Historic Battleship Texas

Author: John C. Ferguson
Publisher: TX A&m-McWhiney Foundation
ISBN: 9781933337074
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
During the first quarter of the 20th century, the major naval powers of the world built hundreds of Dreadnought-style battleships. Today there is only one. The battleship Texas was for a time the most powerful weapon on earth. When it was commissioned in 1914, the 14-inch guns were the largest in the world. This technological marvel of the time served with the British Grand Fleet in World War I and was the flagship of the entire U.S. Navy between the two World Wars. During the Second World War, an older Texas, past its prime, supported amphibious invasions in North Africa, Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The ship and her crew were preparing for the invasion of Japan when the war ended and the Texas came home. No longer needed to defend her country, the Texas was saved from the scrap yard to become our nation's first historic ship museum in 1948. Now lying peacefully in her berth at the San Jacinto State Park near Houston, the battleship Texas is still serving her country-teaching instead of fighting. The Texas is the only battleship remaining in the world today that served in World War I, and the only ship remaining of any type that served in both World Wars. This is the story of the battleship Texas and the brave men who walked its decks. John C. Ferguson is park superintendent at Mission Tejas State Park and the former director of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site where Battleship Texas is located. He is the author of Texas Myths and Legends (McWhiney Foundation Press, 2003) and Hellcats (State House Press, 2004).

The Battleship Texas

Author: Mark Lardas
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439657483
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
The USS Texas was built when dreadnought battleships were kings of the seas. It was the world's most powerful battleship when first commissioned in 1914, and for over a century it fought many battles. Some took place while the Texas served as a warship in the US Navy in World Wars I and II. Since becoming a museum ship and war memorial in 1948, it has fought a longer and more difficult struggle as it combats the ravages of time for its very survival. Throughout its existence, the Texas has made history, leaving a wealth of fascinating stories in its wake.

"Old Hoodoo"

Author: Mark D. Cowan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781466248946
Category : Spanish-American War, 1898
Languages : en
Pages : 411

Book Description
The Texas was early-on considered something of an ugly duckling in the Navy, often characterized as a clumsy "hoodoo", or jinxed ship. Her service in the Spanish American War proved her to be a late bloomer, an odd-looking ship that met the challenges of combat and served her nation well as a critical step in the development of the New Navy. Perhaps being seen as the least valuable battleship in the Navy and therefore the most expendable, the Texas found herself in the enviable position of seeing more action than any other capital vessel in the US Fleet. The Texas shone in every engagement in which she was committed. She took part in the search for the Spanish fleet. She also participated in the first significant independent Marine Corps action in history when she provided critical support in their capture of Guantanamo Bay. She then provided support to the Army in the invasion of Cuba and the subsequent investiture of Santiago, engaging a number of Spanish forts in the process. Off Santiago, she took the first hit by an enemy gun and the first combat death for the Navy, being struck by enemy shells in two different actions. At the Naval Battle of Santiago she steamed aggressively forward into the thick of battle and directly engaged six warships of the Spanish fleet. Though clearly obsolescent, few patriotic sailors would not have wanted to walk her powder and blood-stained decks. The Texas was conceived in an era when the US Navy was attempting to arise from the post-Civil War neglect that had crippled its ability to assert itself in international waters. It was a period of great change, both technologically and in the development of the theory of naval power as espoused by Alfred Thayer Mahan. She sailed in the time before the US Navy had reached the renowned strength and professionalism it exhibited in World Wars One and Two, but contributed immeasurably to this achievement. This is the illustrated story of the design, construction, and operational history of the USS Texas of 1895, America's first battleship and hero of the Spanish-American War. Hundreds of historic photos and plans combined with exhaustively researched text capture the spirit of the age, as well as the technological details of the ship.

