The world's only classic dreadnought surviving to our time, having managed to fight in two world wars, is located in a permanent parking lot in San Jacinto. The battleship Texas is now a memorial ship open to tourists. You can not only examine all the nooks and crannies of the legendary warship, but also sit on the spot of the commandant and even point the gun at your favorite target.
General information
It belongs to the battleships of the New York type, in total two ships were built: Texas and New York. These were the first dreadnoughts in history armed with 356 mm artillery, thanks to the main caliber they became the most powerful warships in the world of those times.
This was the last big dreadnought built before the First World War. With ten 356-mm guns, it was the most powerful ship. Ernest Hemingway, who saw the Texas battleship during the fighting, was impressed by the strength of his volley and wrote that it was an “incredible giant.”
The ship went through modernization and reconstruction several times. In the First World War he participated in transatlantic convoys, in the Second - in landing operations in Normandy, North Africa and Japan.
Each shot from the main caliber cost $ 777 for an American citizen, according to the New York Times (March 27, 1914). US $ 10,972,000 was spent on the construction of the vessel , including US $ 1,598,000 in equipment and armament.
The USS Texas battleship became the second ship to be named after the southern state. At the same time, the first battleship "Texas" was renamed to free up the name for the new dreadnought.
Main characteristics
The hull of the New York type ship was actually an enlarged version of Wyoming, the normal displacement increased to 26 455 tons, the total - 27 933 tons. The length was 174.77 m, the width on the waterline was 29.05 m, the design draft is 8.7 m, and the real draft with normal displacement is 8.5 m.
The power plant consists of two vertical four-cylinder steam engines that supplied energy to two screws, 14 boilers, 8 of them with superheaters. Weighing machinery 2 311.3 tons. The characteristics of the battleship "Texas" achieved during the tests: the speed of 21.13 knots with a power plant power of 28,850 liters. from.; the maximum possible fuel supply is 2960.4 tons of coal and 463.5 tons of oil, normal loading is 1973 tons of coal.
The main reservation is made of Krupp armor class "A" and "B", connected by rivets and made by American companies.
The main armament of a battleship of the New York type is ten 356-mm guns with an ammunition load of 100 shells per gun. The barrel withstood 150 rounds with the most powerful charge. For the gun, the “light projectile - high speed” arrangement was chosen, for which relatively light shells weighing 635 kg and a sufficiently high initial speed of 790 m / s and a length of 1255 mm were used.
History of creation
In 1911, when developing the shipbuilding program, the US Navy General Council decided to build two battleships with a displacement of 26,000 tons. The project 506 with 10 356-mm guns was taken as the basis, and a backup option was also provided, in case they do not have time to develop acceptable weapons.
The development of the new main gun was entrusted to Midvale Steel Co. in January 1909. In November of the same year, tests began, despite the existing minor problems with loading, there was an excellent accuracy of the battle. Successful firing the following year made Project 506 the only one of the two under development.
During the development, a number of improvements were made, the thickness of the reservation of some sections of the ship, the installation scheme of some guns was changed. As the power plant selected steam.
The first ship was built at a state shipyard. The tender for the construction of battleship No. 35 was won by the private shipyard Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co, which had previously built the BB-28 and BB-38 ships.
Ship construction
They laid the ship in Newport News Shipbuilding ship docks on April 17, 1911. Construction on the slipways lasted about 13 months, after which Texas was solemnly launched, at the ceremony dedicated to the event, the role of the godmother was performed by Miss Claudia Lyon.
Floating completion continued for about 21 months, in March 1914 the battleship was officially registered in the fleet. The first captain was Albert W. Grant. For the first time in the history of the U.S. Navy, the ceremony of accepting a warship was shot on film.
After preparatory work and testing, the battleship went to sea and the next day arrived at another shipyard - New York Navy Yard, where for 21 days the fire control system equipment was installed on it.
First trip
In May 1914, an American landing party landed near Veracruz and seized port facilities in order to prevent the delivery of weapons to Mexico. To support the American operation on May 13, the battleship Texas received orders to head to the Mexican coast in order to join the main forces of the fleet as soon as possible.
For two days the city was captured, but the situation continued to be tense, and on May 13, Texas received orders to go to sea and join the fleet off the coast of Mexico. At the same time, the battleship did not pass the “trial voyage” procedure when deficiencies and malfunctions were eliminated.
After a five-day stay at the Hampton Raid, the battleship continued its march south and on May 26 joined the main forces of the American Navy in the region of Veracruz. In the next two months, the battleship patrolled along the Mexican coast, supporting the landing on the shore. In the first decade of August, the battleship Texas completed its mission and returned to New York.
World War I
In February 1918, the ship arrived in European waters, where it connected at the base of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands with other ships of the American Navy, the 6th division of battleships of Grand Fleet. The first Texas military campaign took place a few days later to cover the convoy. Further, the battleship went to sea to escort or strengthen the British naval formations, when they were afraid of encounters with German heavy ships.
The ships of the division regularly went to sea to conduct exercises or patrols, but there were no military clashes. The German surface fleet never left its territorial waters. After the surrender of Germany, the battleship returned to the Atlantic and underwent repairs and modernization. In July 1920, the battleship received the official designation USS Texas BB 35.
The Second World War
With the outbreak of war, the battleship Texas participated in patrolling British convoys across the Atlantic. In 1943, the ship was deployed in the first American large-scale operation Torch (“Torch”), an amphibious operation in French North Africa. Carrying out cover for the landing and providing artillery support, on the night of June 5-6, the ship participated in covering the Allied landing operation in Normandy, after which - in shelling German positions on the coast and covering the landing operation in southern France.
At the end of 1944, the ship was sent to the Pacific Ocean. In February 1945, he took part in the most important military operation - the assault on Iwo Jima Island, where he supported paratroopers with artillery fire. In March, he sailed to Okinawa and fired at Japanese positions for 6 days. After completion of the operation, he left for the Philippines, where he was overtaken by the news of the surrender of Japan.
Honorary Resignation
In the summer of 1946, the active military history of the battleship Texas ended, the ship sailed to Baltimore and stood there mothballed for two years. Preparations for the understaffing began. The question of its use as a target or surrender to scrap metal was considered. The ship was very lucky that he was not included in the large squadron of target ships sent to the Bikini Atoll for atomic bomb tests.
When the decision was made to create a museum from a warship, Texas was the last surviving dreadnought built before the First World War. The battleship participated in two world wars, in the most important military theaters in Europe, Africa and the Pacific. In April 1948, the battleship was handed over to the Texas government and decommissioned from the official navy. The battleship stands in the artificial harbor of the San Jacinto Memorial Park, dedicated to US history.