USS Virginia (BB-13) was a United States Navy pre-dreadnought battleship, the lead ship of her class. She was the fifth ship to carry her name. Virginia was laid down in May 1902 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, was launched in April 1904, and was commissioned into the fleet in May 1906. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots.

The Virginia class of pre-dreadnought battleships were built for the United States Navy in the early 1900s. The class comprised five ships: Virginia, Nebraska, Georgia, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. The ships carried a mixed-caliber offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns; these were mounted in an uncommon arrangement, with four of the 8-inch guns placed atop the 12-inch turrets. The arrangement proved to be a failure, as the 8-inch guns could not be fired independently of the 12-inch guns without interfering with them. Additionally, by the time the Virginias entered service, the first "all-big-gun" battleships—including the British HMS Dreadnought—were nearing completion, which would render mixed battery ships like the Virginia class obsolete.