USS Texas (1892)
Encyclopedia
USS Texas was a second-class pre-dreadnought
battleship
built by the United States in the early 1890s. She was the first American battleship and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas
to be built by the United States. She was built in reaction to the acquisition of armored warships by several South American countries.
Texas had several accidents early in her career, including but not limited to sudden flooding—which settled to the bottom to her gun deck at dock in New York (drowning several of her crew members)—, significantly damaging to her hull in drydock. She developed a reputation as being a jinxed or unlucky ship and earned the nickname "Old Hoodoo", something she would not lose until after the Spanish–American War. After commissioning she cruised the waters off the East Coast of the United States
and the Gulf of Mexico
until war broke out in 1898. She blockaded the coast of Cuba
and participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
during the war. Afterward she returned to her previous duties, interrupted by several refits. She became the station ship in Charleston, South Carolina
, by 1908 and was renamed San Marcos in 1911 to allow her name to be used by a new battleship. Obsolete by this time, she became a target ship that same year and was sunk in shallow water in Chesapeake Bay
. She was used as a gunnery target through World War II
and was finally demolished in 1959 because her remains were considered a navigational hazard.
A new illustrated history dedicated solely to the USS Texas has just been published (October 2011) entitled: Old Hoodoo, The Battleship Texas, America's First Battleship, 1895-1911. The work covers the complete history of the Texas from it's conception to disposition.
, Argentina
, and Chile
shortly afterward alarmed the United States government, as the Brazilian Navy
was now the most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. The United States Navy now felt capable only of defending its own ports. The Chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee
, Congressman Hilary A. Herbert
characterized the situation thusly: "if all this old navy of ours were drawn up in battle array in mid-ocean and confronted by the Riachuelo it is doubtful whether a single vessel bearing the American flag would get into port."
The Navy Advisory Board, confronted with the possibility of hostile ironclads operating off the American coast, began planning for a pair of ships to protect that coast in 1884. Both had to fit within existing docks and had to have a shallow draft to enable them to use all the major American ports and bases. They had to have a minimum speed of 17 knots (9.3 m/s) and were to displace about 6000 long tons (6,096.3 t). They were both optimized for end-on fire and had their gun turret
s sponson
ed out over the sides of the ship and echeloned to allow them to fire across the deck, much like the battleships Riachuelo and . The first ship—laid down for the traditional cruiser missions of commerce raiding and scouting for the battlefleet—became , while the other—armed with heavy 12 in (304.8 mm) guns—became Texas.
The Navy Department conducted an international design competition for Texas and the winner was the Naval Construction & Armament Co. of Barrow-in-Furness
, England. The winning design placed Texass forward turret on the port side and her aft turret to starboard. The need for cross-deck fire caused the superstructure
to be separated into three pieces to allow for each gun to fire between the sections of the superstructure. This significantly limited the gun's ability to fire to the opposite beam as the superstructure still restricted each gun's arc of fire. Furthermore neither the deck nor the superstructure was reinforced to withstand the muzzle blast as the gun fired, as demonstrated during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba when her starboard deck was damaged.
of 64 in 1 in (19.53 m) and a maximum draft
of 24 in 6 in (7.47 m). She displaced 6315 LT (6,416.4 t) at full load as built. Her hull had two wing compartments on each side of her machinery spaces as well as a centerline longitudinal watertight bulkhead separating the engines and boilers. Asymmetric flooding of the wing compartments posed a grave danger to her stability. Her double bottom
protected most of her hull and extended up the side to the lower edge of the armor deck. She had a metacentric height
of 2.54 foot (0.774192 m) and was fitted with a ram bow.
. She had two inverted vertical triple expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 8610 ihp. Each engine drove one propeller shaft. Four double-ended Scotch marine boiler
s provided steam to the engines at a working pressure of 175 pound per square inch. On trials, she reached a speed of 17.8 knots (9.7 m/s), exceeding her contract speed of 17 knots (9.3 m/s). She carried a maximum load of 877 ST (795.6 t) of coal
. She carried two Edison
electric dynamo
s to power her searchlights and provide interior lighting.
