The Battleship USS Texas was first launched over one hundred years ago, in 1912, just a few weeks after the RMS Titanic sank on her maiden voyage.

Unlike the Titanic, however, the Texas has survived, and as such, is the only battleship to have served in both world wars that still exists today.

And the Texas is expected to be around for the foreseeable future, as a refurbishment is underway, which will help to maintain the Texas’s status as a valuable museum piece and token of a bygone machine of twentieth century naval warfare.

Battleship USS Texas: Over One Hundred Years Old

The USS Texas first came close to action in 1914, when Mexican federal troops detained an American gunboat at Tampico.

At the time, the Texas was undergoing a fire-control equipment installation at the New York Navy Yard. President Woodrow Wilson ordered a handful of ships from the Atlantic Fleet (not the Texas, however) to sail to Tampico and intervene. The incident (henceforth known as the “Tampico Incident”) was resolved without bloodshed. Yet, President Wilson felt the Mexican transgression warranted retaliation; Wilson commanded Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher to take a force ashore, at Veracruz, and capture the city’s customs house. The Texas was deployed, for the first time, to assist in the operation.

For the Texas, the Veracruz operation was something of a trial by fire – new ships are typically afforded a “shakedown cruise,” but the Texas was thrust into action with minimal preparation. The Texas joined Admiral Friday’s forces in the waters off of Veracruz. However, the Texas never fired her weapons and her initial deployment ended in something of an anticlimax.

In 1917, the Texas was called forth to participate in a more consequential conflict: World War One. The Texas departed New York in January 2019, sailing for the coast of Scotland where she joined Battleship Division 9 of Britain’s Grand Fleet. The Texas’s contributions to the World War One effort were modest; mostly, the battleship was used for convoy missions and blockade duty. Only once did the Texas fire her guns – at a suspected (but never confirmed) German submarine. After the Armistice ended the war, The Texas sailed home, having done all she was asked to do.

In 1919, the USS Texas earned a curious distinction, becoming the first US battleship to launch an aircraft when Lieutenant Commander Edward O. McDonnell piloted a Sopwith Camel off the deck of the Texas while she was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

By 1924, the Texas was already a dozen years old and due for a retrofitting; she was docked and her cage masts were stripped in favor of tripod masts. Additionally, her 14 Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired boilers were replaced with 6 Bureau Express oil-fired boilers. And, the Texas was outfitted with anti-torpedo bulges. The modernization would prove useful, when the US was thrust into a second world war.

USS Texas and World War Two

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, crippling the Pacific Fleet, the USS Texas was conveniently located in Maine, and avoided the fate of peer ships like the USS Arizona. When the US mobilized for total war, against the Japanese and the Germans, the Texas was sent participate in Operation Torch – the invasion of North Africa.

For the opening phase of the invasion, the Texas was assigned to Port Lyautey in French Morocco. Finally, after three decades of service, the Texas was asked to open fire – although she participated in a relatively restrained manner, firing 273 rounds of 13-inch shells and six round of 5-inch shells.

The Texas was called upon again, for Operation Overlord – the invasion of Normandy. On D-Day, the Texas was paired with the British cruiser Glasgow, and positioned 12,000 yards offshore in the Omaha Western fire support lane. The Texas, supporting troops as they landed on the beaches of Normandy, fired 255 14-inich shells during the initial bombardment.

When the war concluded, the Texas was decommissioned.

Transition to Museum Piece

Originally, the USS Texas was slated to share the fate of most retired naval vessels – the scrap yard and/or target practice. Yet, “a pair of Texas congressman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Albert Thomas, asked the secretary of the Navy if the state could turn [the Texas] into a memorial,” Texas Monthly reported. Soon afterwards, “the Texas became the country’s first permanent floating museum. Visitors could tour the turrets,  walk the deck, and eye the brig.”

Gradually, the Texas has fallen into disrepair. “In 2017 a hole fifteen feet below the waterline caused the shipt o list six degrees,” Texas Monthly reported. “It was clear that the Texas needed to be moved to dry dock for serious overhaul.” And so she was; in August 2022, four tugboats escorted the Texas to Galveston, Texas, where she was hoisted into drydock – where she will remain until 2024, or later.

Where the USS Texas ends up once she has been repaired is still being determined – but wherever she ends up, she will offer citizens a rare glimpse into pre-World War One naval technology.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

All images are Creative Commons.