This World War I Dreadnought Battleship Fought Nazis on D-Day and Now Rests Peacefully in Texas

USS Texas (BB-35), Galveston, TX

They built USS Texas back when teddy Roosevelt was president. She went on to blast Nazi bunkers at D Day, chase German ships across the Atlantic, and shell Japanese islands.

Now the last dreadnought on Earth sits in Galveston waiting for her transformation into a modern, high-tech museum.

Here’s the tale of a true naval legend.

America’s First Dreadnought to Launch Aircraft

The USS Texas slid down the ways at Newport News Shipbuilding on May 18, 1912. When commissioned on March 12, 1914, her ten 14-inch guns made her the most formidable American battleship afloat.

At 573 feet long with 1,600 men aboard, Texas quickly joined the Atlantic Fleet as war erupted in Europe.

In 1919, Lieutenant Commander Edward McDonnell made history when his Sopwith Camel roared off a wooden platform built atop Turret II, marking the first aircraft launch from an American battleship.

This breakthrough led directly to the Navy adding floatplanes to every battleship in the fleet.

Mexican Border Crisis Brings Texas South

Just weeks after commissioning in May 1914, Texas steamed to Mexico during her first international crisis.

American sailors had been detained at the port of Tampico, triggering a diplomatic standoff that President Wilson answered with naval power.

Texas joined several warships supporting U.S. Marines who stormed ashore at Veracruz, establishing American control over the vital port city.

By December, Texas returned to Galveston where Texas Governor Oscar Colquitt personally presented the ship’s silver service on November 7.

Racing Across the Atlantic During WWI

When America declared war in April 1917, Texas became essential to the naval strategy against German U-boats.

By January 1918, she crossed the Atlantic to join the British Grand Fleet’s 6th Battle Squadron in the North Sea.

For the first time, Texas fired her guns in combat, blasting suspected German submarines with her secondary batteries, though no confirmed kills were recorded.

On December 10, 1918, after the Armistice, Texas had the honor of escorting President Woodrow Wilson’s peace delegation to Brest, France, aboard USS George Washington.

After completing this prestigious assignment, she returned to New York Harbor just in time for Christmas 1918.

How Navy Aircraft Changed Naval Warfare

Texas transformed naval aviation in March 1919 when Lieutenant Commander McDonnell successfully flew a Sopwith Camel off her gun turret in Guantanamo Bay.

The daring experiment proved battleships could launch aircraft to spot targets beyond the horizon.

Tests confirmed aircraft spotters improved gunfire accuracy by an astonishing 200% compared to shipboard observers.

In May 1919, Texas supported an even greater aviation milestone, serving as a navigation checkpoint during the Navy’s first transatlantic flight attempt by Curtiss NC flying boats.

Thundering Guns in Naval War Games

In 1920, Texas received her official designation as BB-35 and joined the Pacific Fleet for intensive training operations.

Sailors drilled relentlessly, reducing the time to load and fire her massive 14-inch guns to just 30 seconds per round. Admiral Hugh Rodman selected Texas as his flagship during the 1921 naval exercises, praising her crew’s exceptional performance.

In 1924, Texas returned east, carrying Naval Academy midshipmen to Europe before entering Norfolk Navy Yard for extensive modernization.

Complete Transformation for Modern Naval Combat

Texas underwent a dramatic 16-month metamorphosis beginning July 1925, emerging as a totally different warship.

Workers removed her distinctive cage masts and installed a modern tripod foremast equipped with the latest fire control equipment.

Engineers replaced her coal-fired boilers with new oil-fired Bureau Express models that extended her cruising range to 15,000 miles.

Anti-aircraft defenses doubled with additional guns installed on her deck and superstructure.

When she rejoined the fleet in November 1926, Texas received her greatest honor – designation as flagship of the entire United States Fleet.

Presidential Cruises and Naval Ambassadorship

From 1927 to 1931, Texas flew the four-star flag of the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, a distinction shared by only four ships between the wars.

In 1928, President Calvin Coolidge traveled aboard Texas to Havana for the Pan-American Conference, transforming the battleship into a floating White House.

During summer cruises, Texas visited ports throughout Europe and South America, showcasing American naval power.

In December 1938, USS Texas made history again when technicians installed the experimental RCA CXZ radar system, among the first operational radar sets in the U.S. fleet.

Atlantic Guardian Against Hitler’s U-Boats

When Hitler launched his submarine offensive against Allied shipping, USS Texas joined the Neutrality Patrol in September 1939.

After Pearl Harbor, Texas escorted vital convoys carrying troops and equipment to England, Iceland, Panama, and West Africa.

War correspondent Walter Cronkite embarked aboard Texas during Operation Torch in November 1942, witnessing her first shore bombardment against Vichy French positions in Morocco.

The battleship’s fire support helped secure Port Lyautey, where Army troops established crucial airfields for operations across North Africa.

D-Day Thunder at Omaha Beach

At 0550 on June 6, 1944, USS Texas unleashed a thunderous barrage against German defenses at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy.

For 34 straight minutes, her guns hammered the cliffs with 255 fourteen-inch shells – an average rate of 7.5 shells per minute – her longest continuous fire mission of the war.

Her bombardment supported the 2nd Ranger Battalion’s desperate cliff assault against elite German troops and fortified gun positions.

When Rangers became stranded atop Pointe du Hoc, Texas sent two landing craft filled with ammunition and evacuated 35 wounded men.

For days afterward, Texas pounded German strongpoints at Formigny, Trévières, and Isigny as Allied forces pushed inland.

Marines Flood Ship to Reach German Targets

As Allied troops advanced beyond her guns’ range on June 15, 1944, gunnery officer Lieutenant Commander R.H. Schaefer devised an extraordinary solution.

Sailors deliberately flooded the starboard torpedo blister with seawater, creating a two-degree list that increased the elevation of her port-side guns.

This improvised technique extended her range by several thousand yards, allowing USS Texas to hit German positions previously unreachable. The 14-inch shells crashed into German reinforcements moving toward American forces near Carentan.

German Shells Strike Bridge at Cherbourg

On June 25, 1944, USS Texas joined Bombardment Group Two supporting Army attacks against heavily defended Cherbourg.

At 1230, German coastal batteries at Battery Hamburg began firing at the American ships with deadly accuracy.

At 1316, a 240-millimeter shell slammed into Texas’ fire control tower, killing helmsman Christen Christensen and wounding several others on the bridge.

Captain Charles Baker miraculously escaped injury, quickly evacuating the wounded and maintaining command from an alternate position.

A second German shell penetrated the port bow at 1447 but failed to explode – a stroke of luck that prevented potentially catastrophic damage.

Pacific Journey to Join the Island Campaign

After supporting Allied landings in southern France during Operation Dragoon, USS Texas returned to New York for extensive overhaul.

Workers replaced all ten main gun barrels, coincidentally reinstalling nine of her original 1914 guns that had previously served on USS Pennsylvania.

In November 1944, Texas departed for the Pacific, transiting the Panama Canal and spending Christmas at Pearl Harbor.

After intensive training in Hawaiian waters, she joined the invasion fleet at Ulithi Atoll in February 1945.

On February 16, Texas arrived off Iwo Jima, ready to support the Marines in what would become one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War.

Black Sand Beach: Marine Fighting on Iwo Jima

For three days before Marines landed on Iwo Jima, USS Texas bombarded Japanese defenses on the tiny volcanic island.

Her shells targeted artillery positions, bunkers, and the elaborate tunnel network built by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi’s 21,000 defenders.

When the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions stormed ashore on February 19, Texas continued providing precise fire support.

During nearly two weeks off Iwo Jima, Texas fired 923 fourteen-inch and 967 five-inch shells against Japanese positions.

Marines fought for 36 days to secure the island, with Texas departing on March 7 to prepare for her final battle.

Okinawa Kamikaze Attacks Test Texas Defenses

On March 25, 1945, USS Texas joined Task Force 54 off Okinawa for her last and longest combat operation.

For seven straight weeks, her crew maintained constant battle stations against relentless Japanese kamikaze attacks.

Texas claimed one kamikaze kill independently and assisted with three more, her anti-aircraft guns firing thousands of rounds.

Sailors endured brutal conditions, some confined to interior spaces for days, surviving on K-rations instead of hot meals.

By operation’s end, Texas had expended 2,019 fourteen-inch shells, 2,640 five-inch shells, and over 5,000 anti-aircraft rounds defending herself and supporting troops ashore.

Bringing the Boys Home from Victory

USS Texas was anchored at Leyte Gulf, Philippines when Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.

As part of Operation Magic Carpet, she became a troop transport, bringing hundreds of veterans home from the Pacific.

The battleship made multiple voyages between California and Hawaii, returning soldiers, sailors, and Marines to American soil. On January 21, 1946, Texas departed San Pedro for her final journey through the Panama Canal to Norfolk, Virginia.

After 34 years of distinguished service spanning two world wars, she was decommissioned on April 21, 1948, and presented to her namesake state.

Visiting USS Texas

USS Texas is located at Pier 15 in Galveston, Texas, walking distance from the historic Galveston Strand district. She was the very first permanent museum ship in America, and is currently waiting for major upgrades.

The Battleship Texas Foundation plans to transform her into a modern, high-tech museum and is midway through a funding campaign.

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