USS Texas
Contents
Description
The New York-class, USS Texas (BB-35), 1945 is a rank VI American battleship with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Sons of Attila". When she was commissioned on 12 March 1914, she was the most powerful battleship in the world. Today, the USS Texas is the sole remaining intact example of a "Dreadnought" class warship in the world, built during the great battleship age over 100 years ago. In-game, the Texas in its 1945 configuration is filled to the brim with 20 mm and 40 mm anti-air guns, making this perhaps the top defensive ship in-game. As an added bonus, this includes a radar to spot enemy air well before it is a threat.
General info
Survivability and armour
Being an early dreadnought-era battleship, the armour is very spread out, similar to the previous North Dakota and Wyoming classes. In fact, this layout was radically changed in the very next class, the USS Nevada with all the armour focused on the core citadel. Even though the 1925 refit doubled the deck armour, newer AP rounds will penetrate deep into the ship. The flip side is the multiple layers of armour will defend much better against HE or SAP/APHE rounds. The large added torpedo blister will easily absorb torpedo damage, if a torpedo boat or aircraft happens to get through your AAA screen!
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" guns as they have limited arcs.
| 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 New York class introduced the 14" (356 mm) gun into the world, being the most powerful ship cannon at time, and was still formidable even by the end of WW2. Only an AP and HE round are available, good enough for the mission at hand. Mounted in five double turrets, there is a measure of resiliency by less loss of firepower from a disabled turret.
| 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
- 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 |
