USS Idaho ( BB - 24 ) USS " Idaho " ( Battleship No . 24 ) , the second ship of the of battleship s , was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the US state of Idaho . After her career in the USN , she was sold to Greece and renamed " Lemnos " in 1914 . " Lemnos " was sunk by German bombers in April 1941 . " Idaho " 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 . Design . In the early twentieth century , the U . S . Navy was growing rapidly . The Navy commissioned its first battleships in 1895 , and by the middle of the next decade Jane ' s Fighting Ships ranked its battle line second only to the British Navy . However , this rapid growth was not universally supported either within the government or within the Navy . Compromises between powerful groups were frequently necessary in order to get funding . The " Mississippi " - class ships were designed to meet Congressional and Navy Department objectives of reducing the escalating cost of new battleships , the quantity , size , and cost of which had increased dramatically over the first two decades of U . S . battleship production . Preliminary plans for the first two U . S . battleships were completed in 1885 . Construction was approved in 1886 , and the first keel was laid down in 1888 . However , technical difficulties , particularly with armor , delayed completion and neither was commissioned until 1895 . By the time these were commissioned they were obsolete as newer , larger designs were being completed . By the end of fiscal 1902 ten battleships and two second class battleships had been commissioned , with seven more battleships authorized but not completed . The per - ship cost had doubled from the $ 4 million range for the " Illinois " class in the 1896 budget to nearly $ 8 million for " Connecticut " in the 1902 budget . The " Mississippi " - class ships would cost just under $ 6 million each . There was a division among U . S . naval planners in the early years of the 20th century over whether to have technically superior ships or many less expensive ones , with President Theodore Roosevelt among those supporting the former and Admiral Thomas Dewey along with Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan supporting the latter approach . The 1903 naval budget effected a compromise by calling for five ships : three more ships of the 16 , 000 ton " Connecticut " class and two ships of a new less expensive class of approximately 13 , 000 tons , with the design still to be determined . The ships that became the " Mississippi " class were intended to serve as the modern equivalent of 19th century third - rate ship of the line , offering what was thought to be an efficient compromise between sailing ability ( speed , handling ) , firepower , and cost . This concept had formed the backbone of the sailing battle fleets of the previous century , but trends in early twentieth century naval strategies were making the third - rate concept obsolete . Prevailing strategies called for a consistent battle line of first - rate units . United States Navy . The second " Idaho " ( Battleship No . 24 ) was laid down on 12 May 1904 , at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co . and launched on 9 December 1905 . She was sponsored by Louise May Gooding , 13 - year - old daughter of Idaho Governor Frank R . Gooding , and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , League Island , on 1 April 1908 , with Captain Samuel W . B . Diehl in command . " Idaho " departed Philadelphia in April 1908 for Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , via Hampton Roads . Following a shakedown off the coast of Cuba in 1908 , she returned to Philadelphia for final fitting out and repairs . In the summer of 1908 she transported a detachment of marines to Colon in the Canal Zone to support a peaceful election process . Following a period of repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , " Idaho " steamed to Norfolk , where she received a new " cage " mainmast tower , conducted testing of her guns out of Hampton Roads , and then returned to Philadelphia for more repairs and work . In early 1909 she joined the USS " Mississippi " and other ships to meet the Great White Fleet upon its return and was reviewed by the President . For the remainder of the year and into 1910 she alternated between the waters off New England and southern waters , including the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico , along with a voyage in the Mississippi River and war games out of Guantanamo Bay . In late 1910 she sailed across the Atlantic with the Third Division of the Atlantic Fleet to Gravesend Bay , England , and then to Brest , France , returning to Guantanamo Bay in early 1911 . After routine service with the Atlantic Fleet and in Cuban waters , " Idaho " departed Philadelphia on 4 May 1911 , bound for the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River . She visited the Louisiana ports of New Orleans and Baton Rouge , steamed past the mouth of the Red River , and visited St . Joseph . She called at Vicksburg and Natchez in late May before visiting a succession of Louisiana ports . From mid - 1911 to early 1913 she again performed routine service and maneuvers with the Atlantic Fleet and in Cuban waters , with periodic visits to Philadelphia for repairs . In February 1913 , unrest in Mexico led to a coup d ' état and the death of deposed President Francisco I . Madero . For the protection of American interests , " Idaho " deployed to Tampico in May and to Veracruz in June . She rejoined the fleet in Newport in late June . She then proceeded to the Philadelphia Navy Yard , where she was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on 27 October 1913 . " Idaho " remained in reserve until recommissioned at Philadelphia in March 1914 . At Annapolis , she embarked midshipmen bound for the Mediterranean in company with USS " Missouri " and USS " Illinois " . After visiting Tangier , Gibraltar , and Naples , USS " Idaho " arrived at the French port of Villefranche on 17 July 1914 . The midshipmen were disembarked en masse to the USS " Maine " , and " Idaho " was formally transferred to the Greek Navy on 30 July 1914 . The US received $ 12 million for her and . Royal Hellenic Navy . " Idaho " decommissioned at the French port of Villefranche , and she was formally transferred to the Greek Navy on July 30 , 1914 . 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 .