She's not just a symbol of US Naval power,she's actually world heritage,she's historicaly important to the history of the world,thats what makes her so 🙂 one day i'll visit her,i come from over the pond,i know i'll be breathless when i see her too,she's beautiful!!
@@randbarrett8706 Yes, both that ship specifically for her service and for modern naval history. She is the last remaining dreadnought. An enormous shift in naval technology that rendered everything else obsolete.
Yeah...very cheaply done and the lowest bid contractor won that so we should not be expecting a high-quality torpedo blister. It was pretty much Mickey Mouse-quality on the torpedo blisters unlike everything else built on the Texas. We should not be mourning the loss and removal of the poor-quality material of the original 1925 blisters. They could simply patch up the torpedo blisters throughout WWII for no expensive repair jobs. The problem with Texas, unlike the other battleships, is she was never properly mothballed. She was given to Texas only 2.5 years after the end of WWII. The other 3 non-Iowa battleship museums didn't happen until the 1960s, and these 3 battleships credit Texas for being the vanguard for what happened to save their ships. They were only saved because the people of Alabama, North Carolina, and Massachusetts were inspired by Texas and were able to rally people to donate to save those 3 battleships. Texas still has fuel oil deep inside her and she was never properly given the preservation treatment like the other 7 battleships received on the federal government and Navy's dime. Texas had to pay for USS Texas immediately because the Navy planned on scrapping her or nuking her very soon. New York (Texas' sister) was immediately destroyed after WWII despite the NY governor trying his best to rally people to pay for her transfer and to delay the government from destroying New York. He failed unlike the Texas governor and public did. As a result of these circumstances, what we see on Texas today is how she was exactly refitted her last time in late 1944 with no removal of anything by the Navy other than her smaller guns. The only reason Texas was able to pay for her to become a museum ship was because all the men of the Texas crew served so well and prevented any Japanese kamikazes from striking her, saving the added costs of an expensive repair job. New York was hit by a kamikaze as well as Nevada and many other battleships in the Pacific. Pennsylvania, which would have been a great candidate to become a museum ship, was heavily damaged by a torpedo in Okinawa just 3 days before Japan surrendered on 8/15/45. She actually sank as a result of the torpedo damage after the Navy didn't bother to repair her later on while they towed her out to sink her as target practice. California and especially Washington (The only U.S. battleship to sink an enemy battleship [and she sank all the rest of the large Japanese ships] without any other assistance. She singlehandedly saved everyone at Guadalcanal in November 1942!) would have been fantastic candidates for museum ships but they were mothballed on the east coast, not the west coast, so the people in CA and WA didn't even know they existed. In fact USS Washington veterans have lived with shame for the rest of their lives because the Missouri was mothballed and became a temporary museum ship in Washington state for many years and nobody in WA knew about their own battleship. The Washington's historic solo stand at Guadalcanal was classified for a long time until the 1980s or so because it showed how good her brand new radar-directed gunfire was and the USN didn't want other countries to know about it. USS Washington veterans say that they got disrespected because they served so well that they didn't suffer a single fatality or a single combat damage from the enemy during all of WWII. It was "boring" to save her for some reason. Whatever the condition of Texas is now we are lucky she was neither scrapped or sunk as target practice or vaporized in a nuclear explosion.
I am also happy they are going to keep painting her in Measure 21 Dark Blue. That is what the ships all wore at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It is horrible how other ships inaccurately paint the early WWII haze gray paint scheme. It is like lying to the public when they do that. The only two paint schemes used at Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945 were what we see on Texas (all dark blue, even the wooden deck) or North Carolina (camouflage style dark blue and light blue scheme). Alabama, Massachusetts, and the 4 Iowa battleships are all inaccurately painted haze gray for aesthetic purposes.
The maintenance on those guns is another amazing comeback story. I think the story of how she got her 10 40mm quad Bofors guns is so cool. She lost her original 10 40mm quads in 1948 because the Navy still used them. When Missouri and other Iowa battleships were reactivated and had to modernize they had to throw away all of their 40mm quad guns. Texas was able to restore to her full WWII-era complement of 10 40mm quads! 6-8 of those 10 40mm guns were on Missouri until the 1980s!!! This lucky timing happened just before the drydocking in 1988-90 so thanks to this incredible haul of guns they decided to repaint her to her 1945 Pacific dark blue colors. If she had stayed painted in haze gray which was the color of the Atlantic theater and 1941-42 Pacific theater then they would not be able to include those 10 40mm quad guns.
