World’s Last Dreadnought Off to Repair Yard 

USS Texas to receive repairs its been needing for decades.

Just last week, the USS Texas, also known as the last dreadnought battleship left in the world, departed from its berth at San Jacinto State Park in La Porte, Texas.  On August 31, with the help of tow ships, the ‘Texas’ left for the Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corporations Shipyard, in Galveston, Texas to receive repairs on its hull. The USS Texas arrived later that day at the repair yard with no issues and has been raised from the water so the repairs can begin. The USS Texas is a very big piece of US naval history and especially to the state of Texas. In fact, Bruce Bramlet, President of the Battleship Texas Foundation, highlighted the historical importance of the ship.

“The only U.S. ship that survived in both World War I and World War II. In addition, it’s really the first ship that the Navy ever retired as a memorial or museum and is the last of the dreadnought battleships,” Bramlett told ABC News 13 Texas. 

The fixes being made to the hull will help the 108-year-old ship remain afloat as it has been deteriorating from the salty waters of the Buffalo Bayou for the last 2 decades. This is not Texas’s first time needing repairs as the ship was previously to Galveston in 1988 to be restored, due to its horrible state. It is estimated that the repairs being done to The USS Texas will take around one to two years to complete and will cost around 35 million dollars. When the repairs are completed on the USS Texas, it will be moved to a new location in an effort to attract more visitors to the ship to increase revenue.‘Texas’ could be left in Galveston or she will be moved to two other locations that have not been specified.

The USS Texas has a very special place in US naval history since it was the first Battleship in the US Navy to receive anti-aircraft guns, a fire control system that allowed the crew to hit more accurately. The ‘Texas’ is also the first battleship to utilize radar technologies. When the ‘Texas’ was commissioned into the United States Navy in 1914, she was to be part of the US’s Atlantic Fleet along with other dreadnoughts and destroyers as the first World War was beginning and was the first US ship to fire at a German in 1917. After the first World War, ‘Texas’ alternated between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans for training exercises. When World War II began, the ship was stationed in the Atlantic as part of the Neutrality Patrol, where it served to escort British ships to England that would supply the British with food and weapons given to them by the United States. The ‘Texas’ was at Casco Bay, Maine when the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, drawing the US into the war. As a result, the first action of the war for the USS Texas was to provide covering fire for landing forces in North Africa in 1942 as part of Operation Torch. It also took part in the bombardment of German positions on the north and south coasts of France as part of Operation Overlord and Operation Dragoon in June and July of 1944. Once the naval aspect of the fighting in the Atlantic ended, the ship was then moved to the Pacific Ocean. The USS Texas then took part in the bombardment of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945 and stayed in the Pacific until the end of the war.

The USS Texas was decommissioned from the US fleet in 1948 due to age and the construction of more advanced battleships for the fleet. Originally, the ship was going to be scrapped like most ships are after being decommissioned; however, she was saved by the Battleship Texas Commission which was established in 1947. The commission raised $225,000 to tow the ship to its original location at San Jacinto State Park. The USS Texas would be the first US battleship to become a permanent historical museum. But, the Battleship Texas Commission didn’t have the cash to maintain the ship leading to years of neglect which resulted in many issues that wouldn’t be resolved for years. In 1983, the Texas State Legislature gave control of the battleship to the Texas Parks and Wildlife, while the Battleship Texas Commission was abolished on August 31, 1983. The Texas Parks and Wildlife started a fundraising campaign to save the USS Texas and help the ship get the repairs the ship needed,  raising over 15 million dollars. In 1988, the ‘Texas’ was pulled from her berth and taken to Todd Shipyards in Galveston. There, the ship was restored to its 1945 condition and stayed until February of 1990. In 1998, control of the USS Texas was given to the Battleship Texas Foundation, which still controls the ship today. 

The repairs being made to the ‘Texas’ will not only preserve a big piece of history, but it will also keep this magnificent battleship around for future generations that are so interested in learning about the ‘Texas’ and its involvement in WWI and WWII. Future generations will also be able to know what it was like by being on this ship during those times by simply stepping on board.