The USS Texas, the last remaining New York-class battleship that served in both World Wars, will soon be available again for public view in Galveston, Texas, after significant restoration. The historic warship has been in repair since 2022 to make major repairs after serving in the midst of some of the most pivotal conflicts.
Work will also continue on the $21 million restoration. Among the most major work includes restoring several interior spaces, installing a new wooden deck, and repainting the ship, the Battleship Texas Foundation said. The USS Texas should be open late next year as a floating museum and an important connection to U.S. naval history.
Commissioned in 1914, the USS Texas was a New York-class battleship, being a heavily armed follow-on to the Wyoming-class. It was the first U.S. Navy battleship to feature 14-inch (356 mm) guns and a layout of five turrets, setting the design for the use of such large guns in the remaining super-dreadnoughts of the New York series. Authorized by Congress in 1910, Texas was laid down at Newport News, Virginia, and launched in 1912. In addition to her main battery of Mark 1 14-inch guns, the battleship was fitted with twenty-one 5-inch (127mm) guns and four torpedo tubes for the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 8 torpedo.
Once the USS Texas was commissioned, fire control handling gear was mounted at the New York Navy Yard, and the ship saw its first action when President Woodrow Wilson of the United States ordered her and other naval ships to Mexico in response to a skirmish which eventually held American sailors prisoner at Tampico once 1914 Mexican unrest intensified.
The USS Texas was the first U.S. battleship to perform many functions, including the firsts of launching an aircraft in 1919 and being the first to be equipped with two 3-inch, 50-caliber anti-aircraft guns.
During World War II, Texas played an important role in the success of the D-Day invasion, providing key fire support against German defensive positions in Normandy. The famous writer Ernest Hemingway, who was with the troops during the invasion, described the ship’s firepower: “There would be a flash like a blast furnace from the 14-inch guns of Texas. Then the yellow-brown smoke would cloud out, and with the smoke still rolling, the concussion and the report would hit us, jarring the men’s helmets. It hit your near ear like a pummel with a big, dry glove.”
After World War II, the USS Texas was decommissioned and placed in reserve in Maryland. In 1947 the State Legislature formed the Battleship Texas Commission. Since then it has served as a careful steward to the ship. As such the replacement of nearly 700 tons of steel has gone into a restoration project of the USS Texas among other work.
As the restoration nears completion, the USS Texas will be returned to service as an icon of American naval supremacy and a living memorial to those who served aboard her.