I'm sure most readers are aware that the battleship USS Texas, launched in 1912 and a veteran of both World Wars, has just been moved to a floating dry dock for extensive repairs and rehabilitation. After 110 years since her launching, she needs them.
The images below are circulating on social media. They're probably the same image, with the second more color- and light-processed. Click either picture for a larger view.
She's still a good-looking lady, isn't she? It's strange to think that she saw action during World War I, before either of my parents was born. She's borne up well under the years.
I hope that USS Texas will still be around long after you and I have gone, to continue to teach our children and our children's children about a long-gone era and the two biggest wars in human history (so far).
Peter
13 comments:
That's cool. As I'm currently sitting on a large ship in a drydock, it's very apropos. Saw the Texas last year floating at its permanent dock, a beautiful older lady. They do need a lot of upkeep.
I toured the Texas many, many years ago. It was an awesome museum. I wonder what they did with all the amazing small arms that were in her back then?
inspiration for my 20 year Navy career. haha but somehow ended up in aviation instead of deck plate.
I spent a lot of time on that ship as a child. Everytime anyone came to visit, there would be a trip to the Battleship Texas.
Here is the live webcam from the Strand, in Galveston, Texas.
https://www.galveston.com/webcams/strandvideocam/
There she is in the background.
My grandfather graduated from Annapolis the year before USS Texas was launched. He served aboard one of our other battleships, USS Wyoming, during World War One. Hope I can get down that way and see Texas when she is done with drydock.
Those anti-torpedo bulges make her a 'hippy' lady... Adding 11 feet to her beam and a little over 4000 tons to her all up weight.
One of the guys I worked with on the Iowa has a younger brother who's helping with the repair work. I'm just very happy they were able to raise the funds to dry dock and repair her properly.
The amount of work it takes to keep these magnificent ships afloat for the public to see is staggering.
Sadly, USS Olympia is probably a lost cause.
I watched the Drachinifel video on it: https://youtu.be/9eoJCs3_Q9g
I thought it was interesting that it was originally built without any anti-aircraft guns, and then became the first battleship to get them--two!
It also has a pre-Dreadnought vibe, with the secondary battery having sponsons and a "chaser" (later removed), and the triple-expansion steam engines.
For shore bombardment, they actually flooded a torpedo blister in order to get longer range for the guns. That must have been awkward.
The two images of the old lady in dry dock are, indeed, separate pictures. The angle of the lights on the near side of the dock is different. Boy, that is a BIG mother (the dry dock -- that ship is 95' in beam, and looks to have at least 30' to spare, even though she sticks out into the river(?)).
Hey Peter,
I'm just glad that the USS Texas is getting the overhaul that she needs. It is on my list to visit the ship one day.
New Jersey's curator did some live coverage of Texas going in to dry dock and some Q&A on New Jersey's YouTube channel. Most of the historic ships need to be dry docked in the next two decades. It isn't cheap. I hope her time in dry dock will keep Texas around for a long time to come.
Post a Comment