Greek battleship Kilkis
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 Kilkis - Θ/Κ Κιλκίς |
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| Career (Greece) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas |
| Laid down: | May 12, 1904 |
| Launched: | September 30, 1905 |
| Commissioned: | July 22, 1914 |
| Fate: | Sunk on April 23, 1941 near Salamis. Salvaged and sold for scrap |
| Notes: | previously USS Mississippi (BB-23) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Mississippi class battleship |
| Displacement: | Full load 14,095 tons Standard 13,000 tons |
| Length: | 382 ft (116 m) |
| Beam: | 77 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 24.7 ft (7.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | Engines: triple-expansion reciprocating engines, Shafts: 2 (twin screw ship), Power: 10,000 hp |
| Speed: | 17-knot (31 km/h) maximum |
| Complement: | 744 |
| Armament: | 4×12-inch (305 mm), 8×8-inch (203 mm), 8×7-inch (178 mm), 12×3-inch (76 mm), 6×3 pdr, 2×1 pdr, 6×.30 MG, 2×21-inch (533 mm) T/T |
| Armour: | Belt: 9 in, Turrets: 12 in, Deck: 3 in, Conning Tower: 9 in |
Kilkis (Greek: Θ/Κ Κιλκίς) was a 13,000 ton Mississippi-class Greek battleship (θωρηκτό) named for a crucial battle of the Second Balkan War. Laid down for the United States Navy in 1903, she served in that navy as the USS Mississippi (BB-23) from 1908 until 1914, when both Mississippi-class ships were purchased from the United States by Greece. The sale financed the purchase of the new dreadnought battleship USS Idaho. Taken over at Newport News, Virginia, late in July of that year, the ship was seized by France along with the rest of the Greek Fleet in 1916 due to Greece's neutrality in World War I (see the National Schism). When the Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos was re-established as head of the entire country in June 1917 and Greece entered the war on the side of the Entente, France turned both battleships over to the Royal Hellenic Navy, and saw action in the 1919 Allied Crimean expedition in support of White Russian forces, and the Asia Minor Campaign. Kilkis served actively in the Royal Hellenic Navy until 1932. In 1935, after a period in reserve, she became a training ship. She was sunk in the Salamis channel by Stuka dive bombers on April 23, 1941, during the German invasion of Greece. Her wreck was salvaged for scrap in the 1950s.
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