The Misplaced Battleship is a science fiction short story by Harry Harrison first published in 1960.

The world class con man and thief known as the Stainless Steel Rat (diGriz) has another very big problem to solve. In this science fiction novella by the great Harry Harrison will see if he can solve it and perhaps four or five more like it before this fascinating and funny tale is finished.

'Use a thief to catch a thief' sounds great but it sometimes has unexpected results. 

"It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship ... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But a misplaced battleship—in the wrong hands!—can be most dangerous."

The Misplaced Battleship first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction April 1960.  

Harry Max Harrison (1925-2012) was an American science fiction author. Harrison is known for his writing, particularly his humorous and satirical science fiction, such as the Stainless Steel Rat series and the novel Bill, the Galactic Hero (which satirises Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers). Harrison is also known for his novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). The novel was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973).