USS Texas (BB-35)

USS "Texas" (BB-35) is a was the first battleship to fit anti-aircraft guns, in 1914]

World War I

Upon her return to active duty with the fleet, "Texas" resumed a schedule of training operations along the New England coast and off the Virginia Capes alternated with winter fleet tactical and gunnery drills in the West Indies. That routine lasted just over two years until the February-to-March crisis over unrestricted submarine warfare catapulted the United States into World War I in April 1917. The 6 April declaration of war found "Texas" riding at anchor in the mouth of the York River with the other Atlantic Fleet battleships. She remained in the Virginia Capes–Hampton Roads vicinity until mid-August conducting exercises and training naval armed-guard gun crews for service on board merchant ships.

In August, she steamed to New York for repairs, arriving at Base 10 on 19 August and entering the New York Navy Yard soon thereafter. She completed repairs on 26 September and got underway for Port Jefferson that same day. During the mid-watch on 27 September, she ran hard aground on Block Island. For three days, her crew lightened ship to no avail. On 30 September, tugs came to her assistance, and she finally backed clear. Hull damage dictated a return to the yard, and the extensive repairs required precluded her departure with Division 9 for the British Isles in November. The secondary battery was reduced to sixteen , and the French light cruisers "Georges Leygues" and "Montcalm", which took up station on the eastern end of Omaha Beach.

On 3 June, at 02:09, "Texas" and the rest of the Western Taskforce sailed from Belfast Lough for Normandy. In sight, on a parallel course was a group of British ships, including the battleships HMS|Warspite|1913|2 and "Ramillies". On 4 June, at 07:10, the taskforce had to reverse course due to unacceptable weather in the Normandy. Later that evening, off Lundry Island, the taskforce reversed course and headed for and joined the invasion fleet gathering at Area Z. The invasion fleet then headed south toward Normandy and navigated the German minefield, through which minesweepers had cleared channels; not a single Omaha Beach vessel was lost.

D-Day

At 03:00 on 6 June 1944 "Texas" and the British cruiser "Glasgow" entered the Omaha Western fire support lane and into her initial firing position, at 04:41, convert|12000|yd|km offshore near Pointe du Hoc, along with battleships "Arkansas" and "Nevada", and three US heavy cruisers, along with a combined US-British flotilla of battleships, five cruisers and 22 destroyers. US Navy Spotter Squadron VCS-7, flying Supermarine Spitfire VBs and Seafire IIIs, was one of the units which provided targeting coordinates and fire control. Battlefield Observation pilots from "Texas" and other US ships were temporarily assigned to this unit for the invasion. [cite journal | last = Hill | first = Steven D. | title = Spitfires of the US Navy | journal = Naval Aviation News | date = May–June 1994 | location = Washington, D.C. | publisher = Chief of Naval Operations | issn = 0028-1417 | oclc = 2577618 Copy available online at [http://spitfiresite.com/history/articles/2008/01/spitfires-in-us-navy.htm The Spitfire Site] . Retrieved 2008-04-17.]

The initial bombardment commenced at 05:50, against the site of six convert|15|cm|in|sp=us|adj=on guns, atop Pointe du Hoc. When "Texas" ceased firing at the Pointe at 06:24, 255 convert|14|in|mm|adj=on shells had been fired in 34 minutes—a rate of fire of 7.5 shells per minute—and was the longest sustained period of firing for "Texas" in World War II. While shells from the main guns were hitting Pointe du Hoc, the convert|5|in|mm|adj=on guns were firing on the area leading up to Exit D-1, the route to get inland from western Omaha. At 06:26 "Texas" shifted her main battery gunfire to the western edge of Omaha Beach, around the town of Vierville. Meanwhile, her secondary battery went to work on another target on the western end of "Omaha" beach, a ravine laced with strongpoints to defend an exit road. Later, under control of airborne spotters, she moved her major-caliber fire inland to interdict enemy reinforcement activities and to destroy batteries and other strongpoints farther inland.

