Navy | The US Navy |
Type | Battleship |
Class | New York |
Pennant | BB 35 |
Built by | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. (Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A.) |
Ordered | |
Laid down | 17 Apr 1911 |
Launched | 18 May 1912 |
Commissioned | 12 Mar 1914 |
End service | 21 Apr 1948 |
History | Texas is the last of the battleships, patterned after HMS Dreadnought, that participated in World War I and the Second World War. Considered the most powerful warship afloat because of her ten 14\"/45 guns in five twin turrets, Texas was commissioned in March 1914 and proceeded almost immediately to Mexican waters where she joined the Special Service Squadron following the \"Vera Cruz Incident\". She returned to Atlantic Fleet operations in the fall of 1914, after the Mexican crisis was resolved. In 1916 Texas became the first U. S. battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns and the first to control gunfire with directors and range-keepers, analog forerunners of todays computers. After the U. S. entered World War I, she spent 1917 training gun crews for merchant ships that were often attacked by gunfire from surfaced submarines. Texas joined the 6th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet early in 1918. Operating out of Scapa Flow and the Firth of Forth, Texas protected forces laying a North Sea mine barrage, responded to German High Seas Fleet sorties, fired at submarine periscopes observed by multiple ships, and helped prevent enemy naval forces from interrupting the supply of allied forces in Europe. Late in 1918 she guarded the German Fleet enroute to its surrender anchorage and escorted President Wilson to peace talks in France. In 1919 Texas became the first U. S. battleship to launch an aircraft and served as a plane guard and navigational reference for the first trans-Atlantic flight by the seaplane NC-4, after which she transferred to the Pacific Fleet. In 1924 Texas returned to the Atlantic and sank the incomplete battleship Washington (BB 47) so the U. S. would be in compliance with the Naval Arms Limitation Treaty of 1922. From 1925 to 1927 Texas underwent modernization in Norfolk, transitioning from coal to oil fired boilers and receiving numerous other alterations. In 1927 Texas became the flagship of the U. S. Fleet and inaugurated the use of \"talking\" pictures for crew entertainment. She embarked President Coolidge for a trip to Cuba in 1928. Texas received the first commercial radar in the U.S. Navy in 1939. In 1940, Texas was designated flagship of U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The First Marine Division was founded aboard Texas early in 1941. That same year while on \"Neutrality Patrol\" in the Atlantic, Texas was stalked unsuccessfully by the German submarine U-203. Texas escorted Atlantic convoys against potential attacks by German warships after America entered World War II in December 1941. In 1942, Texas transmitted General Eisenhower\'s first \"Voice of Freedom\" broadcast, asking the French not to oppose allied landings on North Africa. The appeal went unheeded and Texas provided gunfire support for the amphibious assault on Morocco, putting Walter Cronkite ashore to begin his career as a war correspondent. After further convoy duty, Texas fired on Nazi defenses at Normandy on \"D-Day\", June 6, 1944. Shortly afterwards she was hit twice in a duel with German coastal defense artillery near Cherbourg, suffering 1 fatality and 13 wounded. Quickly repaired, she shelled Nazi positions in Southern France before transferring to the Pacific where she lent gunfire support and anti-aircraft fire to the landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Decommissioned on 21 April 1948 and stricken for disposal on 30 April 1948. Texas became the first battleship memorial museum in the U. S. Texas was placed under the stewardship of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in 1983. The ship underwent drydock overhaul in 1988-90 and began systematic restoration to her 1945 configuration in Measure 21 blue camouflage. USS Texas is a National Historic Landmark. Texas\'s reciprocating marine steam engines are National Historic Engineering Landmarks. |
