USS Texas and other visits

[oldsoldier]

For those who have never seen the inside of a 1916 era Battleship, USS Texas, go visit her (Houston,TX) or You-Tube the tour.  Interesting to see the cutting edge tech of that era, then the tech of the 1942 era USS Alabama (Mobile, Alabama).  Understanding the era's and getting up close and personal with these ships will get you thinking.  The USS Olympia a pre dreadnaught is also an interesting visit if in the Phildelphia area.  The IJN Mikasa (Yokohama, Japan) is another pre Dreadnaught example.

Modeling the Battleships is also a way to get you thinking as well. 

Imagine being on the HMS Hood, hatches dogged down, (cant be exposed on deck when big guns fire, concussion will kill you or throw you overboard) she takes that hit, she is blown in half, the bow half stands on end and take you down in three minutes.  1415 crew, 3 survivors.  Or in the USS Arizona, bomb sets off magazine, you are in the armored tube somewhere, and then compressed like in a piston as the blast pulverizes you and your shipmates.

The subject of naval warfare from ironclad to battleship is interesting, and this game is a good look into that era.

Edited November 7, 2019 by oldsoldier

[DeRuyter]

I would like to see USS Texas. Last year Wargames ran an event to raise money for her restoration which is badly needed. Not that I am admitting to playing WoWs, but I do have the Texas in my docks. 😉

I posted some photos from USS Olympia in this thread.

Here is another from a miniatures game of the Battle of Manila Bay held onboard Olympia with Admiral Dewey looking on. 

 

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

On 11/7/2019 at 1:43 AM, oldsoldier said:

For those who have never seen the inside of a 1916 era Battleship, USS Texas, go visit her (Houston,TX) or You-Tube the tour.  Interesting to see the cutting edge tech of that era, then the tech of the 1942 era USS Alabama (Mobile, Alabama).  Understanding the era's and getting up close and personal with these ships will get you thinking.  The USS Olympia a pre dreadnaught is also an interesting visit if in the Phildelphia area.  The IJN Mikasa (Yokohama, Japan) is another pre Dreadnaught example.

Modeling the Battleships is also a way to get you thinking as well. 

Imagine being on the HMS Hood, hatches dogged down, (cant be exposed on deck when big guns fire, concussion will kill you or throw you overboard) she takes that hit, she is blown in half, the bow half stands on end and take you down in three minutes.  1415 crew, 3 survivors.  Or in the USS Arizona, bomb sets off magazine, you are in the armored tube somewhere, and then compressed like in a piston as the blast pulverizes you and your shipmates.

The subject of naval warfare from ironclad to battleship is interesting, and this game is a good look into that era.

USS Texas is no longer open to visitors. 

As of October 1, she will no longer allows visitors aboard. She is in process of being packed up, her moorings cut away, and will be towed to a dry dock in Alabama large enough to scrape her hull and repair the armor plating which has been in salt water since it was launched and is paper thin in some places. 

When the repairs are done, she will be towed back to the Houston area. Whether she will return to the cesspool of the Ship Channel in the shade of the San Jacinto Battleground is very unlikely. A new berth will be built for her in a better location, such as Galveston, and the museum ship will reopen to the next generation of visitors. 

[oldsoldier]

She is going into a dry berth, where she is no longer in water, but a concrete filled berth, no longer 'floating'.  Waiting on funds.  

 

[Legioneod]

On 11/8/2019 at 2:11 AM, Andre Bolkonsky said:

USS Texas is no longer open to visitors. 

As of October 1, she will no longer allows visitors aboard. She is in process of being packed up, her moorings cut away, and will be towed to a dry dock in Alabama large enough to scrape her hull and repair the armor plating which has been in salt water since it was launched and is paper thin in some places. 

When the repairs are done, she will be towed back to the Houston area. Whether she will return to the cesspool of the Ship Channel in the shade of the San Jacinto Battleground is very unlikely. A new berth will be built for her in a better location, such as Galveston, and the museum ship will reopen to the next generation of visitors. 

Whats the status on this? I really hope they are able to save her, I went visit her as a kid and it's very interesting the differences and similarities between the older dreadnoughts and ships like the Alabama.

It's a shame that Texas let it get so bad and risk losing a historic ship. 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

On 11/27/2019 at 9:23 PM, Legioneod said:

Whats the status on this? I really hope they are able to save her, I went visit her as a kid and it's very interesting the differences and similarities between the older dreadnoughts and ships like the Alabama.

It's a shame that Texas let it get so bad and risk losing a historic ship. 

 

Just the opposite. Private investments have kept it operational. And the state of Texas just pumped a large amount of state funds into the ship. The problem was not the ship, but the fact it has been sitting in salt water for 100 years. The hull is paper thin in places. The cheap way would be to encase it in cement in its current location. The strategic long term option is to invest millions of dollars in state aid to refurbish the hull so the lower decks can be safely accessesed to make  it a museum ship to be proud of  for the next century. 

It is highly unlikely to be returned to its current swamp next to the industrial farms and massive chemical plants. 

I rather think Tillman Fertitata will cut a deal where it will be floating in Galveston next to his pleasure peir with a massive - and I mean massive - entertainment complex built around it when it is ready to sail home. 

So let it be written, so let it be done. 

[cj95]

Here's hoping.

 

 

[skg02]

Have seen the Olympia long time ago. Thinking about taking penetrating hit, it seemed fragile.

Wonder how many of the other 7 US BBs saved are regarding their hull conditions.

[Dannavy85]

How short sighted so many people were after WWII to keep all these museum ships in the salt water. Constitution can do it because she's re-planked every 10 years. You can't "re-plank" expensive steel hulls. Every museum warship in the US is on borrowed time unless they are permanently drydocked.

[SonicB]

On 1/2/2021 at 7:58 PM, Dannavy85 said:

How short sighted so many people were after WWII to keep all these museum ships in the salt water. Constitution can do it because she's re-planked every 10 years. You can't "re-plank" expensive steel hulls. Every museum warship in the US is on borrowed time unless they are permanently drydocked.

Agreed. It was an unusually lucky (or prescient) decision by the Japanese to encase Mikasa in concrete back in 1923, otherwise it's fairly certain she never would have survived her neglect during and after the Allied occupation.

That said, here in the UK we have the significantly older SS Great Britain which is now permanently drydocked, but we also have HMS Warrior which is still afloat at Portsmouth - it's worth noting that both iron hulls actually spent over a century in salt water with questionable-to-nonexistent maintenance before being restored, so it can be done if the will and money is there.

Both are beautiful old ships, and well worth a visit if you ever get the chance.

[Dannavy85]

Victory is a treasure