The USS Texas (BB-35) was one of the most formidable battleships to serve in the U.S. Navy, with a combat record spanning both World War I and World War II. Equipped with powerful main batteries and modernized systems for her era, she became a key source of naval gunfire support during the Normandy landings. During the height of the operation, the ship’s crew carried out a daring and hazardous maneuver that exposed the vessel to significant risk, but ultimately provided essential firepower that aided Allied forces pushing inland from the beaches.
New York-class super-dreadnought battleships
USS Texas was a New York-class battleship that entered service in March 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I. The second vessel of the class, she represented an advance over the earlier and less powerful Wyoming-class battleships. Texas and her sister ship, USS New York (BB-34), were regarded as the U.S. Navy’s first true “super-dreadnoughts,” designed with heavy armaments and strong combat capabilities.
The ships’ primary battery featured ten 14-inch guns, supplemented by twenty-one 5-inch guns, four QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss saluting guns, and two QF 1-pounder “pom-poms.” They were also equipped with four torpedo tubes that could fire Bliss-Leavitt Mark 3 torpedoes.
Texas and New York combined their substantial weaponry with heavy armor and a propulsion system consisting of water-tube boilers and triple-expansion steam engines. This machinery allowed them to reach a maximum speed of slightly more than 24 miles per hour and provided a cruising range of approximately 1,825 miles.
USS Texas‘ service during World War I
Since the United States did not enter World War I until April 1917, the USS Texas initially saw action following the Tampico Incident, a conflict sparked by rising tensions between US Navy sailors and Mexican soldiers. Shortly after her commissioning, Texas was dispatched to Mexico without undergoing the customary shakedown cruise, spending two months stationed off the coast of Veracruz.
After a short stint with the Atlantic Fleet, Texas returned to Veracruz. In 1916, she made history as the first US battleship to be outfitted with 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and to incorporate directors and rangefinders for controlling gunfire. Although these technologies have largely evolved, their fundamental principles are still applied today.
Texas alternated her training operations between New England and Virginia, conducting winter tactical and gunnery exercises in the West Indies. Once the US entered WWI, the battleship crossed the Atlantic to join the Grand Fleet, where she witnessed the first American shots of the war.
While serving with the Grand Fleet, Texas supported the British squadron assigned to blockade operations in the North Sea. Working alongside other vessels, she also escorted American minelayers, contributing to the extensive North Sea Mine Barrage, a minefield stretching from Norway to the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland.
Interwar period
The USS Texas returned to the United States in late 1918. After escorting President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the ship underwent an overhaul and resumed her duties with the Atlantic Fleet.
In 1919, Texas made history as the first U.S. battleship to launch an aircraft, a British-built Sopwith Camel. The ship also served as a navigational reference and protector for the Curtiss NC-4, the first seaplane to complete a transatlantic flight. Shortly after these milestones, the super-dreadnought was transferred to the newly-formed Pacific Fleet and received the designation BB-35.
During the interwar period, Texas underwent another overhaul, which included upgrading her anti-aircraft weapons with eight 3-inch guns. Her torpedo tubes were removed, and six of her 5-inch guns were relocated to casemates. After these modifications, she was named the flagship of the U.S. Fleet and carried out routine operations with the Scouting Fleet.
By the start of the Second World War, Texas had undergone several additional refits and was assigned to the Training Detachment of the U.S. Fleet.
Operation Torch
At the beginning of World War II, USS Texas served with the Neutrality Patrol before spending six months operating near Iceland, where she escorted supply convoys and conducted patrol missions. She later participated in Operation Torch, the Allied assault on North Africa, and was one of only three American battleships assigned to the operation, together with USS New York and USS Massachusetts (BB-59).
Serving with Task Group 34.8, Texas broadcast Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower‘s “Voice of Freedom” message, which urged French forces not to oppose the Allied landings. Although she did not initially engage German troops, her mission included attacking a Vichy French ammunition facility near Port Lyautey.
Following the completion of operations in North Africa, Texas returned to the United States. By April 1944, the battleship was making preparations for what would prove to be her most significant role of the war: supporting the D-Day invasion.
USS Texas (BB-35) makes a risky decision on D-Day
In the lead-up to D-Day, the USS Texas (BB-35) took up position off Pointe du Hoc alongside the British cruiser HMS Glasgow (C21). Of the enormous Allied naval force gathered for the invasion, Texas was one of just seven battleships assigned to the operation, underscoring the significance of her heavy guns in supporting the landings.
As the assault got underway, Texas opened fire with her 14-inch main battery to support the 29th Infantry Division and the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. In only 30 minutes, she discharged 255 shells, nearly as many as she had fired throughout Operation Torch. As U.S. troops advanced inland, the battleship closed to approximately 2,700 meters from shore and redirected her fire toward enemy positions farther inland. Her bombardment continued on June 7 and 8, targeting German fortifications to suppress defensive positions and assist the advancing troops.
Texas briefly returned to England to replenish her supplies before arriving back off Normandy on June 15. By then, some enemy targets were situated beyond the normal elevation limits of her guns, prompting the crew to devise an unusual solution. They deliberately flooded the starboard torpedo blister, creating a controlled list that increased the elevation of the guns on the port side and enabled them to strike targets that had previously been out of range.
While deliberately flooding the vessel reduced its overall stability, the technique increased the reach of its artillery. The measure also illustrated the crew’s ability to adapt under combat conditions and emphasized the crucial contribution of naval gunfire to the Normandy campaign.
What happened to the USS Texas (BB-35)?
Following the Normandy invasion, the USS Texas assisted in the Battle of Cherbourg and Operation Dragoon. The vessel was then transferred to the Pacific Theater, where she provided naval gun support during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Earning a total of five battle stars during WWII, she was decommissioned in 1948.
Texas was the first-ever US battleship to become a permanent museum ship and the first to be declared a National Historic Landmark. She is also the only remaining WWI-era dreadnought and the last capital ship to have served in both world wars.
On August 30, 2022, Texas set sail from her home at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, with her destination being the Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corp in Galveston, where her hull will undergo a $35 million repair and upgrade. Due to her age and the amount of time she’s spent in the water, the underpart of the battleship has begun to rust and wear away, and efforts are needed to keep her afloat.
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The ship is still undergoing repairs but is available to tour. She is permanently docked in Texas at Pier 15 in the Port of Galveston.