World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCommissioned in 1908, USS Idaho visited European ports, conducted war games in the Caribbean Sea, and protected American interests in Mexico during a coup d'état attempt. In Jul 1914, she was transferred to Greece, and was renamed Lemnos, after the 1913 Battle of Lemnos during the First Balkan War. She departed the United States quickly due to the impending war in Europe. Although Greece initially declared neutrality, France would violate Greek neutrality in 1916, seizing its navy, which resulted in Lemnos being disarmed and being made stationary. Greece would later declare war on the Central Powers, but Lemnos would only serve as a stationary defensive naval gun battery for the remainder of WW1. During the inter-war years, she saw service during the Russian Civil War and the Greco-Turkish War. In 1932, she was placed in reserve; parts of her armor plating were removed to build fortifications on the island of Aegina. In 1937, she was disarmed, but remained in service as floating barracks at Salamis, Greece. On 23 Apr 1941, German Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers raided Salamis; Lemnos' crew saved her by beaching the old battleship, but the action would ultimately spell the end of her career. She was broken up for scrap after WW2.

Battleship Lemnos Interactive Map

Photographs

Lemnos Operational Timeline