By noon, the assault on Omaha Beach was in danger of collapsing due to stronger than anticipated German resistance and the inability of the Allies to get needed armor and artillery units on the beach. In an effort to help the infantry fighting to take Omaha, some of the destroyers providing gunfire support closed near the shoreline, almost grounding themselves to fire on the Germans. "Texas" also closed to the shoreline; at 12:23, "Texas" closed to only convert|3000|yd|m from the water's edge, firing her main guns at almost 0 degrees of elevation to clear the western exit D-1, in front of Vierville. Among other things, she fired upon snipers and machine gun nests hidden in a defile just off the beach. At the conclusion of that mission, the battleship attacked enemy anti-aircraft battery located west of Vierville.

On 7 June the battleship received word that the Ranger battalion at Pointe Du Hoc was still isolated from the rest of the invasion force with low ammunition and mounting casualties; in response, "Texas" launched two small boats with provisions for the Rangers. Upon their return the boats brought 34 wounded Rangers to "Texas" for treatment, along with a handful of German prisoners who were interrogated aboard the battleship before being loaded aboard an LST for transfer to England. Later in the day, her main battery rained shells on the enemy-held towns of Surrain and Trevieres to break up German troop concentrations. That evening, she bombarded a German mortar battery that had been shelling the beach. Not long after midnight, German planes attacked the ships offshore, and one of them swooped in low on "Texas"’s starboard quarter. Her anti-aircraft batteries opened up immediately but failed to hit the intruder. On the morning of 8 June, her guns fired on Isigny, then on a shore battery, and finally on Trevieres once more.

After that, she retired to Plymouth to rearm, returning to the French coast on 11 June. From then until 15 June, she supported the army in its advance inland. By 15 June the troops had advanced to the edge of "Texas"’s gun range; her last fire support mission was so far inland that to get the needed range, the starboard torpedo blister was flooded with water to provide 2 degrees of list. With combat operations beyond the range of her guns on 16 June, "Texas" moved on to her next mission.

Bombardment of Cherbourg

On the morning of 26 June, "Texas" closed in on the vital port of Cherbourg and, with "Arkansas", opened fire upon various fortifications and batteries surrounding the town. The guns on shore returned fire immediately and, at about 12:30, succeeded in straddling "Texas". The battleship continued her firing runs in spite of shell geysers blossoming about her; however, the enemy gunners were stubborn and skilled. At 13:16 a convert|280|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us shell slammed into her fire control tower, killed the helmsman, and wounded nearly everyone on the navigation bridge. "Texas"’s commanding officer, Captain Baker, miraculously escaped unhurt and quickly had the bridge cleared. The warship herself continued to deliver her convert|14|in|mm|adj=on shells in spite of damage and casualties. Some time later, another shell struck the battleship. That one, a convert|240|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us armor-piercing shell, crashed through the port bow and entered a compartment located below the wardroom, but failed to explode. Throughout the three-hour duel, the Germans straddled and near-missed "Texas" over 65 times, but she continued her mission until 16:00 when, upon orders to that effect, she retired.

"Texas" underwent repairs at Plymouth, England, and then drilled in preparation for the invasion of southern France. On 16 July, she departed Belfast Lough and headed for the Mediterranean Sea. After stops at Gibraltar and Oran, Algeria, the battleship rendezvoused with three French destroyers off Bizerte, Tunisia, and set a course for the French Riviera. She arrived off Saint-Tropez during the night of 14 July. At 04:44 on 15 July, she moved into position for the pre-landing bombardment and, at 06:51, opened up on her first target, a battery of five convert|15|cm|in|adj=on|sp=us guns. Because the troops ashore moved inland rapidly against light resistance, she provided fire support for the assault for only two days. "Texas" departed the southern coast of France on the evening of 16 August. After a stop at Palermo, Sicily, she left the Mediterranean and headed for New York where she arrived on 14 September 1944.

Bombardment of Iwo Jima and Okinawa

At New York, "Texas" underwent a 36-day repair period during which the barrels on her main battery were replaced. After a brief refresher cruise, she departed New York in November and set a course, via the Panama Canal, for the Pacific. She made a stop at Long Beach, California, and then continued on to Oahu. She spent Christmas at Pearl Harbor and then conducted maneuvers in the Hawaiian Islands for about a month at the end of which she steamed to Ulithi Atoll. She departed Ulithi on 10 February 1945, stopped in the Marianas for two days' invasion rehearsals, and then set a course for Iwo Jima. She arrived off the target on 16 February, three days before the scheduled assault. She spent those three days pounding enemy defenses on Iwo Jima in preparation for the landings. After the troops stormed ashore on 19 February, "Texas" switched roles and began delivering naval gunfire support and on-call fire. She remained off Iwo Jima for almost a fortnight, helping the Marines subdue a well dug-in and stubborn Japanese garrison.