Mark II guns mounted in single hydraulically powered turret
s inside her armored redoubt. These guns had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress to −5°. 77 rounds per gun were carried. They fired a 870 pounds (394.6 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity
of 2100 ft/s (640.1 m/s) to a range of about 12000 yards (10,972.8 m) at maximum elevation. The fixed rammers were below and outside the turrets. Initially, they could only be loaded at two positions, dead-ahead and 90° on the beam, but they were modified to fire at all angles just before the start of the Spanish-American War.
Four of the six 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns were mounted in casemate
s in the hull and the other two were mounted on the main deck in open pivot positions. The two main deck guns were 35-caliber weapons while the casemate guns were 30-caliber guns. Data is lacking, but they could probably depress to −7° and elevate to +12°. They fired shells that weighed 105 pounds (47.6 kg) with a muzzle velocity of about 1950 ft/s (594.4 m/s). They had a maximum range less than 9000 yd (8,229.6 m) when fired at maximum elevation.
The anti-torpedo boat
armament consisted of twelve 57 mm (2.2 in) six-pounder guns (of unknown type) in casemates spaced along the hull. They fired a shell weighing about 6 pounds (2.7 kg) at a muzzle velocity of about 1765 ft/s (538 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute. Their range was less than 8700 yd (7,955.3 m). Two 37 millimetres (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns
each were mounted on the fore and aft superstructures. In addition, two 37 mm Driggs-Schroeder one-pounder guns were mounted in each fighting top
. They fired a shell weighing about 1.1 lb (0.498951607 kg) at a muzzle velocity of about 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) to a range about 3500 yards (3,200.4 m). They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute.
Texas carried four 14 inches (356 mm) torpedo tube
s, all above water. One tube each was in the bow and stern and another on each side, towards the rear of the hull. She was originally intended to carry two small steam torpedo boats, each with a 1-pounder gun, and a trainable torpedo tube, but they were cancelled after the poor performance of the boat built for the Maine.
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The main waterline belt
, made of Harvey armor
, had a maximum thickness of 12 inches and tapered to 6 inches (152 mm) at its lower edge. It was 188 feet (57.3 m) long and covered the machinery spaces. It was 7 feet (2.1 m) high, of which 3 foot (0.9144 m) was above the design waterline. It angled inwards for 17 feet (5.2 m) at each end, thinning to 8 inches (20 cm), to provide protection against raking fire
. It sloped downwards to meet the top of the protective deck. It was 2 inches (50.8 mm) thick and sloped downwards at the ends of the ship. It also sloped downwards to the sides, but its thickness increased to 3 inches (76.2 mm). A 12-inch thick diagonal armored citadel on the gun deck protected the turret machinery and the supports of the conning tower
. The deck above it was two inches thick.
The sides of the circular turrets were 12 inches thick and they had 1 inches (25.4 mm) thick roofs. The conning tower had 9 inches (22.9 cm) walls. Turret hoists, voicepipes and electrical leads were protected by armored tubes. The lateral hydraulic pipes that ran along the underside of the gun deck were initially unprotected, but armored tubes were installed to protect them during Texass 1902 refit. Along the center of the ship, they were one inch thick, but increased to two inches closer to the sides of the ship.
was laid down on 1 June 1889, at Portsmouth, Virginia
, by the Norfolk Navy Yard. She was launched
on 28 June 1892, sponsored by Miss Madge Houston Williams, granddaughter of Sam Houston
; and commissioned
on 15 August 1895, with Captain
Henry Glass in command.
near the keel had cracked. Her floor brackets were reinforced with 4 by 4 in (10.2 by 10.2 cm) angle iron and the cement was repaired. But this raised issues regarding her structural integrity so a Board of Survey in January 1896 was formed to evaluate her condition and suggest improvements. The Board determined that further strengthening of her hull was needed, but the exact measures taken are not known, although they would cost $39,450 and take 100 working days. However, the Board wished to know what effect these changes would have on the draft, stability, and metacentric height of the Texas. The Board received a reply on 4 February that they would increase her displacement by 30.99 LT (31.5 t), deepen her draft by less than 2 in (50.8 mm) and raise her metacentric height to 2.76 ft (0.841248 m).
The ship ran aground near Newport, Rhode Island
in September 1896. Operator error combined with signal failure were blamed. A few officers, including future Governor of Guam Alfred Walton Hinds
, were publicly reprimanded. While under repairs in New York, the yoke that secured the main injection valve in the starboard engine room broke on 9 November 1896. Water pressure unseated the valve and allowed the compartment to flood as the receiving pipe had earlier been removed for repair. Leaks in the watertight doors, voicepipes and holes in the bulkheads for electrical cables allowed the flooding to spread to the other engine and boiler rooms, the coal bunkers adjacent to them, as well as most of the magazines
and shell rooms. The ship settled to the bottom, but the water was so shallow as to aid salvage efforts. By the 11th most of the water had been pumped out, but she was still drawing too much water to enter the drydock. An estimated 300 ST (272.2 t) of coal would have to be removed to lighten Texas enough to enter the drydock.
After repairs Texas was assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron
, and patrolled the Eastern Seaboard
of the United States. In February 1897, she left the Atlantic for a brief cruise to the Gulf coast ports of Galveston, Texas
, and New Orleans. She arrived in Galveston, Texas
on 16 February 1897 and anchored in 6 fathom (36 ft; 11 m) of water. The local pilot
assured her captain that this was the best berth in the harbor for a ship of Texass length. However a strong tide swung her around onto a mud bank and held there. She was not able to get herself off and even the assistance of the U.S. Revenue Steamer Galveston was to no effect. Late the next day she was hauled off by the use of her port anchor and a tug. These two incidents gave her a reputation as being a jinxed or unlucky ship and earned her the nickname "Old Hoodoo".
She returned to the Eastern Seaboard in March 1897 and remained there until the beginning of 1898. During this period, her bow and stern torpedo tubes were removed in June 1897 and additional telescopic sight
s were added to her turret roofs between 14 July and 12 August. At the beginning of 1898, she visited Key West, Florida
, and the Dry Tortugas
en route to Galveston for a return visit, which she made in mid-February. Returning to the Atlantic via the Dry Tortugas in March, she arrived in Hampton Roads
on 24 March and resumed duty with the North Atlantic Squadron.
and the supposed Spanish destruction of the battleship Maine
in Havana
harbor in February 1898. By 18 May, under the command of Captain J.W. Philip
, Texas was at Key West, readying to prosecute that war.
On 21 May, the battleship arrived off Cienfuegos, Cuba, with the Flying Squadron to blockade the Cuban coast. After a return to Key West for coal
, Texas arrived off Santiago de Cuba
on 27 May. She patrolled off that port until 11 June, when she made a reconnaissance mission to Guantánamo Bay in support of the Marine landings there. The next day the Texas landed three field pieces and two M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
s at the request of the Marine expeditionary commander, Lt. Col. Robert W. Huntington. For the next five weeks, the Texas patrolled between Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo Bay. On 16 June, the warship joined the cruiser for a bombardment of the fort on Cayo del Tore in Guantánamo Bay. The two ships opened fire just after 14:00 and ceased fire about an hour and 16 minutes later, having reduced the fort to impotency.
On 3 July, she was steaming off Santiago de Cuba when the Spanish Fleet under Admiral Cervera attempted to escape past the American Fleet. Texas took four of the enemy ships under fire immediately. While the battleship's main battery pounded the armored cruiser
s and , her secondary battery joined , , and in battering two torpedo-boat destroyer
s.
"The two Spanish destroyers fell out of the action quickly and beached themselves, damaged heavily. One by one, the larger enemy warships also succumbed to the combined fire of the American Fleet. Each, in turn, sheered off toward shore and beached herself. Thus, Texas and the other ships of the Flying Squadron annihilated the Spanish Fleet." Texas was lightly damaged during the battle by a single 6 in (152 mm) high explosive shell that hit her on the starboard side above the main deck, immediately forward of the ash hoist. Fragments from the shell badly damaged the ash hoist and destroyed the doors of both air shafts and the adjacent bulkheads. Splinters riddled much of the adjacent structure as well.
"The defeat of Cervera's Fleet helped to seal the doom of Santiago de Cuba. The city fell to the besieging American forces on 17 July, just two weeks after the great American naval victory. The day after the surrender at Santiago, Spain sought peace through the good offices of the French government. Even before the peace protocol was signed in Washington, DC, on 12 August, American ships began returning home. Texas arrived in New York
on 31 July. Captain Philip was promoted to Commodore on 10 August 1898."
"In late November, Texas moved south to Hampton Roads where she arrived on 2 December. The warship resumed her peacetime routine patrolling the Atlantic coast of the United States. Though her primary field of operations once again centered on the northeastern coast, she also made periodic visits to such places as San Juan, Puerto Rico
, and Havana, Cuba, where her crew could view some of the results of their own ship's efforts in the recent war."
in February 1904, Texas could only make 13.9 knots under forced draft. During 1904 her armament was upgraded when she exchanged her four 6 in (152.4 mm)/30 cal guns for more powerful 35-caliber weapons and two one-pounder guns were landed. She served as flagship
for the Coast Squadron
until 1905, and remained assigned to it after it commander shifted his flag.
Texas was briefly decommissioned between 11 January 1908 and 1 September 1908. By 1908 she had become the station ship at Charleston, South Carolina. By 1910, she had lost her 37 mm (1.5 in) revolving cannon and one more one-pdr gun in exchange for two additional six-pounder guns. Regarded as obsolete by 1911, she was relegated for use as a gunnery target to allow the Navy to evaluate the effects of modern shells on armored and unarmored parts of the ship, the probabilities of underwater hits and their depths, the effects of shock loads on pipes, etc., the flammability of the ship's fittings and the direction in which shells were pointing when striking at long range. As part of this evaluation, she was fully fitted out and only items which normally would have been allowed to be removed before action and those items added to her for service as a station ship were removed. Dummies were also rigged to evaluate the effects of hits on the crew. It is uncertain if her ammunition and powder remained on board for the tests. Preparing Texas for these tests cost $29,422.70.
." She was sunk in shallow water in Tangier Sound
in Chesapeake Bay
on 21–22 March 1911 by gunfire from the battleship . No detailed examination was made afterward, but it was noted that there were so many holes below the waterline that the water in the forward and rear compartments generally took on the motion of the outside water. The interior above the waterline was generally demolished. She was used a target for a torpedo experiment on 6 April. "On 10 October 1911, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
." A cage mast, a duplicate of those used on the dreadnought
s, was built atop the San Marcoss remains in 1912 and tested against 12 inches (305 mm) shells fired by the monitor
Tallahassee
from a range of 1000 yards (914.4 m) on 21 August 1912. Although the mast had been knocked down by nine hits, it was considered to have withstood the fire exceedingly well.
San Marcos was used for gunnery practice throughout World War II, although generally as an anchor for a canvas target screen, but she was finally deemed a threat to navigation. Tons of explosives were used to demolish her upperworks and drive her hull deep into the mud; by January 1959, they were successful and she remains there today.
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
built by the United States in the early 1890s. She was the first American battleship and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to be built by the United States. She was built in reaction to the acquisition of armored warships by several South American countries.
Texas had several accidents early in her career, including but not limited to sudden flooding—which settled to the bottom to her gun deck at dock in New York (drowning several of her crew members)—, significantly damaging to her hull in drydock. She developed a reputation as being a jinxed or unlucky ship and earned the nickname "Old Hoodoo", something she would not lose until after the Spanish–American War. After commissioning she cruised the waters off the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
until war broke out in 1898. She blockaded the coast of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on 3 July 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Navy's Caribbean Squadron.-Spanish Fleet:...
during the war. Afterward she returned to her previous duties, interrupted by several refits. She became the station ship in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, by 1908 and was renamed San Marcos in 1911 to allow her name to be used by a new battleship. Obsolete by this time, she became a target ship that same year and was sunk in shallow water in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. She was used as a gunnery target through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was finally demolished in 1959 because her remains were considered a navigational hazard.
A new illustrated history dedicated solely to the USS Texas has just been published (October 2011) entitled: Old Hoodoo, The Battleship Texas, America's First Battleship, 1895-1911. The work covers the complete history of the Texas from it's conception to disposition.
Background
The delivery of the in 1883 and the acquisition of other armored warships by BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
shortly afterward alarmed the United States government, as the Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...
was now the most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. The United States Navy now felt capable only of defending its own ports. The Chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
, Congressman Hilary A. Herbert
Hilary A. Herbert
Hilary Abner Herbert was Secretary of the Navy under President Grover Cleveland. He also served as a member of the United States house of representatives from Alabama.-Biography:...
characterized the situation thusly: "if all this old navy of ours were drawn up in battle array in mid-ocean and confronted by the Riachuelo it is doubtful whether a single vessel bearing the American flag would get into port."
The Navy Advisory Board, confronted with the possibility of hostile ironclads operating off the American coast, began planning for a pair of ships to protect that coast in 1884. Both had to fit within existing docks and had to have a shallow draft to enable them to use all the major American ports and bases. They had to have a minimum speed of 17 knots (9.3 m/s) and were to displace about 6000 long tons (6,096.3 t). They were both optimized for end-on fire and had their gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
ed out over the sides of the ship and echeloned to allow them to fire across the deck, much like the battleships Riachuelo and . The first ship—laid down for the traditional cruiser missions of commerce raiding and scouting for the battlefleet—became , while the other—armed with heavy 12 in (304.8 mm) guns—became Texas.
The Navy Department conducted an international design competition for Texas and the winner was the Naval Construction & Armament Co. of Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, England. The winning design placed Texass forward turret on the port side and her aft turret to starboard. The need for cross-deck fire caused the superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
to be separated into three pieces to allow for each gun to fire between the sections of the superstructure. This significantly limited the gun's ability to fire to the opposite beam as the superstructure still restricted each gun's arc of fire. Furthermore neither the deck nor the superstructure was reinforced to withstand the muzzle blast as the gun fired, as demonstrated during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba when her starboard deck was damaged.
General characteristics
Texas was 308 in 10 in (94.13 m) long overall. She had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 64 in 1 in (19.53 m) and a maximum draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 24 in 6 in (7.47 m). She displaced 6315 LT (6,416.4 t) at full load as built. Her hull had two wing compartments on each side of her machinery spaces as well as a centerline longitudinal watertight bulkhead separating the engines and boilers. Asymmetric flooding of the wing compartments posed a grave danger to her stability. Her double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
protected most of her hull and extended up the side to the lower edge of the armor deck. She had a metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
of 2.54 foot (0.774192 m) and was fitted with a ram bow.
Propulsion
Texass machinery was built by the Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works of Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. She had two inverted vertical triple expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 8610 ihp. Each engine drove one propeller shaft. Four double-ended Scotch marine boiler
Scotch marine boiler
A "Scotch" marine boiler is a design of steam boiler best known for its used on ships.The general layout is that of a squat horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler shell. Above this is a large number of small-diameter fire-tubes...
s provided steam to the engines at a working pressure of 175 pound per square inch. On trials, she reached a speed of 17.8 knots (9.7 m/s), exceeding her contract speed of 17 knots (9.3 m/s). She carried a maximum load of 877 ST (795.6 t) of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. She carried two Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
electric dynamo
Dynamo
- Engineering :* Dynamo, a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator* Dynamo theory, a theory relating to magnetic fields of celestial bodies* Solar dynamo, the physical process that generates the Sun's magnetic field- Software :...
s to power her searchlights and provide interior lighting.
Armament
Texass main armament consisted of two 12-inch, 35 caliberCaliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
Mark II guns mounted in single hydraulically powered turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s inside her armored redoubt. These guns had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress to −5°. 77 rounds per gun were carried. They fired a 870 pounds (394.6 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 2100 ft/s (640.1 m/s) to a range of about 12000 yards (10,972.8 m) at maximum elevation. The fixed rammers were below and outside the turrets. Initially, they could only be loaded at two positions, dead-ahead and 90° on the beam, but they were modified to fire at all angles just before the start of the Spanish-American War.
Four of the six 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns were mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s in the hull and the other two were mounted on the main deck in open pivot positions. The two main deck guns were 35-caliber weapons while the casemate guns were 30-caliber guns. Data is lacking, but they could probably depress to −7° and elevate to +12°. They fired shells that weighed 105 pounds (47.6 kg) with a muzzle velocity of about 1950 ft/s (594.4 m/s). They had a maximum range less than 9000 yd (8,229.6 m) when fired at maximum elevation.
