GALVESTON, Texas — We're looking back at the history of Battleship Texas, which is on the brink of its next chapter following a $75 million overhaul. We visited the Texas as crews continued working to get it ship-shape for public tours again.
"This ship had a tremendous impact on the success of the allies on D-Day, particularly at Omaha beach,” said Travis Davis, VP of ship operations for the Battleship Texas Foundation. "So, on June 6, 1944, this ship fired the most shells that she fired in a single day."
Already 30 years old at the time, the Texas was one of some 6,900 vessels involved in the D-Day invasion. It's the last surviving battleship that saw action at Normandy.
"The ship provided fire support for the Army going ashore, but also served as a floating hospital,” Davis said.
The foundation's website features photos of men manning some of the guns on D-Day while officers kept tabs on the action from the bridge high above. Originally built for a crew of about 1,000, 1,800 sailors were aboard the ship on D-Day.
The captain's quarters include a map mural.
"Which we think was put on in the fall of '44," Davis said.
The mural features Normandy, France, along with other noteworthy sites from the ship’s service in two World Wars.
"This is the only place without going to these far battlefields in Europe or in the Pacific where you can come and touch history," Davis said. "Where the war was changed and touched a changemaker.”
The Battleship Texas Foundation partnered with the Commemorative Air Force to fly collectible items from the ship over Normandy.
More Battleship Texas history
- At commissioning in 1914, Battleship Texas was considered the most powerful weapon in the world. She carried ten 14”/45 caliber guns, the largest guns on any ship at the time and the first American battleship armed with them. Her guns could fire a 1,400-pound shell loaded with over 100 pounds of high explosives up to 12 miles.
- That November, Battleship Texas paid a short visit to Galveston, Texas, her first visit to Lone Star State. She was presented with the silver service from the 1895 Battleship Texas at Old Ball High School, then with her own silver service during an onboard ceremony.
- Texas served with the Grand Fleet during WWI and earned five battle stars during WWII.
- After WWII ended in 1944, the Battleship Texas helped ferry some of the 12 million Americans serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard back home during four trips dubbed Operation Magic Carpet.
- She fought in North Africa, Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and through it all only lost one crew member to enemy fire.
- In 1948, Battleship Texas was donated to the State of Texas to serve as a museum and memorial. In the words of her last captain, Charles Baker, “Her wars are over, she has won the right to rest peacefully in Texas waters.”