02-01-10 Regular Meeting of the La Porte Development Corporation Board of Directors minutes

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Ship's History - The USS Texas (BB-35) was authorized by Congress in 1910; her keel was laid in 1911 and she was launched on May 18, 1912. She was fitted out, completed her sea trials and was commissioned on March 12, 1914. During her sea trials, she set a new record top speed for a battleship - over 22 knots. When she joined the Fleet, she was the most powerful weapon in the world, mounting ten 14" guns in five twin turrets, with twenty- one 5" guns and four torpedo tubes. The Texas was one ofthe first "dreadnought"-type battleships in the U. S. Navy. The name "dreadnought" was applied to this type of ship design because the ship would be so powerful that it would fear nothing; i.e., it would literally "dread naught". The British Navy built the HMS Dreadnought in 1906 and, in the process, coined the name for an entire class of warships. Dreadnought-type ships were characterized by a large number of high caliber guns in center-line turrets. The HMS Dreadnought had ten 12" main guns while the Texas had ten 14" main guns. When this class of warship was envisioned, designed and built, a nation's navy was the public expression of its national pride. In the early part of the 20th century a dreadnought was the functional equivalent of NASA's Space Shuttle; she represented the epitome of a nation's technological and engineering talents, brought together to accomplish a high national purpose. The Texas has been designated as both a National Historic Landmark (in 1976) and a National Engineering Historic Landmark (in 1975). The engineering designation is due to her unique steam engines. Over the years and several refits, many 5" guns were removed but smaller caliber anti-aircraft weapons were added. In 1916, the Texas received two 3" anti-aircraft batteries before crossing the Atlantic to join other U. S. Navy battleships in support ofthe British Home Fleet. The threat of "aeroplanes" was new and the response to the threat was prompt. The Texas supported convoy operations bringing supplies to England during World War I and was stalked by a German U-Boat (which never got into a position to fire its torpedoes). In 1919, the Texas became the first U. S. Navy Battleship to launch an aircraft. In the 1925, the Texas was converted from coal-fired to oil-fired boilers, her original cage masts were replaced with the tripod masts and "torpedo blisters" were added to her hull as protection from the newest threat. Later, additional anti-aircraft armaments were also added so that, by the time she became the Atlantic Fleet Flagship in 1938, she mounted sixteen 5" guns, eight 3" guns and several .50 caliber machine guns in addition to her main battery. In 1939, the Texas became the first U. S. Navy vessel to be outfitted with radar. She was a ship of many significant "firsts." When World War II began, the Texas, as an older vessel, was primarily a training ship; many young officers and crewmen honed their seamanship and naval gunnery skills aboard "The Mighty T." Refitted with additional weapons, which also increased her crew complement to over 1 ,800, she provided gunfire support for the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) and was part of the 5,000-ship Allied Fleet on D-Day at 8