The anti-torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
armament consisted of twelve 57 mm (2.2 in) six-pounder guns (of unknown type) in casemates spaced along the hull. They fired a shell weighing about 6 pounds (2.7 kg) at a muzzle velocity of about 1765 ft/s (538 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute. Their range was less than 8700 yd (7,955.3 m). Two 37 millimetres (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns
Hotchkiss gun
The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch light mountain gun; there was also a 3-inch Hotchkiss gun...
each were mounted on the fore and aft superstructures. In addition, two 37 mm Driggs-Schroeder one-pounder guns were mounted in each fighting top
Top (sailing ship)
On a traditional square rigged ship, the top is the platform at the upper end of each mast. This is not the masthead "crow's nest" of the popular imagination – above the mainmast is the main-topmast, main-topgallant-mast and main-royal-mast, so that the top is actually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way...
. They fired a shell weighing about 1.1 lb (0.498951607 kg) at a muzzle velocity of about 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) to a range about 3500 yards (3,200.4 m). They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute.
Texas carried four 14 inches (356 mm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s, all above water. One tube each was in the bow and stern and another on each side, towards the rear of the hull. She was originally intended to carry two small steam torpedo boats, each with a 1-pounder gun, and a trainable torpedo tube, but they were cancelled after the poor performance of the boat built for the Maine.
Armor
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
, made of Harvey armor
Harvey armor
Harvey armor was a type of steel armor developed in the early 1890s in which the front surfaces of the plates were case hardened. The method for doing this was known as the Harvey process....
, had a maximum thickness of 12 inches and tapered to 6 inches (152 mm) at its lower edge. It was 188 feet (57.3 m) long and covered the machinery spaces. It was 7 feet (2.1 m) high, of which 3 foot (0.9144 m) was above the design waterline. It angled inwards for 17 feet (5.2 m) at each end, thinning to 8 inches (20 cm), to provide protection against raking fire
Raking fire
In naval warfare, raking fire is fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship. Although each shot is directed against a smaller target profile than by shooting broadside and thus more likely to miss the target ship to one side or the other, an individual cannon shot that hits will pass...
. It sloped downwards to meet the top of the protective deck. It was 2 inches (50.8 mm) thick and sloped downwards at the ends of the ship. It also sloped downwards to the sides, but its thickness increased to 3 inches (76.2 mm). A 12-inch thick diagonal armored citadel on the gun deck protected the turret machinery and the supports of the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
. The deck above it was two inches thick.
The sides of the circular turrets were 12 inches thick and they had 1 inches (25.4 mm) thick roofs. The conning tower had 9 inches (22.9 cm) walls. Turret hoists, voicepipes and electrical leads were protected by armored tubes. The lateral hydraulic pipes that ran along the underside of the gun deck were initially unprotected, but armored tubes were installed to protect them during Texass 1902 refit. Along the center of the ship, they were one inch thick, but increased to two inches closer to the sides of the ship.
Construction
Texas was authorized by the U.S. Congress on 3 August 1886. The start of construction was delayed for nearly eight months over concerns about her stability and general characteristics. Her keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was laid down on 1 June 1889, at Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, by the Norfolk Navy Yard. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 28 June 1892, sponsored by Miss Madge Houston Williams, granddaughter of Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 15 August 1895, with Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Henry Glass in command.
Early years
When drydocked in the New York Navy Yard for the first time after her trials several structural flaws came to light. The floors had buckled their brackets and the cementCement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
near the keel had cracked. Her floor brackets were reinforced with 4 by 4 in (10.2 by 10.2 cm) angle iron and the cement was repaired. But this raised issues regarding her structural integrity so a Board of Survey in January 1896 was formed to evaluate her condition and suggest improvements. The Board determined that further strengthening of her hull was needed, but the exact measures taken are not known, although they would cost $39,450 and take 100 working days. However, the Board wished to know what effect these changes would have on the draft, stability, and metacentric height of the Texas. The Board received a reply on 4 February that they would increase her displacement by 30.99 LT (31.5 t), deepen her draft by less than 2 in (50.8 mm) and raise her metacentric height to 2.76 ft (0.841248 m).
The ship ran aground near Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
in September 1896. Operator error combined with signal failure were blamed. A few officers, including future Governor of Guam Alfred Walton Hinds
Alfred Walton Hinds
Alfred Walton Hinds was a United States Navy Captain who served as the 17th Naval Governor of Guam. His early naval service included serving as Assistant Engineer aboard the USS Texas, the United States Navy's first battleship, where he was reprimanded for an accident aboard in 1896...
