110-year-old American battleship set for restoration

We report on the 110-year-old American battleship that’s just been moved to a dry dock for the start of a $35 million restoration in Texas.

The American battleship USS Texas, commissioned in 1914 and considered the only surviving dreadnought to have served in both World War I and II, has been dry-docked at the Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corporation shipyard at Galveston, Texas, where she is to undergo an extensive $35 million restoration funded by the State of Texas. 

Battleship Texas was the first of two New York-class battleships authorised on June 24th, 1910. Bids for Texas were accepted from September 27th to December 1st, with the winning bid of $5,830,000 excluding the price of armor and armament submitted by Newport News Shipbuilding Company. The contract was signed on December 17th, and the plans were delivered to the building yard seven days later.

The ship was commissioned on March 12th, 1914, with Captain Albert W Grant in command. Her main battery consisted of 10 14 inch/45 cal guns, which could fire 1,400lb armour-piercing shells to a range of 13 miles. These guns were the largest of any ship afloat at the time, making her the most powerful weapon in the world.

The historic vessel was towed from her former display site at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site at La Porte, Texas, to the shipyard in early September after substantial preparation work had been accomplished. Once restoration is completed, the 110-year-old battlewagon will be moved to a new permanent home, with the Texas cities of Galveston, Baytown and Beaumont vying to display the ship.

This news item comes from the latest issue of Ships Monthly, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE