USS Texas (BB-35) was one of the New York class battleships. It was launched on May 18, 1912 and commissioned on March 12, 1914. At the time of launching, the ship was the most powerful weapon in the world. Its main battery consisted of ten 14-inch / 45 caliber Mark 1 guns. They fired a 1,400 lb armor-piercing shell and had a range of 13 miles. Secondary battery was a compliment of twenty-one 5-inch / 51-caliber guns. USS Texas also had four 21-inch torpedo tubes - two in the bow and two astern. They fired the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 8 torpedo. The ship served in both World War I and World War II.
USS Texas served during World War I with the British Grand Fleet primarily performing escort duty and occasional forays reinforcing the British squadron on blockade duty in the North Sea
The ship saw service in World War II in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of Operation. While serving in the Atlantic, she provided support for major amphibious landings during “Operation Torch” in Africa and later, “Operation Overlord” D-Day in Normandy. In the Pacific the Texas provided support for the landings on both Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She spent three days firing on Japanese forces on Iwo Jima and six days bombarding Okinawa
For the D-Day landings, the initial bombardment commenced at 05:50, against the site of six 15-centimetre (6 in) guns, atop Pointe du Hoc. During this bombardment. USS Texas fired a total of, 255 14-inch shells in just 34 minutes. It was the longest period of sustained firing for Texas in the war.
At another point during the landings, the assault on Omaha Beach was in danger of collapsing due to stronger than anticipated German resistance. At 12:23, Texas closed to only 3,000 yd from the shoreline and fired her main guns with very little elevation.
For the following week, USS Texas continued to provide support for troops as they moved farther inland. By June 15, the troops had advanced far enough to be at the very edge of Texas's gun range. The final fire support mission was so far inland that the starboard torpedo blister was flooded with water thus providing a two degree list giving the guns sufficient elevation to hit the target.
USS Texas survives today as a museum ship near Houston, TX. It is the only remaining World War I era dreadnought battleship.
This print depicts USS Texas in action during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.
USS Texas served during World War I with the British Grand Fleet primarily performing escort duty and occasional forays reinforcing the British squadron on blockade duty in the North Sea
The ship saw service in World War II in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of Operation. While serving in the Atlantic, she provided support for major amphibious landings during “Operation Torch” in Africa and later, “Operation Overlord” D-Day in Normandy. In the Pacific the Texas provided support for the landings on both Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She spent three days firing on Japanese forces on Iwo Jima and six days bombarding Okinawa
For the D-Day landings, the initial bombardment commenced at 05:50, against the site of six 15-centimetre (6 in) guns, atop Pointe du Hoc. During this bombardment. USS Texas fired a total of, 255 14-inch shells in just 34 minutes. It was the longest period of sustained firing for Texas in the war.
At another point during the landings, the assault on Omaha Beach was in danger of collapsing due to stronger than anticipated German resistance. At 12:23, Texas closed to only 3,000 yd from the shoreline and fired her main guns with very little elevation.
For the following week, USS Texas continued to provide support for troops as they moved farther inland. By June 15, the troops had advanced far enough to be at the very edge of Texas's gun range. The final fire support mission was so far inland that the starboard torpedo blister was flooded with water thus providing a two degree list giving the guns sufficient elevation to hit the target.
USS Texas survives today as a museum ship near Houston, TX. It is the only remaining World War I era dreadnought battleship.
This print depicts USS Texas in action during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.