I remember looking at her in dry dock last time, and it was just amazing. To see her now getting all this work done is just fantastic, and I look forward to seeing her in her new home!
My sincere hope, for whatever worth it is, is to see her at Pier 21.. right between the Elissa and the Ocean Star. Right on the Strand with restaurants and shopping. Right where all the cruise ships are. There isn't anywhere else in Texas that you'll have that kind of tourism confluence and volume for a vessel.
@@joinjen3854 Are you referring to when I saw her in dry dock? If asking about the dry dock, the first time she was in, at Todd Shipyards in the 80s. If asking where Pier 21 is, it's in Galveston, at the Strand.
@@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710 Pier 21 would be PERFECT! She could do drydocking maintenance every 10-15 years, not just 20-40 years. If she were anywhere else we should expect another 30-40 year interval before drydocking.
I’m a veteran teacher working out in Fulshear. What irks me is my neighbor teacher who doesn’t understand we’re preserving Texas. I’d think that as a teacher, she would appreciate the learning opportunities a restored Texas can provide to all people including marine science, military science, imagineers, future engineers now sitting in my classroom. The ship has come a long way and is worth preserving. People have a right to think otherwise,but they’re pretty dumb for thinking she should be done away with. We can do without the erosion of our past, that’s for sure and don’t need folks promoting the thought of letting Texas waste away. A teacher. Can ya’ believe that junk?
That person is another “woke” communist doing their best to eliminate our actual history and replace it with a rewritten communist version of history to support their cause!
@@DC9716 It is sad what happened to California and Washington, especially Washington. Both battleships served so well in WWII and California was actually sunk at Pearl Harbor but refloated and repaired but the two ships were mothballed on the east coast so nobody in CA or WA even knew about their existence back then. If they had been mothballed in CA or WA then both of them would have been saved. Washington was the only U.S. battleship to sink an enemy battleship (and she sank all the rest of the large Japanese ships) without any other assistance. She singlehandedly saved everyone at Guadalcanal in November 1942!!! In fact USS Washington veterans have lived with shame for the rest of their lives because the Missouri was mothballed in WA and became a temporary museum ship in Washington state for many years and nobody in WA knew about their own state's battleship. The Washington's historic solo stand at Guadalcanal was classified for a long time until the 1980s or so because it showed how good her brand new radar-directed gunfire was and the USN didn't want other countries to know about it. USS Washington veterans say that they got disrespected because they served so well that they didn't suffer a single fatality or a single combat damage from the enemy during all of WWII. It was "boring" to save her for some reason. They were sad that WA was mothballed on the east coast so there would be no word of mouth from the west coast mothball fleet to get the locals to learn about her.
What is so cool about Texas is she was a washed up dinosaur by 1941 yet because Pearl Harbor happened she was called to serve her country once again and she became the only battleship to serve at Torch, D-Day (of course, she was at Omaha Beach!), Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. No other battleship served at all 4 of those historic amphibious landings. Pearl Harbor screwed everything up to where the ancient Texas and Arkansas (Arkansas' fire control equipment was so poor and outdated that she had to cannibalize equipment from cruisers and destroyers before D-Day!) battleships essentially took the place of Arizona and Oklahoma. Many other battleships from the Pearl Harbor attack were out of commission until after Normandy so Texas and Arkansas were pretty much all they had to work with. And even with that background Texas served wonderfully at all her amphibious landing battles.
Wow this is interesting, I happened to be in Galveston today, so I got out my binoculars and headed over to see if there was a way to see the USS Texas from here and I was looking at it and then I got the notification for this video!
Texas is truly a legendary ship. Only battleship to serve at Torch, D-Day (Omaha Beach!), Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. I mean her status as the only dreadnought still in existence is enough to warrant her place in history but she ended up being involved in all the famous amphibious landings of WWII too like a cherry on top. She makes the 7 other U.S. fast modern museum battleships that still exist look like cookiecutter nothingburgers in comparison. I still wonder who came up with the ingenius idea to send only the ancient Texas and Arkansas battleships to be the only heavy artillery support at Omaha Beach. Texas' role on D-Day was historic and it was like she was given an impossible task to do by her superiors (just like all the men landing ashore at Omaha Beach also).
