The USS Mississippi (BB-41), a New Mexico-class battleship, served the U.S. Navy with distinction from World War I into the atomic age, enduring over forty years of service. Remarkably, it witnessed two major tragedies in the same turret twenty years apart, each resulting in the loss of numerous sailors due to a "flare back" during gunnery exercises.
Here s What You Need to Remember: The old warship was decommissioned in 1956, sold for scrap. The aging battlewagon had served longer than most ships at the time, but it had also experienced two rare tragedies, in the same place, under similar circumstances. Today her name lives on in the
Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Mississippi (SSN-782).
The USS
Mississippi is home to one of the most intriguing naval coincidences of all time. Built while America was a neutral party in World War I,
Mississippi sailed into the atomic age and later served as a massive test platform for surface-to-air missiles. Despite her forty years of service,