When one hears the word “Texas” it might bring to mind images of cowboys, the Alamo, Six Flags Over Texas, even The Yellow Rose of Texas. But it is unlikely that many think of the battleship USS Texas, which, in her 34 years of service, encompassed every major military action between her commissioning in 1914 to her decommissioning in 1948.
She saw her first action in Tampico during the Mexican Revolution, escorted merchant and transport ships through U-Boat infested waters of the North Atlantic during WW I and saw combat in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operations during the Second World War, shelling beaches in North Africa during Operation Torch, French beaches at Normandy on D-Day and the Japanese held islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Texas fired the first American shots in World War One when in April 1917, while on merchant patrol, the merchant ship Mongolia spotted a German U-Boat preparing to attack. USS Texas opened fire, averting the attack, the first formal shots of World War I. During the opening hours of D-Day, the USSTexas bombarded German positions with 255 14-inch shells in approximately thirty minutes.
Texas was first US battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns, the first US ship to control gunfire with directors and range-keepers, and one of the first US Navy ships to receive production radar. She was the first US battleship to launch an aircraft when on March 10, 1919, Medal of Honor recipient, Edward Orrick McDonnell, launched his Sopwith Camel off a converted gun turret aboard the USS Texas
Texas was the first warship to feature a permanent contingent of U.S. Marines and Texas is one of the few remaining dreadnought battleships still in existence today; although not the oldest. She is one of only seven surviving ships which served in both of the World Wars, and the only capital ship. The other six surviving vessels that hold the distinction of serving in both World Wars are the Medea, which served both the French Navy and Royal Navy, the British monitor HMS M33, the British light cruiser HMS Caroline, the Greek armored cruiser Georgios Averof, the Drazki, a Bulgarian torpedo boat and the former HMCS Acadia, a Canadian hydrographic research ship and auxiliary patrol vessel.
Following WW II, Texas was part of Operation Magic Carpet, a massive endeavor to return over eight million deployed troops back to the United States, making several trips across the Pacific.
Texas is the first US battleship to become a permanent museum ship, the first battleship to be declared a US National Historic Landmark and is the only remaining American World War I era dreadnought battleship.
The 28 men who commanded her are every bit as distinguished. Twenty Six graduated from the US Naval Academy, and two others rising from the enlisted ranks. Two men commanded her twice, and two commanded her as commanders and one as a lieutenant commander.
They sailed with the Yangtze River Patrol, fought guerrillas in Mexico and Nicaragua, fought the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians, and even the French.
They would serve as the governors of Guam and American Samoa and command the entire US Fleet. Ten of her captains would rise to the rank of rear admirals and another four as vice admirals, and between them would be present at almost every significant engagement. The story of the USS Texas is the story of the American Navy.
