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The ''Mississippi'' class of battleships comprised two ships which were authorized in the 1903 naval budget: and ; these were named for the 20th and 43rd states respectively. These were the last pre-dreadnought battleships to be designed for the United States Navy, but not the last to be built because one more ship of a prior design was completed later under the 1904 naval budget. While the quality and technology of the weaponry and armor were first-rate, these ships included a variety of main, intermediate, secondary, and tertiary gun sizes in a pre-dreadnought configuration which became obsolete before the ships were completed. The first several years of the twentieth century were a period of confusion and transition in U.S. naval strategy, tactics, and ship-design. The ''Mississippi'' class, along with the preceding ''Connecticut'' class, were designed based on lessons learned in the Spanish–American War, but while they were under construction, the Russo Japanese War, war games, and experimentation demonstrated new priorities and concepts which would influence future designs. This was also a period where rapid development of techniques and training in the use of large guns made the inclusion of rapid-fire intermediate and secondary weapons unnecessary. Future U.S. designs would reduce the confusing array of guns sizes in pre-dreadnought battleships and rely on one gun size for the main armament, the "all-big-gun" concept, along with many small guns of a uniform caliber to combat small vessels in close proximity. The ''Mississippi'' class ships were smaller than the several preceding classes of U.S. battleships. They were designed in an attempt to reduce the rapid growth in the size and cost of U.S. battleships. There was also a theory among influential naval leaders, including Dewey and Mahan, that many small battleships could be strategically useful, as were small ships of the line in the 18th and 19th centuries. In essence the ''Mississippi'' class ships were smaller versions of the preceding ''Connecticut'' class with virtually the same armament and armor, but the reduction in length, engine size, and fuel capacity caused them to be slow and short-ranged. Other design compromises caused them to perform poorly in terms of steering, stability, and sea keeping. These ships served in the U.S. Navy from 1908 to 1914, when they were sold to Greece. Most U.S. service was with the Atlantic Fleet though these ships did not perform well in fleet-operations due to their lower speeds and shorter ranges. The ships were frequently detached for special tasks including goodwill tours, and the Mississippi was used for a time as a seaplane support vessel. Both ships took part in U.S. military interventions in Mexico and the Caribbean, including landing marines and supporting early air operations. In 1914 both ''Mississippi'' class ships were sold to Greece; this was the only sale of functional U.S. battleships to a foreign government. From 1914 to the early 1930s the ships were active in the Greek Navy, serving mostly in coastal defense and attack roles. In these missions and in the calmer waters of the Mediterranean their limitations were less pronounced. They saw service in the Russian Civil War and the Greco-Turkish War. By the mid-1930s they were relegated to reserve and auxiliary roles, and the ''Idaho's'' guns were removed to coastal fortifications. Both were sunk by German aircraft in 1941, and raised in the 1950s to be sold for scrap. ==Purpose== In the early twentieth century, the U.S. Navy was growing rapidly. The Navy commissioned its first battleships in 1895,〔Friedman 1985 p. 424〕 and by the middle of the next decade Jane's Fighting Ships ranked its battle line second only to the British Navy.〔Rose pp. 12–14〕 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. 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 of the Navy George 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), fire power, and cost.〔Reilly p. 187〕 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.〔 The next U.S. battleship design, the ''South Carolina'' class, was a completely different approach returning to the displacement of the ''Connecticut'' class and using the all-big-gun format similar in concept to the . 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mississippi-class battleship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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