, were publicly reprimanded. While under repairs in New York, the yoke that secured the main injection valve in the starboard engine room broke on 9 November 1896. Water pressure unseated the valve and allowed the compartment to flood as the receiving pipe had earlier been removed for repair. Leaks in the watertight doors, voicepipes and holes in the bulkheads for electrical cables allowed the flooding to spread to the other engine and boiler rooms, the coal bunkers adjacent to them, as well as most of the magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
and shell rooms. The ship settled to the bottom, but the water was so shallow as to aid salvage efforts. By the 11th most of the water had been pumped out, but she was still drawing too much water to enter the drydock. An estimated 300 ST (272.2 t) of coal would have to be removed to lighten Texas enough to enter the drydock.
After repairs Texas was assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron
North Atlantic Squadron
The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic Squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the North Atlantic Fleet. On Jan...
, and patrolled the Eastern Seaboard
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
of the United States. In February 1897, she left the Atlantic for a brief cruise to the Gulf coast ports of Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, and New Orleans. She arrived in Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
on 16 February 1897 and anchored in 6 fathom (36 ft; 11 m) of water. The local pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
assured her captain that this was the best berth in the harbor for a ship of Texass length. However a strong tide swung her around onto a mud bank and held there. She was not able to get herself off and even the assistance of the U.S. Revenue Steamer Galveston was to no effect. Late the next day she was hauled off by the use of her port anchor and a tug. These two incidents gave her a reputation as being a jinxed or unlucky ship and earned her the nickname "Old Hoodoo".
She returned to the Eastern Seaboard in March 1897 and remained there until the beginning of 1898. During this period, her bow and stern torpedo tubes were removed in June 1897 and additional telescopic sight
Telescopic sight
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...
s were added to her turret roofs between 14 July and 12 August. At the beginning of 1898, she visited Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, and the Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about west of Key West, and west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the...
en route to Galveston for a return visit, which she made in mid-February. Returning to the Atlantic via the Dry Tortugas in March, she arrived in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
on 24 March and resumed duty with the North Atlantic Squadron.
Spanish–American War
Early in the spring, war between the United States and Spain erupted over conditions in CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and the supposed Spanish destruction of the battleship Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
harbor in February 1898. By 18 May, under the command of Captain J.W. Philip
John Woodward Philip
John Woodward Philip was an officer in the United States Navy during the Civil War and Spanish–American War.-Biography:...
, Texas was at Key West, readying to prosecute that war.
On 21 May, the battleship arrived off Cienfuegos, Cuba, with the Flying Squadron to blockade the Cuban coast. After a return to Key West for coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, Texas arrived off Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
on 27 May. She patrolled off that port until 11 June, when she made a reconnaissance mission to Guantánamo Bay in support of the Marine landings there. The next day the Texas landed three field pieces and two M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
The Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed potato digger due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute...
s at the request of the Marine expeditionary commander, Lt. Col. Robert W. Huntington. For the next five weeks, the Texas patrolled between Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo Bay. On 16 June, the warship joined the cruiser for a bombardment of the fort on Cayo del Tore in Guantánamo Bay. The two ships opened fire just after 14:00 and ceased fire about an hour and 16 minutes later, having reduced the fort to impotency.
On 3 July, she was steaming off Santiago de Cuba when the Spanish Fleet under Admiral Cervera attempted to escape past the American Fleet. Texas took four of the enemy ships under fire immediately. While the battleship's main battery pounded the armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
s and , her secondary battery joined , , and in battering two torpedo-boat destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s.
"The two Spanish destroyers fell out of the action quickly and beached themselves, damaged heavily. One by one, the larger enemy warships also succumbed to the combined fire of the American Fleet. Each, in turn, sheered off toward shore and beached herself. Thus, Texas and the other ships of the Flying Squadron annihilated the Spanish Fleet." Texas was lightly damaged during the battle by a single 6 in (152 mm) high explosive shell that hit her on the starboard side above the main deck, immediately forward of the ash hoist. Fragments from the shell badly damaged the ash hoist and destroyed the doors of both air shafts and the adjacent bulkheads. Splinters riddled much of the adjacent structure as well.
