USS Texas
Contents
Description
The USS Texas was a New York-class battleship. Built as the first ship of her class, even before the lead ship USS New York, she was built by Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard and laid down on 17th April 1911 and commissioned on 12th March 1914. USS Texas was the first in many things for the US Navy, including the first to carry 14-inch (356 mm) guns, the first to mount anti-aircraft guns, the first to be able to launch aircraft, the first to control gunfire with directors and range keepers, and one of the first to receive a production radar. She is also the last surviving dreadnought-style battleship, conserved as a museum ship in dry-dock in Galveston, Texas.
Her armament consisted of five turrets each armed with a pair of 14-inch/45 Mark 12 cannons, with two turrets on the bow, one amidships and the last two astern. Secondary armament was made up of six 5 inch Mark 7 (127 mm) cannons in casemates with 3 on each side of hull. Short range anti-aircraft battery is supplied with a total of forty-four Oerlikon Mk. II 20 mm autocannons in various positions all over the ship, while medium-range defence is made up of ten quadruple Bofors L/60 Mark 2 cannons. Long-range anti-air protection is made up of ten 3-inch/50 Mk.10 (76 mm) cannons. USS Texas served in WWI in Europe without seeing any action. In 1926 she underwent a refit that added torpedo blisters to the side of hull, making it wider. At the beginning of WWII, she patrolled the Atlantic until returning to United States in 1941. In 1942, she would return to the Atlantic and then the Mediterranean as part of task force supporting Operation Torch. During the North African landings, she conducted two fire support missions bombarding Vichy French positions. Until D-Day in 1944, she resumed escorting convoys. She supported the Omaha beach landing and Rangers attacking Pointe du Hoc. After the capture of France, she left to the Pacific to take part in the Battle of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She was placed in reserve on 18th June 1946. She became a museum ship in 1948.
USS Texas was introduced in Update "Sons of Attila" as the third 14-inch US Navy battleship. Unlike Arizona, she possesses less firepower due to having only ten guns instead of twelve found on Arizona. As a WWI-era coal-powered dreadnought, USS Texas is quite slow and sluggish. Her magazines, although at the waterline, are protected by 305 mm thick belt armour which is sufficient protection against most long-range shells coming in at an angle. As USS Texas is in her 1945 refit, she has an anti-air search radar at her disposal, giving information about incoming threats from afar and with her large battery of medium and light autocannons ready to deal with any threat.
General info
Survivability and armour
Being the last of the US Navy dreadnoughts before USS Nevada introduced the "all-or-nothing" armour scheme, USS Texas uses the older distributed armour scheme. Compared to the other US battleships at her rank, this means she has both a thinner and narrower main belt than both the USS Nevada and USS Arizona, with a 12-inch belt. This is still greater than the earlier Delaware and Wyoming-class battleships, but the belt doesn't cover nearly as extensive an area. It quickly falls off to 9 inches of armour covering the majority of the hull, ending slightly below the secondary battery with 6.5 inches of armour plating. While this is beneficial when fighting light cruisers and below, this does allow strong heavy cruisers and battleships to still quite easily punch through the belt at typical ranges; the armour only serving to trigger the fuse on armour-piercing shells. Overall, this armour scheme is better for fighting cruisers, but compared to contemporary rank battleships like the Nevada it will be worse off in a battleship duel.
As is standard for US battleships, the main-battery turrets are still well armoured, though not to the extreme extent of the later battleships. A 14-inch plate, angled at 26 degrees serves as the main protection, and should protect from all but the most powerful battleship guns at point blank range; more than adequate enough for 99 percent of engagements. The sides and rear of the turrets however fall down to 8 inches, capable of being penetrated by nearly every cruiser. Captains should remember to keep their turrets oriented towards the majority of threats, as being shot from these angles will easily disable them. The top is well protected from plunging fire with a 5.75-inch plate, and the barbettes are reasonably armoured with 12 inches of armour covering the majority, although there are some sections fore and aft with only 10 inches. The deck has a complicated, multilayer layout. The upper layer ranges from 1.75 inches to 2.75 inches in thickness, and serves to trigger the fuse on plunging shells or AP bombs. The second layer then ranges from 1-inch to 1.5 inches of armour, and should stop any explosive damage or splinters from reaching the magazines or the engine room. The magazines are positioned mostly below the waterline, but as with other American battleships, a small amount does protrude over the waterline; captains should attempt to make this difficult to hit.
Finally, the USS Texas is in her 1945 refit, and therefore has access to torpedo bulges. These will absorb up to 250 kg warheads, the same as other US battleships. This should protect from most torpedo drops, although a few select torpedoes like those found on the PT-810 or, of course, anything with the Long Lance will blow past this protection, and usually only one or two of these are lethal. Captains should not rely on this torpedo protection, and instead should attempt to avoid torpedoes as much as possible; if a torpedo hit is inevitable, avoid a hit near the magazines if at all possible.
Mobility
Big and slow like other battleships, one can make a fresh pot of US Navy coffee in the time to turn 180 degrees! Plan which way to turn when entering battle and don't try to turn around. Small turns to help guns line up to target is advisable, especially the 5" (127 mm) guns as they have limited arcs. The acceleration and deceleration is equally unimpressive, with the ship taking a laborious pace to get up to speed and taking a fair amount of time to come to a stop again.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 44 | 13 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 38 | 11 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
The commissioning of the New York class introduced the 14" (356 mm) gun as the most powerful naval cannon in the world until the British commissioned the first of the Queen Elizabeth class ships later that year, and was still quite formidable even by the end of WW2. Mounted in five double turrets, there is a measure of resiliency by less loss of firepower from a disabled turret.