I'm Australian and saw a documentary about her and even the British narrator was angry that she was allowed to fall into such a bad state. I'm so happy that a ship with so much world historical significance is being given the respect she deserves. Thank you so much to the people doing their bit. Good bless
I appreciate the anger about the rotten wood and rusty hull...but have you read about what happened to her fellow battleship sisters from the 1900s and 1910s? Scrapped, nuked (like from thermonuclear bomb tests), or sunk as target ships. Mikasa is the only museum battleship older than Texas but she is encased in concrete at the bottom and she is missing 30% of her hull as a result of her being displayed on dry land. Texas is the oldest battleship that can still float in water and not missing most of her hull (like Mikasa). I think she is happy that the only problems she has are barnacles, rotten wood, and rust.
@@kptlt.phillipthomsen5973 Britain only saved one light cruiser from WWII (HMS Belfast) and one light cruiser from WWI (HMS Caroline). The Caroline is berthed as a museum ship in Belfast. It seems like if not for the good people of Belfast, Northern Ireland the UK would have scrapped both ships long, long ago. Pathetic performance by the rest of the UK. Clement Allee was a worthless Prime Minister. Churchill would not have allowed that to happen.
I love following the progress. I grew up in Pearland. We took plenty of field trips down to the San Jacinto monument and the battleship Texas. Really wish I could be there to see it in person now in dry dock.
keep up the good work. I might suggest you reach out to some of the cruise vloggers to put the good word out about making donations or a sunday visit as she is no longer out of the way up in San Jacinto.
I'm from West Michigan and it is a beautiful thing that you are spending time with our battleship battleship Texas is a icon and I can't wait to tour it
I bet Ryan from battleship new jersey is really interested in this. He'll be behind you guys succeeding in every way. Hi Ryan if you're in the comments👍😀
@@BattleshipTexas O.K., Thanks, at the finish line. He does have interest in the well being of U.S.S. Texas. Hoping the " Iowas " never achieve this condition. Thankful that Texas did not sink. Hope that she is drydocked again in twenty years. I don't expect to be around for that one.
Hoping to travel over to the states from the uk in the next month just to visit her while she is in dry dock (top of my bucket list) but worth every penny. Thanks for the update and very professionally done.
Going to your website RIGHT NOW to BUY and support your ongoing fantastic full of energy, love, and commitment to our nation !!!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THAT YOU DO! Definitely coming down soon to see you on a Sunday tour!
Here's a thought... film the gun stuff in the warehouse and post videos. Also, it's my understanding that the Sunday stuff (while in dry dock) is by appointment and has a 100$ fee... that probably should be mentioned.
Just visited her yesterday. Tom was a fantastic guide and it was a great way to begin my bucket list goal of visiting all 8 surviving US battleships. I’ll be back after I’ve seen the rest
over a century old and still inspiring people, may she continue to do so forever more. She had her time as a weapon let her be a lesson so we can find ways to persevere together in peace.
Can't wait to go see her. Heading over state lines as soon as she is all done up and open. Keep up the good work. I must say, with all that work going on, fail on not having more videos on her restoration.
Despite the extensive repair work that Texas needed especially to her lower hull, she's coming along great. It won't be long before she's back to her former glory.
i volunteered for a few years at an aviation museum, and often surprised at the lack of RAF service personnel not coming in, ok besides a few friends and retired RAF and civilian aviators, and the odd annual special group visit i wonder how much support you guys get from the US Navy, visits and so on, as the old saying goes, every little bit helps she is definitely a remarkable piece of history and must never be left to get so bad as she has done in the past 40-50 years, i know obviously money plays its part, but having the right people with the right skill sets is a massive part of her well being and looks like you have that pretty well covered now, i wish you all so much luck for yours and the Texas's future and as soon as i can afford i will have a piece of her in the UK
Grew up in Channelview Texas very close to where She has been all these years as a kid back in the seventies they allowed you a lot more access to that ship you could spend all day crawling around inside of it.
If you scheduled a tour on Texas, then I highly suggest you plan 2 or 3 hours ahead or after your appointment to visit the Sea Wolf park near-by. It is literally a couple minutes down the street where you can enter and explore a Cruiser and a Submarine at the Galveston Naval Museum.
I hope Texas will be docked next to them. Will be one of the coolest naval parks in the world if not the coolest because the legendary TEXAS would be part of it.