"The defeat of Cervera's Fleet helped to seal the doom of Santiago de Cuba. The city fell to the besieging American forces on 17 July, just two weeks after the great American naval victory. The day after the surrender at Santiago, Spain sought peace through the good offices of the French government. Even before the peace protocol was signed in Washington, DC, on 12 August, American ships began returning home. Texas arrived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 31 July. Captain Philip was promoted to Commodore on 10 August 1898."
"In late November, Texas moved south to Hampton Roads where she arrived on 2 December. The warship resumed her peacetime routine patrolling the Atlantic coast of the United States. Though her primary field of operations once again centered on the northeastern coast, she also made periodic visits to such places as San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, and Havana, Cuba, where her crew could view some of the results of their own ship's efforts in the recent war."
Post-war service
Texas was decommissioned for a lengthy refit on 3 November 1900 at the Norfolk Navy Yard but was commissioned again on 3 November 1902. During this refit, her funnel and topmasts were raised. Furthermore the protection for her 12 in (304.8 mm) ammunition hoists was doubled and her broadside torpedo tubes were removed. On one voyage to New Orleans, LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in February 1904, Texas could only make 13.9 knots under forced draft. During 1904 her armament was upgraded when she exchanged her four 6 in (152.4 mm)/30 cal guns for more powerful 35-caliber weapons and two one-pounder guns were landed. She served as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for the Coast Squadron
Coast Squadron
The Coast Squadron was a unit in the United States Navy in the early 20th century.It was organized under the North Atlantic Fleet....
until 1905, and remained assigned to it after it commander shifted his flag.
Texas was briefly decommissioned between 11 January 1908 and 1 September 1908. By 1908 she had become the station ship at Charleston, South Carolina. By 1910, she had lost her 37 mm (1.5 in) revolving cannon and one more one-pdr gun in exchange for two additional six-pounder guns. Regarded as obsolete by 1911, she was relegated for use as a gunnery target to allow the Navy to evaluate the effects of modern shells on armored and unarmored parts of the ship, the probabilities of underwater hits and their depths, the effects of shock loads on pipes, etc., the flammability of the ship's fittings and the direction in which shells were pointing when striking at long range. As part of this evaluation, she was fully fitted out and only items which normally would have been allowed to be removed before action and those items added to her for service as a station ship were removed. Dummies were also rigged to evaluate the effects of hits on the crew. It is uncertain if her ammunition and powder remained on board for the tests. Preparing Texas for these tests cost $29,422.70.
San Marcos "On 15 February 1911, her name was changed to San Marcos to allow the name Texas to be assigned to Battleship No. 35
USS Texas (BB-35)
USS Texas , the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Texas, is a . The ship was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914....
." She was sunk in shallow water in Tangier Sound
Tangier Sound
Tangier Sound is a sound of the Chesapeake Bay bounded on the west by Tangier Island in Virginia, and Smith Island and South Marsh Island in Maryland, by Deal Island in Maryland on the north, and the mainland of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Pocomoke Sound on the east...
in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
on 21–22 March 1911 by gunfire from the battleship . No detailed examination was made afterward, but it was noted that there were so many holes below the waterline that the water in the forward and rear compartments generally took on the motion of the outside water. The interior above the waterline was generally demolished. She was used a target for a torpedo experiment on 6 April. "On 10 October 1911, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
." A cage mast, a duplicate of those used on the dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s, was built atop the San Marcoss remains in 1912 and tested against 12 inches (305 mm) shells fired by the monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
Tallahassee
USS Florida (BM-9)
The USS Florida was an Arkansas-class monitor in the United States Navy.Florida was launched November 30, 1901 by Lewis Nixon, and Arthur Leopold Busch, a marine engineer who worked at the Crescent Shipyard, Elizabethport, New Jersey; sponsored by Miss S...
from a range of 1000 yards (914.4 m) on 21 August 1912. Although the mast had been knocked down by nine hits, it was considered to have withstood the fire exceedingly well.
San Marcos was used for gunnery practice throughout World War II, although generally as an anchor for a canvas target screen, but she was finally deemed a threat to navigation. Tons of explosives were used to demolish her upperworks and drive her hull deep into the mud; by January 1959, they were successful and she remains there today.