton Roads where in July she was decommissioned and transferred to the Greek Navy . The US received $ 12 million for her and USS " Idaho " . Royal Hellenic Navy . " Mississippi " decommissioned at Newport News on 21 July 1914 , and was turned over to the Royal Hellenic Navy the same day . She remained in Greek service for 27 years , before being sunk during World War II . Fleet designation . Although the " Mississippi " - class ships were decommissioned before the fleet designation reworkings in 1920 , and thus never carried the " BB " hull classification symbol in service , many lists of American battleships ( including the one in this encyclopedia ) list them as " BB - 23 " and " BB - 24 " for completeness .