The two Mississippi class ships were an ill-advised attempt to build smaller, less expensive battleships. They turned out to be slow, poor seaboats, and under armed. To make matters worse, they were completed in 1908, just as the Dreadnought-type battleships were arriving on the scene, so they were immediately obsolete, and within a few years were reduced to auxiliary duties. Both ships were decommissioned in 1914 and sold to Greece as coast defense ships, the proceeds from the sale funding a new Idaho (BB 42). They were the only ex-USN battleships ever sold for foreign service.

Lemnos was decommissioned by the Greeks in 1932 and became a training ship; after 1937 she was an accommodations hulk. Kilkis also left service in 1932 and became a training ship in 1935. Both were sunk by German aircraft in port at Salamis, 23 April 1941, as seen here. Despite years in foreign service, they retain their basic US Navy configuration, including the distinctive cage masts. Both ships were salvaged in 1951 and broken up.

Correct answers were received from: Klebert L. Hall, Sam Middleton, Martin Kaser, David Briedis, Scott Peterson, Douglas Marsh, Mark Thomas, Miha Steinbuecher, Vittorio Pedemonte, John Duerkop, Ed Schweikart, Paul Silverstone, Bill Vickrey, Barry Gerrard, Dwayne Nutting, Duane Funk, Dave Mimms, Aleksander Jaworski, James T. Flynn, Jr., David T. Okamura, Al Gummerson, Harry W. Weese, Rick Heinbaugh, Douglas Hayden, Greg Warren, Hashimoto Motohilo, J. E. Pflanz, Scott Olson, Phil Lindquist, James Wade, Chris Vallery, Andreas von Mach, Serge Maliar, Derek Strahan, Benjamin Cushwa, Visje, James B. Morris, Aris Bilalis, Olav A. Røssaak, Paul Davison, Mike Cooper, Pieter Cornelissen, Joseph Chase, Javier Hueso, Richard M Boss, Manas Iksanov, Steve Hissem, Bruce Urquhart, Brian Viglietti, Mike Green, Barry White, Jarek Skapski, Timothy Crick, Masaki Ogasawara, Dave Jackson, Rob Belinski, Michael Dreiucker, Bill Rhodes, John Winsley, Joseph Poutre, Jay Thomas, Oren Williams, Ronald Ehlert, Charles Cawood, Dave Wyckoff, Michael Hagerty, Tim Butler, James Harrison, Robert M. Woods, Akos Gergely, Andy Breen, Dale Shantz, James L. Coffin, Ednan Khera, Maurizio Brescia, Byron P. Connell, Philip Hungate, Scott Larsen, Al Verrier, Edwin Evans, Ian Evans, Bill Schoonmaker, James Pinkerton, Tom Hardesty, Rob Paul, Douglas Paugh, John Hendershot, Stephen Taylor, Paul E. Osborne, William F. Gotzinger, Jeremy Dennis, Allen Hazen, Stamatios Koutsoukos, Mac McArthur, Barry Holland, Craig Robertson, Chris Galm, Juha Joutsi, Thomas Ruta, CDR J. L. Precup, Erik Porter, Christopher Poulos, Bob Harmer, Steven Sheppard, Gordon Buttars, Clark Perot, Mark Whitehead, Douglas Luke, Espen Arnestad, Adrian Wintle, Norbert Huang, Randy Townsend, Jim Davis, Ryan McGehee, Ben Rockey-Harris, Dave Nilsen, Peter VanMaasdam, Rick Haney, Ward C. Douglas, Davide Pagliani, ´J.Kiel Nielsen, Michael Smith, Tony Simmonds, William F. Fessenden, Edgar Dutkowski, Pierluigi Malvezzi, Christoph Peeters, Paul Desautelle , Kevin Jones, David DeVoss, Christopher Olson, Kris Kimmons, Czéh György, Karl Gillette, Tim Poe, Max Wiedner, Keynes, Dean Markley, Craig Robbins, Tom Delaney, Ed Truitt, Peter McDaniel, Russ Frevele, Rich Austin, Wendell Boggs, Douglas Paugh, Fabio Peña, Dan Frushour, Jeff Smith, William Novobilsky, Ladislav Kosour, Joe Donahoe, Mike Potter, John Sabre, Jim Bocock, Pat Brown, Gerald Johnson, Brooks A Rowlett, Hans van der Maarel, Axel Reif, Ed Young, Jim Dellascio, Theodore Leverett, Jim Taylor, Ramiro Cruz, Anthony Lovell, CDR Mike Fitzgerald, Jim Merkel, Hamsey Habeich, Serge Nemirovsky, David Wadsworth, Jim Fahey, Michael P. Morley, Mark Lawden, Sean Murray Angus Lyon, Dave Rotthoff, Christopher Buja, Guy Markle, Bob Henneman, Bruce Paterson, Marc Nucup, Sam Betterton, Frank Van Horn, David A. Becker, Brian Henderson, William Martindale, Alan Nummy, Joe Pilicy, Yves Grangeon, Carsten Larsen, Tom Stoodley, Andrew Moore, Werner L. Stunkel, Charley Seavey, Jason Britton, Bill Ullmann, EA MacNeil, Donald Williams, Tom Whalen, Ben Kern, Charles Baker, Nigel Isherwood, Bryan Searcy, Rouben Jebeyan, Fred Rowe, Jack Holt, Christoph Gaetje, Murat Albayrakoglu, Randall Melton.