Battleship Iowa

Author: Lawrence Burr
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 9781591149101
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 120

Book Description
USS Iowa BB-61, the first of four Iowa-class battleships built for the U.S. Navy, was launched in 1942. Capable of thirty-three knots and armed with nine new fifty-caliber sixteen-inch guns, she was the pinnacle of battleship design for the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Iowa class perfectly merged the heavy armor of battleships with the speed of battlecruisers. Iowa's speed and heavy armament positioned her to accompany and protect U.S. Fast Carrier task forces through the Pacific War by participating in multiple actions from Truck, the Philippine Sea, Leyte, and ending in Tokyo Bay. Deactivated in 1948, the outbreak of the Korean War saw Iowa recommissioned in 1951 for shore bombardment duty in support of United Nation troops against the North Korean army invasion. Iowa returned to the U.S. in 1952, and then participated in NATO exercises until she was decommissioned in 1958. Soviet expansion and rearmament programs in the 1970's saw Iowa recommissioned in 1984 following a two-year modernization program. This program saw the addition of nuclear capable Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles and modern computer-based communication technology. Extensive exercises with NATO forces and goodwill visits carried through until April 1989, when tragedy struck the ship with an explosion in gun turret two killing 47crew members. The soundness of Iowa's design and her armored strength prevented the explosion from reaching her magazines and the potential loss of the ship. Decommissioned in October 1990 and placed in reserve, she would eventually be stricken from the Navy record in 2006. Transferred to the Port of Los Angeles in 2012, Iowa now serves as the National Museum of the Surface Navy located at San Pedro, California.

Battleship Texas

Author:
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 9780890965191
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Book Description
"Centennial series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A & M University ; no. 45." History of the battleship Texas from its commissioning in 1914 to the present as a tourist attraction.

American Battleships

Author: Max R. Newhart
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781575100043
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 118

Book Description
A comprehensive and fully illustrated overview and history of American battleships.

The Ayes of Texas

Author: Daniel Da Cruz
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 9780345332820
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description

US Navy Battleships 1886–98

Author: Brian Lane Herder
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472835042
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49

Book Description
After the American Civil War, the US Navy had been allowed to decay into complete insignificance, yet the commissioning of the modern Brazilian battleship Riachuelo and poor performance against the contemporary Spanish fleet, forced the US out of its isolationist posture towards battleships. The first true US battleships began with the experimental Maine and Texas, followed by the three-ship Indiana class, and the Iowa class, which incorporated lessons from the previous ships. These initial ships set the enduring US battleship standard of being heavily armed and armoured at the expense of speed. This fully illustrated study examines these first six US battleships, a story of political compromises, clean sheet designs, operational experience, and experimental improvements. These ships directly inspired the creation of an embryonic American military-industrial complex, enabled a permanent outward-looking shift in American foreign policy and laid the foundations of the modern US Navy.

U.S. Battleships

Author: Norman Friedman
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 9781591142478
Category : Battleships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This book covers the development of U.S. battleships, from the Maine and Texas of 1886, through the Montana class of World War II, up to the recommissioned Iowas. It examines the original designs as well as the many modifications and reconstructions these ships underwent during their long and active careers. Like the other books in Norman Friedmans design-history series, U.S. Battleships is based largely on formerly classified internal U.S. Navy records. But research for this book has also included a full survey of British files, both those compiled when American ships served with the Royal Navy in the two world wars and those supplied by British battleship designers attached to the U.S. Navy. In addition, the author consulted official battle damage reports to help evaluate various designs.

Texas Aggies Go to War

Author: Henry C. Dethloff
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603440771
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 473

Book Description
When their country calls, Texas Aggies go to war. From the Spanish-American War and World War I to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Aggies have been in the forefront of America’s armed forces, producing more officers than any other school outside the service academies. More than 20,000 Texas Aggies served in World War II, for instance, including more than 14,000 as commissioned officers. Trained in leadership and the knowledge required for warfare, Aggies have served with distinction in all branches of the military service. In this first-ever compilation of the impressive war record of Texas Aggies, stories of individual soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines are displayed with an abundance of statistics, maps, and tables. These narratives include • First-person accounts of Aggie heroism in battle in all the wars in which A&M former students have fought; • The horrific experiences of some of the eighty-seven Aggies who were stationed at Corregidor and Bataan; • The perils of five Aggies who participated in the raid over Tokyo with Jimmie Doolittle; • The heroics of the seven Medal of Honor recipients from Texas A&M during World War II; • James Earl Rudder’s leadership of the Ranger assault at Normandy on D-Day; • Examples of vigorous support and devotion to duty given by Aggies in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Texas Aggies Go to War celebrates the school’s distinctive Corps of Cadets and its military contributions while honoring the individual sacrifices of its members. Those who fought and those who remember them will find here a comprehensive account of the distinguished war record of this school. This book was initiated and sponsored by a group of former students who provided funding through the Texas A&M Foundation. All proceeds from the book will be used to benefit the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.