Commands listed for USS Texas (BB 35)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
Commander | From | To | |
1 | Frederick Fremont Rogers, USN | 21 Nov 1936 | 1 Jun 1938 |
2 | Capt. Robert Rutherford Morris Emmet, USN | 1 Jun 1938 | 31 May 1940 |
3 | Capt. Clarence Nelson Hinkamp, USN | 31 May 1940 | 2 Aug 1941 |
4 | Capt. Lewis Wells Comstock, USN | 2 Aug 1941 | 28 Sep 1942 |
5 | Cdr. William Everett Hennigar, USN | 28 Sep 1942 | 3 Oct 1942 |
6 | Capt. Laurence Wild, USN | 3 Oct 1942 | 14 Oct 1942 |
7 | Cdr. William Everett Hennigar, USN | 14 Oct 1942 | 17 Oct 1942 |
8 | Capt. Roy Pfaff, USN | 17 Oct 1942 | 10 Mar 1944 |
9 | Capt. Charles Adams Baker, USN | 10 Mar 1944 | 17 Aug 1945 |
10 | T/Capt. Gerald Laurence Schetky, USN | 17 Aug 1945 | 3 Jul 1946 |
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Notable events involving Texas include:
10 Jun 1943
USS Iowa (Capt. J.L. McCrea, USN) conducted trials and exercises off Casco Bay, Maine together with USS Texas (Capt. R. Pfaff, USN). They were escorted by USS Terry (Cdr. G.R. Phelan, USN), USS Walker (Cdr. O.F. Gregor, USN), USS Bulmer (Lt.Cdr. L.F. Volk, USN) and USS Barker (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Miller, USN).
15 Jul 1944
Around 2215B/15, the escort carriers HMS Searcher (Capt. G.O.C. Davies, RN), HMS Pursuer (A/Capt. H.R. Graham, DSO, DSC, RN), HMS Emperor (A/Capt. T.J.N. Hilken, DSO, RN), HMS Khedive (Capt.(Retd.) H.J. Haynes, DSO, DSC, RN) and the AA ship / fighter direction ship HMS Ulster Queen (A/Capt. M.H.J. Bennett, RD, RNR) departed Greenock for the Mediterranean.
Around 0645B, they made rendezvous with the battleship USS Texas (Capt. C.A. Baker, USN) and the destroyers USS Jeffers (T/Cdr. H.Q. Murray, USN with COMDESRON 17, T/Capt. A.C. Murdaugh, USN on board), Murphy (T/Cdr. R.A. Wolverton, USN), USS Butler (T/Cdr. M.D. Matthews, USN), USS Gherardi (T/Cdr. N.R. Curtin, USN), USS Herndon T/Cdr. G.A. Moore, USN) and USS Shubrick (T/Cdr. W. Blenman, USN).
Around 0615B, the sloop HMS Stork (Lt.Cdr. D.E. Mansfield, RN) and the frigate HMS Awe (Lt.Cdr. H.P. Carse, DSC, RNVR) joined.
Around 0945B/22, USS Texas, HMS Emperor, HMS Khedive, USS Jeffers, USS Herndon and USS Shubrick parted company with the other ships.
Around 1730B/22, USS Texas and USS Jeffers arrived at Mers-el-Kebir.
Around 1900B/22, USS Murphy arrived at Mers-el-Kebir.
Around 2245B/22, HMS Searcher, HMS Pursuer, USS Butler, USS Gherardi, HMS Stork and HMS Awe were joined by the destroyer escort USS Marsh (Lt.Cdr. R.A. Jordan, USNR) coming from Oran.
Around 0800B/23, HMS Emperor, HMS Khedive, USS Herndon and USS Shubrick arrived at Algiers. After having embarked stores, they departed again around 1130B/23 to join HMS Searcher and HMS Pursuer and their escort. With them the escort carrier HMS Attacker (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, DSO, MVO, RAN), USS Herndon and USS Shubrick also joined.
Around 0930B/25, HMS Attacker, HMS Searcher, HMS Pursuer, HMS Emperor, HMS Khedive, HMS Ulster Queen, USS Butler, USS Gherardi, USS Herndon, USS Shubrick, USS Marsh, HMS Stork and HMS Awe arrived at Malta. (1)
Sources
- ADM 53/119346 + ADM 53/119658 + ADM 53/120286 + ADM 53/120464 + several war diaries of the USN ships
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.