The Ships of Brawling Battleships Steel: United States Battleship Texas (BB 35)

Laid down on April 17, 1911, launched on November 30, 1912 and commissioned on March 12, 1914, Texas carried a main armament of ten 14 inch guns mounted two per turret; two centerline superfiring forward, two centerline superfiring aft and a centerline amidships that could fire to both sides. Texas was half of the two-ship New York battleship class and both had coal-fired triple-expansion steam engines. All American dreadnought battleships were named after states and all were assigned a hull number.

The “Texas” name had some history - the first U. S. N. ship to bear the name was a captured Confederate ironclad, which was never commissioned. The first Texas to be commissioned for active service was also the first battleship built for the United States Navy. This pre-dreadnought played a prominent role in the 1898 Spanish-American War. The two new battleships of the New York class were designed to be the first American “super dreadnoughts,” mounting the mighty new 14-inch guns, but they were also the last American battleships built without the very effective “all or nothing” protection scheme.

In April 1914, the Texas covered a Marine landing in Vera Cruz, Mexico and later carried out peacetime duties in the Caribbean and Atlantic until the United States entered World War One in April 1917. Texas was attached to the British Grand Fleet and based at Scapa Flow in February 1918. Although she served there for the rest of the war, the German High Seas Fleet stayed quiet and evading a torpedo from a German U-boat was the only action seen by Texas during the Great War.

Between the world wars, Texas served in the Pacific 1919–1924 and in the Atlantic 1924 - 1939 (serving for several years as the fleet flagship), including a major refit in the mid 1920s that included new tripod masts, increased deck armor, torpedo bulges and adding a propensity to roll badly. With the start of World War Two in September 1939, the old battleship, recently considered for decommissioning, had a new lease on life and took an active part escorting convoys in the “Neutrality Patrol.”

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the ship continued on convoy duty, when not undergoing overhauls to add new radar and fire control equipment as well as extra anti-aircraft guns. In November 1942, Texas fired her main guns for the first time in anger, providing fire support for the invasion of North Africa. On June 6, 1944, the old girl participated in Operation Overlord, providing gunfire support at Omaha Beach. Later that month, while supporting an attack on the port of Cherbourg, Texas took two hits from powerful 11.1 inch German shore batteries that killed one sailor and wounded thirteen more. Following repairs, Texas entered the Mediterranean and supported the landings in southern France. After an overhaul, Texas sailed to the Pacific Ocean and a gunfire support role during the Battle of Iwo Jima. In April 1945, her big guns spoke at Okinawa, where the Texas fired 2,019 rounds of 14-inch ammunition. With victory secured, the veteran battleship made three “Magic Carpet” runs returning discharged GIs from the Pacific Theater to the “48″.

In early 1946, Texas was mothballed. In early 1948, the ship was presented to the State of Texas and towed there to be dedicated as a War Memorial and as the flagship of the Texas Navy in ceremonies on San Jacinto Day (April 21) 1948. The ship’s new home overlooks the San Jacinto battlefield, north of Houston. The Battleship Texas Commission was established to maintain the ship and provide for visitors.

See more American battlehips: Delaware, Utah, Arizona