Battleships were basically a showcase of the bleeding edge of technological, mechanical, metallurgic, and ship hull design. Nothing but the best a country could build (or buy) was put on these things. Honestly one thing people always seem to gloss over is the metallurgic design of a battleships armor. They have NO idea just how mind-boggling advanced and complex the making of just "big hunks of steel" was, it is literally a lost art and why Battleship steel is so valuable.
This is awesome. It is refreshing to see so much time, energy, skills, and money spent on such a worthwhile project. I hope Texas is restored to pristine condition. The state should step in and fund this worthwhile undertaking. Gov. Abbott - how about it?
The state of Texas already donated $35 million to replace the whole rusted part of the hull. They want private donations so they can clean and renovate the original big guns and small guns and interior equipment. It is a huge battleship and renovating all that interior space is not cheap. They probably also want to restore the wooden deck and get rid of the ugly concrete deck that is cracking and looks hideous.
@@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710 I managed to stroke one at Wellington Zoo - seeing them in the wild, you have to be very *very* lucky - but we would love to see you visit.
#Wargaming, and World of Warships, lets see another BB-35 campaign to help raise awareness and money for the old girl! You supported Texas in the past with the game and raised some good money. Would love to see another chance for our naval history lovers in game to contribute, once made aware of what's going on. Past that, it's great to see how much work and love is flowing into her, the Battleship Texas Foundation is doing amazing things!
Good afternoon my good friends that I work with for 4 months reaching out from home here in Kodiak Island Alaska love to see all that yellow stuff on the ground miss our Saturday afternoon barbecues I wish I could be there to help our Irishman is in the Bahamas right now and I've been plowing snow in the last 3 days look forward to the videos all the time was a pleasure working with you guys probably the highlight of my career
Y'all should take some of that original old steel and let a good knife maker, make some nice fixed blade knives. I'm sure they would sell very well. Great job you are all doing.
I visited her in Houston a while back. Wish I could go now. Unless you can sail her to UK! This job is much bigger than I thought. Well done guys, thanks for your dedication to preserve her.
I really wish I could see it, being in the UK I just can't afford to see it. A fever dream of mine is it becoming a moving museum going to different places to show her off. Not going to happen but I could wish for it haha
I think it is so cool that USS Texas was able to provide real life film locations for three big WWII movies: "Pearl Harbor", "Flags of our Fathers", and "Letters from Iwo Jima". I hope that after the refit Hollywood comes knocking again.
I would love to be able to help work and repair this Historic Ship. I applied to be a volunteer back in October of 2022, and I am still waiting to hear back.
🇨🇱 💥 I finally saw what a dry berth for a museum ship looks like--SS Nomadic of the Famed White Star Line of our brothers in the 🇬🇧UK ---is this whats in store for The “Ol T” ??
Wouldn't the shafts have to be relocated? I heard they were gone. Also, the rudder needs rebuilding and that's a repair not included in the current budget. Again.
@@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710 I actually looked pretty hard to find pictures of the hull and they’re still there. I imagine the biggest problem would be waterproofing the shafts. Packings don’t like to sit still.
Just goes to show how valuable the USS Texas is to our country. Now if only we could get lefties to understand patriotism and love for our country.......🤷♂🤷♀
The USS Battleship Texas is a symbol of American power and sheer badassery. When it was first created. It was the first ship to have the Marines as the crew. She was also the only ship of her kind to use Anti-air guns and have 16-inch barrel guns. Her incredible power literally caused the enemy to run away and she rarely saw much fighting during WW1 Then during WWII, after a resupply run, when the enemy was beyond the gun range of all battleships, The USS texas said "Hold my beer" and flooded all of her left blister tanks, therefore, lifting the ship upwards gaining more range. THE CREW SANK THEIR OWN SHIP to gain more range. She then continued to fire her guns until the rest of the war and several wars afterward until she was decommissioned and made into a museum.
I have not heard the permanent plans for her future home, but I would hope that in taking full advantage of this opportunity, she put on a cradle rather than floating at her future display. Inevitably the ship will be unable to support itself floating, so the best thing for the future would be to see it placed in a permanent, dry dock surrounded by a pond perhaps. Seawolf Park in Galveston already has this done with their destroyer escort. It gives the appearance of floating without the logistical nightmare of keeping the ship water tight. If the state of Texas is providing funding for one more transport, let it be to its final resting place, which will be the least difficult to financially maintain and allow visitors the opportunity to visit this historic monument for decades to come. Sending support from Ohio
Listen to the USS New Jersey RU-vid page's Texas videos explanation why drydocking huge battleships is impossible. After 5-10 years in drydock gravity will collapse her and she will be destroyed. If she stays in water while floating then she can survive forever.