Only armour-piercing and high-explosive shells are available for the ship. The HE shells are decidedly mediocre for the calibre in terms of explosive filler, but the AP shells have a very respectable level of penetration for a high tier ship, especially as the range increases.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| Mk.9 HE | HE | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
| Mk.8 APCBC | APCBC | 637 | 597 | 536 | 484 | 439 | 372 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| Mk.9 HE | HE | 823 | 635 | 0 | 0.1 | 46.67 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Mk.8 APCBC | APCBC | 823 | 635 | 0.035 | 17 | 15.24 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
Secondary armament
Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| Mk.15 common | Common | 114 | 94 | 68 | 50 | 38 | 26 |
| 5 inch APC | APC | 191 | 157 | 115 | 84 | 64 | 44 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| Mk.15 common | Common | 960 | 22.68 | 0.005 | 6 | 780 | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| 5 inch APC | APC | 960 | 22.68 | 0.015 | 5 | 770 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
Anti-aircraft armament
An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.
Usage in battles
In ship-to-ship combat, the Texas will be similar to the USS Nevada and USS Arizona, which struggle against the latest battlecruisers and battleships; all three are at least 20 years older and the technology differences shows. What Texas will excel at is AAA cover, with its excellent AAA quantity and quality, assisted by radar to spot incoming threats. Try to stay near friendly ships to protect them against aerial threats and any small torpedo boats trying to sneak in.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 10 x 14" (356 mm) main guns
- 5 individual turrets
- Massive number of AA guns
- Aerial search and tracking radars
- Resistant to HE shells
Cons:
- Armour weak against AP shells
- Sluggish manoeuvring
- No dual purpose 127 mm, heavy AA is limited to the 76 mm guns.
- 14" rounds weaker compared to other newer types
History
The USS Texas is truly "The First and the Last". Although ordered after the USS New York (BB-34), construction started, was finished, and commissioned into the US Navy two months ahead. At commissioning she was the first capital ship in world to mount 14" cannons and the first US Navy "super dreadnought". This was just a start! USS Texas lists of Firsts in the US Navy:
- Anti-Air gun installation, 3" on top of the ship cranes; August 1916
- Test "kite balloon" in mid 1918
- Test feasibility of carrying exposed aircraft across ocean 20 October - 4 November 1918 (platforms installed by British Royal Navy at Jarrow Slake, England).
- First to launch aircraft; 11 March 1919
- First to mount radar; Late 1938
- First US warship to be decommissioned and become a permanent museum
Finally
- The Last Dreadnought style battleship left afloat in the world.
USS Texas served in the US Navy an extraordinarily long time even before becoming a museum, was a witness to monumental changes in human history. Some key dates compared to events in Texas history to illustrate world events.
17 April 1911: construction of what will be USS Texas (BB-35), began.
15 April 1912: the RMS Titanic sank, a tragic event still discussed today.
18 May 1912: Just 33 days after the Titanic tragedy the USS Texas is launched into the water.
12 March 1914: USS Texas is commissioned into the US Navy, the most powerful warship in the world.
28 July 1914: A month following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Europe erupts into World War One.
6 April 1917: After years of avoiding it, the United States is drawn into the war.
11 November 1918: "The war to end all wars" concludes.
6 February 1922: The "Washington Naval Treaty" was signed, a ten year moratorium on battleship construction however allowed upgrades.
31 July 1925: Instead of the original plan to scrap, due to the treaty the plans changed to a massive modernization of the USS Texas.
23 November 1926: Effectively a new ship, the Texas one again became the USN Flagship.
Approximately 1935: With rising geopolitical tensions, the anticipated decommissioning was once again postponed.
1 September 1939: World War 2 begins.
6 and 9 August 1945: Two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, heralding the nuclear age.
14 October 1947: The Bell X-1 was first aircraft to officially break the sound barrier.
21 April 1948: USS Texas is officially decommissioned, ownership transferred to the State of Texas and becoming a permanent museum.
30 April 1948: her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register.
13 December 1988 to 8 September 1990: USS Texas was dry docked and underwent extensive restoration before reopening.
31 August 2022: USS Texas began a second, more extensive restoration project requiring replacement of corroded torpedo budges.
Media
See also
- HMS Marlborough, another battleship with very similar layout
External links
- [Devblog] USS Texas (BB-35): The First and the Last
- Battleship Texas Foundation, the organization in charge of restoring the U.S.S. Texas
- Battleship Texas Info, an extremely detailed site about the Texas, created by one of the restoration volunteers.
| Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. | |
|---|---|
| Gun Destroyers (DD) | |
| Clemson-class | USS Welborn C. Wood · HMS Churchill* |
| Heavy Cruisers (CA) | |
| Des Moines-class | USS Newport News |
| Battleships (BB) | |
| New York-class | USS Texas |
| New Mexico-class | USS Mississippi |
| *USS Herndon in UK service | |
| USA battleships | |
|---|---|
| Delaware-class | USS North Dakota |
| Wyoming-class | USS Wyoming · USS Arkansas |
| New York-class | USS Texas |
| Nevada-class | USS Nevada |
| Pennsylvania-class | USS Arizona |
| New Mexico-class | USS Mississippi |
| Tennessee-class | USS Tennessee |
