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Tuesday, 6 December 2016

American battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26) 1906-1924

USS Mississippi as the Greek Kilkis

South Carolina-class

Delaware-class

Laid down by William Cramp and Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, USA on 18 December 1906, launched by Frederica Ansel on 11 July 1908, commissioned on 1 March 1910, decommissioned on 15 December 1921, stricken on 10 November 1923 and sold to be broken up as a result of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 on 24 April 1924.

Part of the South-Carolina class consisting of the South Carolina and the Michigan, preceded by the Mississippi-class and succeeded by the Delaware-class. Displacement 16.257 (standard)-17.900 (full load) tons and as dimensions 137 (waterline)-138 (over all) x 24 x 7 metres or 450-452.9 x 80.3 x 24.6 feet. Metracentric height 6,3” (full load)-2 metres/6,9” (normal). The machinery consisted of 2 vertical triple expansion steam engines and 12 coal-fired superheating Babcock&Wilcox water tube boilers supplying 16.500 ihp allowing a speed of 18,5 knots. With a speed of 10 knots and a coal bunker capacity of 2.235 (designed maximum)-2.412 (full load) tons was the range 6.950 nautical miles. Their crew numbered 869-932 men included 51 officers. The armament consisted of super firing 4x2-30,5cm/12” /45 cal Mark 5 guns (2 fore and 2 aft), 22-7,6cm/3” /50 anti torpedo boat guns, 2-4,7cm/1.85”/3pd /40 cal guns, 8-3,7cm/1.46”/3pd /40 cal guns and 2-53,3cm/21” submerged torpedo tubes (broadsides). The armour consisted of a 20,3cm/8”-30,5cm/12” belt, 2,54cm/1”-51cm/2” thick decks with the casemates, barbettes, turrets and conning tower protected by respectively 20,3cm/8”-25,4cm/10”, 20,3cm/8”-25,4cm/10”, 6,4cm/2,5 (roof)-20,3cm/8”(sides)-30,5cm/12” (faces) and 5,1cm/2”-30,5cm/12”.