USS Mississippi (CGN-40)

USS "Mississippi" (CGN-40), a "Virginia" class, nuclear fuel powered, U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state.

Her keel was laid down by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Newport News, Virginia, on 22 February 1975. She was launched on 31 July 1976. The ship was commissioned on 5 August 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, then serving as the 39th President of the United States.

Her armament capability included Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles and Mk46 torpedoes. She carried a crew of 39 officers and 539 enlisted sailors.

She first saw real action while escorting the carrier USS Nimitz when F-14 fighters from that carrier shot down two Libyan fighter jets. She was called upon during that deployment to patrol off the shore of Egypt after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. She also deployed in response to the killing of Marine Corps Colonel Higgins by terrorists in 1989. For Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, she deployed with the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy Battle Group with only five days notice to prepare. She launched Tomahawk cruise missiles deep inside Iraq in early 1991.

Over the years, the ship received awards for battle efficiency, personnel retention and other standards of excellence.

The USS "Mississippi" (CGN-40) was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 July 1997, and she entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program around October 2004.

Her bell is securely installed in the gardens at Rosalie Mansion, on the site of Fort Rosalie overlooking the Mississippi River [ [http://www.historictravelsfortwo.com/ussmississippi.html Winona Times Newspaper via historictravelsfortwo.com] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/CGN40.htm Naval Vessel Register - CGN-40]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/1140/040140.htm navsource.org: USS "Mississippi"]