The Battleship Texas

[JEBar]

the first time we visited the Battleship Texas on 1-26-11 ====> https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/battleship-texas .... it is literally the last remaining WW1 dreadnought .... this old lady was showing the signs of her age and is in need of much tender, loving care .... having visited the Battleship North Carolina several times I went there expecting pretty much more of the same and that certainly wasn't the case .... WWI's dreadnought class battleships were much different in design and technology than the WWII's .... if you have any interest in such exhibits, I recommend you try to schedule a few hours to look through this living legend .... well, it appears that some of that badly needed TLC is on the way ===> https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinio ... 937171.php .... a discussion is still underway as to where she will be docked after the repairs .... we are really glad that they are going to save the Texas and it will be interesting to see where she ends up

[PT7]

Glad to hear this WWI battleship will be kept as a museum. From that long ago it must be hard to keep such history in good condition. You pictures are quite good, Jim. Enjoyed looking at them.

[JEBar]

sadly, she's over 100 years old and is in pretty sorry condition .... the upper decks that the tourist see are well worn, some of the wooden decking is bad shape .... the state of Texas has put up $35 million but its going to take 10's of millions more to stop the corrosion, leaking and such .... she'd be far better off if she could be dry docked and I've heard there are many folks who'd like to see preserved that way .... its been a top attraction at San Jacinto for a long time and once its retrofitted to where more of the ship is available for tours, hopefully they turn it into an even better museum

[BigAl52]

Posted a picture of the Missouri with guns blazing yesterday. Ive been on the Missouri when it was in Bremerton, Washington. Never been on the Texas but its neat to see there going to do something with it.

[tractortad]

Thanks for posting this - my grandfather served on board USS TEXAS from 1913-1915 and later from 1921-1922. Hope they can keep her afloat for future generations to see - this ship is a major piece of U.S. Navy history....

[JEBar]

Posted a picture of the Missouri with guns blazing yesterday. Ive been on the Missouri when it was in Bremerton, Washington. Never been on the Texas but its neat to see there going to do something with it.

we have the Battleship North Carolina with its museum at Wilmington .... its much like the Missouri .... by its design, the Texas is very different .... it is billed as being the last WW1 dreadnought .... I really do hope they will be able to restore it

[BigAl52]

Id like to pull the trigger on one of those guns.

[JEBar]

a really good link to up to date 12 page release of info from the Battleship Texas Foundation ====> https://battleshiptexas.org/wp-content/ ... nought.pdf .... I found it to be an interesting read

[The Wiz]

Maybe the should take a look what they did for the " South Dakota" in Sioux Falls. A lot cheaper.

[JEBar]

Maybe the should take a look what they did for the " South Dakota" in Sioux Falls. A lot cheaper.

we've been to the South Dakota monument .... for folks who have been to other battleship memorials one the east coast like the NC or on the west coast like the Iowa, the South Dakota memorial located in Sioux Falls is very different .... it most certainly isn't on my go back to list


https://www.siouxfalls.org/parks/parks/ ... battleship

[Settingsun1892]

In the mid sixties dad took me to it. You could go all over the ship then. He shipped over in it to North Africa for the Operation Torch landing. Showed me there he slept and a lot of stories going over.

[Rifletom]

Really like those old battleships. Maybe a bit different, but, my favorite was/is the HMS Rodney. A rather unique battle ship.
Had a LOT to do with sinking the Bismarck. All main turrets were forward mounted. Battleships were awesome!

[Rifletom]

JEBar, any chance you could post a picture of the Rodney? I know it's on youtube stuff, I'm just lousy at posting pics.
It's a great looking ship.

[BrokenolMarine]

I had to drive up to Norfolk from New River Air Station to pull a few things from our Avionics shop on the Saipan in between our Green Water Workup prior to a Med Deployment and the actual six month departure. I had noticed a Battleship docked near us, and it was named after the state my neighbor and good friend was from. When I mentioned this to him, he volunteered to drive me up so he could get pictures of the ship at anchor for his dad.

After I pulled the test equipment I needed from the ship, my guy started shooting his pics, I figured what the heck. I pulled my ID, walked up the gangway and requested permission to speak to the Officer of the Deck.

I was a Staff Sergeant at this point, my neighbor was a Sergeant. I explained to the OOD that my guy was from the ships namesake, and if they weren't too busy, would it be possible to get him a tour so he could tell his dad he had walked the decks. The LT grinned, yelled st a young Third Class Petty Officer, and told him to give us the A tour. I whistled, and waved my buddy up the gangway.

The Petty Officer and one of his shipmates took us all over the ship, my guy shot three rolls of film, and to cap off the tour we had lunch on the mess decks with the crew. Just before we left, they came running up with a pair of ships ball caps for us, and a logo'd Zippo for his dad. I told my guy he could give my cap to his dad as well.

They can talk about interservice rivalries all they want, but he talked about that day for the rest of the time I knew him.

[JEBar]

JEBar, any chance you could post a picture of the Rodney? I know it's on youtube stuff, I'm just lousy at posting pics. It's a great looking ship.

this link is to info on the Rodney ===> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Rodney_(29)

this link shows a whole mess of pictures ===> https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=HM ... ORM=RESTAB

[Rifletom]

Thanks JEBar, those are the ones. Great ships from a time past. Thanks again.

[JEBar]

we've really enjoyed watching news coverage of the Battleship Texas being towed to Galveston where she will be in dry dock for major repairs and renovations over the next year or more .... her passage today went smoothly with untold numbers of folks flocking to the watch her passage

[Shakey Jake]

I've been on the Texas a few times. The last time there was water leaking in it so bad that they had some areas blocked off. It needed to be restored years ago but finances just weren't coming in fast enough. Thanks to donors they were able to get things done.
Jake

[RudyN]

I am really glad that the Texas will finally be restored. That is the first ship my father was assigned to when he joined the navy in 1926. He was a radioman and was in the navy until 1956.

[JEBar]

link to a short video showing the Texas in dry dock where it will be undergoing a major up retrofit .... her unique hull design is easy to see and understand


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nvI3MHi89U