USS Texas (BB-35)

History of the USS Texas (BB-35)

The USS Texas (BB-35) became one of the rare warships in history to survive two world wars and then be preserved as The floating museum became. The warship was ordered on June 24, 1910 before World War I (1914-1918), construction began in April 1911 by the Newport News Shipyard, and was launched on May 18, 1912 . On March 12, 1914, she began a career taking the "Mighty T" to two seas, booking the United States before settling in Texas as a museum ship - by which time she had acquired five Battle Star Award.

The USS Texas was built to New York class battleship standards and ended up with only two (USS New York BB-34 was the capital ship). So she was initially powered by 14 28,100 hp Babcock & Wilcox coal fired boiler units feeding 2 x vertical triple expansion steam engines driving 2 x axles. This gives the warship a top speed of 21 knots and a range of 7,060 nautical miles.

The standard load is 27,435 tons and the full load is 28,825 tons. Dimensions include a length of 573 feet, a beam of 95.2 feet and a draft of up to 29.6 feet.

There are 1,042 crew members on board. The armor belt reaches 12 inches, the deck reaches 3 inches, the main turret reaches 14 inches, and the conning tower reaches 12 inches.

The armament is centered on a 10 x 14" (356 mm)/45 caliber main gun arranged in five twin gun turrets. These turrets are supported by 21 x 5" (127 mm)/51 caliber turret barbs, dispersed Throughout the design, there are also 4 x 3 lb (47 mm)/40 caliber salute guns, 2 x 1 lb (37 mm) guns and 4 x 21 inch (533 mm) underwater torpedo tubes.

Rather than accepting the typical "shock" cruise of a warship with its legs outstretched, the USS Texas was immediately deployed to neighboring Mexico, ultimately supporting the landing of U.S. forces at Veracruz in May 1914. On April 19, 1917, she filmed the first American female World War I footage in front of a German U-boat that drove it away.

She then spent time in the British Grand Fleet until the end of the war in November 1918. In December, she accompanied the U.S. political contingent to the Paris Peace Conference.

During the 1925-26 overhaul, the Texas had a redesigned torpedo bulge, increasing its beam to 106 feet and displacement to 33,000 full tons. The propulsion scheme was modernized with six Bureau Express oil-fired boiler units, helping to increase the range to 15,400 nautical miles.

Current armament includes a quadruple configuration of 10 x 14" main, 16 x 5" secondary and 8 x 3" anti-aircraft (AA) and 2 x 1.1" AA guns. The torpedo launcher has been removed and a catapult has been added to launch and recover up to three seaplanes.

During World War II, Texas conducted neutrality patrols before the United States was directly involved in the conflict. Her first major combat action was during the Allied landings in Africa during Operation Torch on October 23, 1942. During an overhaul in 1942, the warship was again redesigned and can now carry 10 x 14" main guns with 6 x 5" wear. Secondary guns, 10 x 3" anti-aircraft guns and 14 x 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns.

Texas actively participated in the Normandy D-Day on June 6, 1944, and on June 25, during Operation Dragoon, bombed Cherbourg and landed in southern France.

With the war in Europe over, the battleship Texas went to the Pacific theater to continue the fighther final action was aimed at Japanese-held Iwo Jima, where her shells hit enemy positions as best they could. Her AA crew also claimed kamikaze kills and three partial fights during the operation.

She then went to the Philippines and was there when the Japanese Empire officially surrendered in August 1945.

At this point, the ship's firepower was reduced to 10 x 14" main, 6 x 5" secondary, 10 x 3", 10 x 40mm Bofors quadruple guns and 44 x 20mm Ered Kang anti-aircraft gun completed. Her air force was reduced to 2 x Vought OX2U "Kingfisher" seaplanes (reusable) before being completely dismantled (together with the catapult).

In addition, her crew number was 1,810 and she carried surface search , Air Search and Fire Control Radar Systems - their humble origins far-flung crew before the First World War.

The ship was placed on standby on June 18, 1946. It was preserved as a permanent monument shortly after the war, where it is today. Her name was removed from the Naval Register in April 1948.

Specification

Basic

Years in Service

1914

Origins

United States

Status

stop service

Reserved.

supplement

1,048

staff

Class information

Class

New York class

Class Size

2

ships

Class

USS New York (BB-34); USS Texas (BB-35)

Operators

United States

Characters

Sea Bombing

Maritime bombardment/attack of surface targets/areas primarily through ship-based ballistic weapons.

Land Assault

Littoral attacks against surface targets primarily through ship-based missiles/missile weapons.

Sea Patrol

Active patrolling of critical waterways and sea areas; also serves as a local deterrent against air and maritime threats.

Airspace Denial/Deterrence

Neutralization or deterrence of flying elements by airborne missile weapon ballistics.

Fleet Support

Provide support (fire or materiel) to major surface fleets in blue water environments.

flagship/capital ship

Take on the role of fleet flagship or capital ship in old battleship design/terminology.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

573. 0 feet

174.65m

Ray

95. 2 feet

29.02m

Draft

27.9 feet

8.50m

Shift

27,000

t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

2 x double-acting reciprocating triple-expansion steam engines.

Surface Velocity

21. 0 nodes

(24.2 km/h)

Area

15,381nm

(17,700 miles | 28,485 kilometers)

Armament

(1914): Main battery 10 x 14" (360 mm) /45 caliber, five turrets, two guns. Secondary battery 21 x 5" (127 mm) /51 caliber . 4 x 3 lb tertiary gun. 4 x 21" (530 mm) torpedo tubes. (1945): 10 x 14" (360 mm) / 45 caliber guns (5x2). 6 x 5" (127 mm) /51 caliber gun. 10 x 3" (76 mm) /50 caliber gun.

10 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns in quadruple mounts. 44 x 20mm Oerlikon AA automatic cannon.

Aircraft

2 x Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" seaplane (reusable).