Though Iwo Jima was not declared secured until 16 March, "Texas" cleared the area late in February and returned to Ulithi early in March to prepare for the Okinawa operation. She departed Ulithi with TF 54, the gunfire support unit, on 21 March and arrived in the Ryukyus on the 26th. "Texas" did not participate in the occupation of the islands but moved in on the main objective instead, beginning the pre-landing bombardment that same day. For the next six days, she fired multiple salvos from her main guns to prepare the way for the US Army and the US Marine Corps. Each evening, she retired from her bombardment position close to the Okinawan shore only to return the next day and resume her poundings. The enemy ashore, preparing for a defense-in-depth strategy as at Iwo Jima, made no answer. Only air units provided a response, as several kamikaze raids were sent to harass the bombardment group. "Texas" escaped damage during those small attacks. On 1 April, after six days of aerial and naval bombardment, the ground troops went ashore, and for almost two months, "Texas" remained in Okinawan waters providing gunfire support for the troops and fending off the enemy aerial assault. In performing the latter mission, she claimed one kamikaze kill on her own and claimed three assists.

Late in May, "Texas" retired to Leyte in the Philippines and remained there until after the Japanese capitulation on 15 August. She returned to Okinawa toward the end of August and stayed in the Ryukyus until 23 September. On that day, she set a course for the United States with homeward bound troops embarked as part of the ongoing Operation Magic Carpet. The battleship delivered her passengers to San Pedro, California, on 15 October, and celebrated Navy Day there on 27 October before resuming her mission to bring American troops home. She made two round-trip voyages between California and Oahu in November and a third in late December.

Museum Ship

Infobox_nrhp | name =U.S.S. TEXAS
nrhp_type = nhl

---

caption = "Texas", photographed in August 2005 in her berth at the San Jacinto Battleground, near Houston
location= 22 mi. E of Houston on TX 134 at San Jacinto Battleground, Houston, Texas
lat_degrees = 29
lat_minutes = 45
lat_seconds = 21
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 95
long_minutes = 5
long_seconds = 22
long_direction = W
locmapin = Texas
area =
built =
architect=
architecture=
designated= 8 December 1976
added = 8 December 1976cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=76002039On 21 January 1946, the warship departed San Pedro and steamed via the Panama Canal to Norfolk where she arrived on 13 February, and soon began preparations for inactivation. On 18 June, she was decommissioned and placed officially in reserve at Baltimore, Maryland. The Battleship "Texas" Commission was established on 17 April 1947 to care for the ship by the Texas Legislature. The $225,000 necessary to pay for the towing of the ship from Baltimore to San Jacinto was the first task of the Commission. On 17 March 1948, the ship began her journey to her new anchorage on Buffalo Bayou and the busy Houston Ship Channel near the San Jacinto Monument, at San Jacinto State Park, arriving on 20 April, where she was turned over to the State of Texas the next day (21 April) to serve as a permanent memorial. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1948. The date of 21 April is significant in that it was the date in 1836 of the decisive Battle of San Jacinto that ended the War for Texas Independence and led to the creation of the Republic of Texas, which joined the US as a state in 1845. "Texas" was the first battleship memorial museum in the US.cite web | title = Battleship Texas State Historic Site | url = http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/battleship_texas/ | publisher= Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | accessdate=2006-12-30] When the battleship was presented to the State of Texas, she was commissioned as the flagship of the Texas Navy.

Unfortunately, the experience of how to properly maintain a museum ship did not exist at the time. Consequently, years of neglect resulted in cracks and gaps in coated surfaces, water intrusion, and steel deterioration. Paint in interior spaces began to crack, then flake, exposing metal surfaces underneath, which began to rust. At the same time, pipes open to the sea ultimately failed, flooding various voids and bunkers.