@@AerChungus They are doing it right now. Fixing the steel hull in places that have leaked without having to completely replace all the steel hull and replacing the whole torpedo blisters with new construction techniques. The Battleship Texas and New Jersey leaders said that those torpedo blisters were built by low-bid contractors and not built to the high standards of the rest of the ship so we should not be sad to see all of it removed and replaced. The torpedo blisters are under the water also so we can't even see it when Texas returns to sea. If they can stop Texas from leaking any water for the next few decades they can use all that money that was wasted on equipment pumping the water out for decades on fully renovating and repainting the numerous interior areas of Texas and make her look beautiful again.
Is there a wishlist of things they hope that can do beaides hull repair? I'm curious what else they hope they can accomplish while in dry dock. For example, if they raise enough money Will they straighten the rudder of the ship? Like a stretch goal.
Any additional funding that is raised will be put towards the ship's wood deck, new paint, and much more. Straightening the rudder would not be a responsible use of funding.
@@BattleshipTexas I don't want that rudder to ever be straightened. That rudder position was the final act she did as a USN ship before she was decommissioned on San Jacinto Day 1948.
Just think what we could preserve for future generations with the money a lot of politics throws away on waste instead of great ladies like the Texas and Olympia can't wait to meet her at her new home.
I hope her new home is in Galveston. If she is parked right next to where the drydock area is she could realistically go to drydock every 10-15 years and not every 30-40 years like before.
Just a thought, but what if we made a nuclear and installed rig railguns replace her old arguments and updated work with some other systems should be most advanced worship in the world
Please consider contacting Mr. H.E. Butts (owner of HEB) about assisting either financially or by other means. I promise he’ll listen but you need to talk with him directly and get around his “gate keepers”.
Texas likes to boast about it's pride and patriotism. Here is a ship named in honor of the state that had a proud history to it and stands as a symbol of pride and patriotism. Texas should be 100% behind this and allocating funds better to keep this ship as a symbol of pride and patriotism
The Texas government already paid $35 million to pay for a complete replacement of the rusted sections of the hull. This group wants more money so they can go beyond that and renovate all the original guns and clean up the interior rooms and equipment. I also believe they want to restore the wooden decks (they poured concrete all over the deck in the 1980s in a horrible decision driven by being cheapskates) which would not be cheap at all.
If Texas is such a proud state, then there should never be a problem with this ship ever having to run out of funds. Billionaire oil tycoons should be fronting the bill for this. not having to ask the poor or middle class.
Wouldn't it be super cool on a 110 years of being in existence. Which will be next year. For a celebration of new life for the ship. And have it move Under its own power again. And have a Re christening celebration.⚓️
Her engines are rusted beyond any sort of salvation. Reengining a ship is just about the hardest thing to be done without tearing the ship apart to do it. Jus look at when the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 was reengined from Steam to diesel. It was a monumental task and the ship still had problems.
It would be nice it'd be impossible or close enough to it. As Warbirds said it'd involve a brand new engine and testing every inch of steam piping around the ship, every inch of water piping. New propellers, fixing the rudder. Checking the power cabling for everything. It's just not realistic.
im still mad that they took her screws and external shafts. im sure they had their reasons but for me? no...just no. conservation should be as much of the whole as is possible.imho.
@@asn413 The reason was keep things watertight and to reduce corrosion. I realise it sucks but I suspect if they hadn't she might not still be afloat today.
Whoever eventually gets this ship, which I understand will be Galveston, is going to need a large contingent of volunteers to clean up, paint and maintain these spaces to prevent further rust and decay.
I hope everyone realizes that Texas not only received $35 million from the people of Texas (taxes from the Texas government) but also received matching funds of $35 million from the American people via taxes and a federal grant that the federal government via Congress approved. She has $70 million to work with but all of that is supposed to be used only on repair and restoration work. She needs private donations to pay for a parking lot and museum and museum displays and other infrastructure. It would be nice if the Foundation would say thank you to Texas taxpayers and U.S. taxpayers. Of course private donations are needed for her new home and future repairs but people should get all of the information.