USS Mississippi ( BB - 41 ) USS " Mississippi " ( BB - 41 / AG - 128 ) , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state , and the second battleship to carry the name . Commissioned in 1917 , too late to serve in World War I , she served extensively in the Pacific in World War II , for which she earned eight battle stars . She was one of several pre - war battleships that participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait , the last battleship engagement in history . After the war , her two sisters were quickly decommissioned and scrapped , but " Mississippi " continued to serve another decade as a weapons testing ship ( AG - 128 ) . She played an important role in the development of the RIM - 2 Terrier missile system . After an attempt to acquire her as a museum ship failed , she was sold for scrap in 1956 . Construction and commissioning . Her keel was laid down on 5 April 1915 by Newport News Shipbuilding Company of Newport News , Virginia . She was launched on 25 January 1917 sponsored by Miss Camelle McBeath , daughter of the Chairman of the Mississippi State Highway Commission ; and commissioned on 18 December 1917 , Captain J . L . Jayne in command . World War I service . The ship was commissioned too late to participate in combat during World War I . Following exercises off Virginia , " Mississippi " steamed on 22 March 1918 for training in the Gulf of Guacanayabo , Cuba . One month later , she returned to Hampton Roads and cruised between Boston , Massachusetts , and New York City until departing for winter maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea on 31 January 1919 . Interwar period . On 19 July 1919 , she left the Atlantic seaboard and sailed for the west coast . Arriving at her new base , San Pedro , California , she operated along the west coast for the next four years , entering the Caribbean during the winter months for training exercises . Two of the original 14 / 51 cal gun s were removed in 1922 . In 1923 the " Mississippi " was used as part of a public exercise with members of Congress and reporters from the various newspaper , watched as the " Mississippi " sank the old Spanish - American War era battleship , which had been converted to a radio controlled target ship , with her cannons , in the Gulf of Panama . During gunnery practice on 12 June 1924 off San Pedro , 48 of her men were asphyxiated as a result of an explosion in her Number Two main battery turret . On 15 April 1925 , she sailed from San Francisco , California , for war games off Hawaii , and then steamed to Australia on a good will tour . She returned to the west coast on 26 September , and resumed operations there for the next four years . During this period , she frequently sailed into Caribbean and Atlantic waters for exercises during the winter months . " Mississippi " entered Norfolk Navy Yard on 30 March 1931 for a modernization overhaul . This overhaul significantly changed the ship ' s profile by removing the original fore and aft lattice mast . The former was replaced with a tower . Modernization also included replacement of earlier anti - aircraft guns with eight / 25 cal gun s . She departed once again on training exercises in September 1933 . Transiting the Panama Canal on 24 October 1934 , she steamed back to her base at San Pedro . For the next seven years , she operated off the west coast , except for winter Caribbean cruises . 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 / 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 / 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 contributed to the sinking of Japanese battleship . " 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 . Post - War . " Mississippi " arrived on 27 November 1945 at Norfolk , where she underwent conversion to an auxiliary ship , retaining her original name but reclassified as AG - 128 , effective 15 February 1946 . As part of the development force , she spent the last 10 years of her career carrying out investigations of gunnery problems and testing new weapons , while based at Norfolk . She helped launch the Navy into the age of the guided - missile warship when she successfully test fired the Terrier missile on 28 January 1953 off Cape Cod . She also assisted in the final evaluation of the Petrel missile , a radar - homing weapon , in February 1956 . She was succeeded in her missile testing role by USS Norton Sound ( AVM - 1 ) . " Mississippi " decommissioned at Norfolk on 17 September 1956 . It was proposed that the State of Mississippi convert the ship as a museum at sea , in the same way that in Mobile , Alabama operates , but these plans were not carried out . Instead , the Bethlehem Steel Company purchased the ship as scrap metal on 28 November of the same year . Awards . Her bell is securely installed in the gardens at Rosalie Mansion , on the site of Fort Rosalie overlooking the Mississippi River