The funding produced by the Battleship "Texas" Commission was not up to the task of maintaining the ship.cite journal | last = Fischer | first = Donald H. | date = Spring 2007 | title = The Future of the Battleship "Texas" | journal = Houston History | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 72–74 | publisher = University of Houston. Center for Public History | location = Houston, Texas | issn = | oclc = 163568525 The table of contents (but not the article) is available online [http://www.history.uh.edu/public_history/houston_history_project/houston_review/issues_volume_04_2.html here] . Retrieved 11 January 2008.] By 1968 the wooden main deck of the ship was so rotted that rainwater was leaking through the deck into the interior of the ship and pooling in various compartments. The Commission found that replacing the decayed deck timbers was prohibitively expensive. The solution at the time was to remove the wooden deck and replace it with concrete. The concrete eventually cracked, and again, rainwater began to leak through the main deck into spaces below. In 1971 three local charitable institutions, the Brown Foundation, the Moody Foundation, and the Houston Endowment, together contributed $50,000 to the ship to enable the Commission to sandblast and paint the hull. By this time, newspaper articles reported that the "Texas" was "under attack" from neglect and insufficient funding. [cite news | first = Stan | last = Redding | title = The USS Texas is under attack and she can't fight back | work = Houston Chronicle | location = Houston, Texas | date = 1972-06-26 ] Nevertheless, "Texas" was designated a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1975, and a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1976.citation | title = PDFlink | [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/76002039.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: U.S.S. Texas / The Battleship Texas] | 32 KB | date = April 1976 | first = George R. | last = Adams | publisher = National Park Service and PDFlink | [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/76002039.pdf "Accompanying one photo, exterior, from 1976"] | 32 KB ] cite web | url = http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1682&ResourceType=Structure | title = USS Texas | accessdate = 2008-04-17 | work = National Historic Landmark summary listing | publisher = National Park Service ]

By 1983, concerns with the leadership of the Battleship "Texas" Commission led to the decision by the State Legislature to turn over control of the ship to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The legislature abolished the commission effective 31 August 1983, and TPWD assumed operational control the next day. One of the first actions by TPWD was to hire a firm of naval architects to survey the ship in order to assess the deterioration and make recommendations as to what actions should be taken to preserve the ship. The survey revealed that the ship's watertight integrity was badly compromised, the hull was open to the sea in many places, and many compartments were full of standing rain water. The architects determined that the ship needed to go to dry dock for major repairs to the hull and to keep rain water from coming through the porous concrete deck. As part of this plan, serious consideration was given to protecting sensitive fabrics and restoring the interior of the ship. After a five-year-long fund-raising campaign, $15 million was collected to dry dock the ship and complete necessary repairs.cite journal | last = Salyers | first = Abbie | date = Spring 2007 | title = Leaving "Texas" High and Dry: The Preservation of the Battleship Texas | journal = Houston History | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 66–68 | publisher = University of Houston. Center for Public History | location = Houston, Texas | issn = | oclc = 163568525 The table of contents (but not the article) is available online [http://www.history.uh.edu/public_history/houston_history_project/houston_review/issues_volume_04_2.html here] . Retrieved 11 January 2008.]

Finally, on 13 December 1988, "Texas" was set afloat after some difficulty and towed by barge convert|56|mi|km|0 from her berth to Todd Shipyard in Galveston, Texas. She underwent a 14-month refit that sought to restore the ship to her 1945 condition. While under refit, yard workers sand-blasted paint from not only the hull but also the superstructure of the ship and replaced many tons of rusted metal from the hull. Inside the ship, welders and fabricators replaced weakened structural beams and numerous rusted-out deck plates. Topside, workers removed the cement from the main deck and replaced it with wooden beams and a new pine deck. A new complement of anti-aircraft guns was also installed. In total, more than convert|375000|lb|kg of steel (amounting to approximately 40 percent of the ship's hull) was replaced. On 24 February 1990, tugboats moved the "Texas" from dry dock to a repair facility on Green's Bayou for further repairs, which were completed on 26 July, when the ship was returned to her berth at San Jacinto. Repairs complete, the ship officially reopened to the public on 8 September 1990. Since returning to her slip at San Jacinto, members of the ship's staff and volunteers have moved forward with restoring the interior spaces.

On 6 November 2007, Texas voters approved $25 million in funds to dry-berth the ship in order to prevent further deterioration from the corrosive waters of the ship channel. [cite news | first = Matt | last = Hollis | title = Ups, downs highlight year in review | url = http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19165261&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532258&rfi=6 | work = The North Channel Sentinel | publisher = Houston Community Newspapers | date = 2008-01-03 | accessdate = 2008-01-11 ] This solution will permanently cradle the ship in a dry berth at her current location. Accordingly, the depth of the current slip will be increased to convert|38|ft|m below sea level before driving over 1,000 concrete piles into the bottom soil to support a convert|5|ft|m|adj=on thick convert|108800|sqft|adj=on concrete foundation. A cradle of convert|1500|ft|m of concrete pylon beams and cribbing will rest upon this foundation and support the ship. This entire structure will be enclosed by a convert|1680|ft|adj=on long cofferdam with a concrete sidewalk and viewing platform on the top, all of which is projected to be completed by the centennial of the construction of the ship in 2011. When complete, "Texas" will be the first ship of her size to be permanently dry-docked. [The submarine USS|Drum|SS-228 and destroyer USS|Kidd|DD-661 are also dry-berthed using similar methods.]

"Texas" was the first and will be the oldest of an eventual total of eight US battleships that have become floating museums; the other battleships honored in this way are USS|Massachusetts|BB-59|2, USS|Alabama|BB-60|2, USS|North Carolina|BB-55|2, USS|New Jersey|BB-62|2, USS|Missouri|BB-63|2, and USS|Wisconsin|BB-64|2. [cite book | last = Westwood | first = J. N. | title = Fighting ships of World War II | chapter = The Battleship | location = London | publisher = Sidgwick and Jackson | origyear = 1971 | year = 1975 | isbn = 9780283982873 | oclc = 2090062 | page = p. 23 ] [The missing eighth battleship is USS|Iowa|BB-61, which has been placed on donation hold for transfer to a private orginization for use as a museum ship.]

Media

"Texas" has appeared in several films since her retirement. Her cinema debut was in the 1966 Steve McQueen film "The Sand Pebbles". [cite news | last = Westbrook | first = Bruce | url = http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/618395.html | title = "Pearl Harbor" cast, crew hit city | work = Houston Chronicle | date = 2000-07-28 | accessdate = 2008-06-18 | page = ] In the 2001 film "Pearl Harbor" she portrayed the battleship USS|West Virginia|BB-48|2 in the scenes depicting Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Doris Miller. Some of the ship's interiors were also used to portray the interior of the aircraft carrier USS|Hornet|CV-8|2 in the film. "Texas" also appears as herself in the 2006 film "Flags Of Our Fathers" and in "Letters from Iwo Jima"; in both movies the ship is depicted shelling Iwo Jima in preparation for the Marines' amphibious assault.

Notes and references

*Johnston, Ian and McAuley, Rob. "The Battleships". Channel 4 Books, London ISBN 0-7522-6188-6
*DANFS

External links

*cite web|accessdate=2007-10-18
url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/features/texas/texas.htm
title=Battleship Texas (BB-35), Special Feature, 6 July 2002
work= NavSource Naval History Contains high resolution images taken on the 90th anniversary of the launch of the "Texas".
* [http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/battlesh/ USS Texas Historic Site]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/uss_texas_bb35.htm Maritimequest USS Texas BB-35 photo gallery]
* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-2419 Texas Navy] hosted by [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ The Portal to Texas History] . A survey of the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution and the Republic Era. Includes maps, sketches, a list of ships of the Texas Navy, and a chronology. Also includes photographs of 20th century US Navy ships named after Texans or Texas locations. See photos of the USS Texas.
* [http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/004428.html USS Texas Hard Hat Tour] : Photos and information from a tour of closed-to-the-public areas of the ship.
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-t/bb35.htm USS Texas (Battleship Number 35, later BB-35), 1914-1948]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/35a.htm NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive BB-35 USS TEXAS 1911 - 1919]
* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/texas.htm HNSA Ship Page: USS "Texas"]
* [http://www.asme.org/Communities/History/Landmarks/USS_Texas_Reciprocating_Steam.cfm ASME National Engineering Historic Landmark Page]