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Moving the USS Texas


Chad Fuck

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As a warship (really all ships) lover, I have always found the "inverted bow" of late-19th-early-20th century warships to be kind of ugly.  Also the "tumblehome" where the ship is narrower at the main deck than at the waterline.

HMS_Dreadnought_1906_H61017%20(1)_0.jpg

HMS Dreadnought.  Yuck.

1280px-USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35)_underway

USS Indianapolis.  😍😍

1024px-Future_USS_Zumwalt's_first_underwU

USS Zumwalt.  Yuck again.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Apparently, an inverted bow combined with a below-the-waterline bulb is the superior form, hydrodynamically.

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11 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

As a warship (really all ships) lover, I have always found the "inverted bow" of late-19th-early-20th century warships to be kind of ugly.  Also the "tumblehome" where the ship is narrower at the main deck than at the waterline.

HMS_Dreadnought_1906_H61017%20(1)_0.jpg

HMS Dreadnought.  Yuck.

1280px-USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35)_underway

USS Indianapolis.  😍😍

1024px-Future_USS_Zumwalt's_first_underwU

USS Zumwalt.  Yuck again.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Apparently, an inverted bow combined with a below-the-waterline bulb is the superior form, hydrodynamically.

I thought the Zumwalt had issues with following seas. Seems like I read that somewhere. It might be a more attractive ship if the low observable requirements and design phase didn’t make it look like a foreshortened traffic cone.

I’ve wondered if “looks right, flies right” applies to ships at sea as the Indy certainly looks a lot more right, but the tumblehome hull does seem to be better suited to handling higher sea states. I’ve seen a move towards that with offshore service vessels, some smaller freighters and a cruise ship or two.

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I think they should drag it onto the land like the boats at Seawolf park in Galveston. In 50 years no one will really care about it, so If it's not cheap and easy to take care of, they'll eventually quit on her.  It will just cost too much.  

Took my little boy down there last year. He enjoyed it.

We went to Galveston on Labor Day weekend and went down to see the Texas. He was pretty excited since he’s really into WW2 stuff and it is on one of the Call of Duty games
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On 9/11/2022 at 10:38 AM, Bobby_Batronic said:

I thought the Zumwalt had issues with following seas. Seems like I read that somewhere. It might be a more attractive ship if the low observable requirements and design phase didn’t make it look like a foreshortened traffic cone.

I’ve wondered if “looks right, flies right” applies to ships at sea as the Indy certainly looks a lot more right, but the tumblehome hull does seem to be better suited to handling higher sea states. I’ve seen a move towards that with offshore service vessels, some smaller freighters and a cruise ship or two.

Also interesting that Indy seems to have some tumblehome amidships, but I think that's the "torpedo bulge," also discussed in the Texas hull video above.  Tumblehome for a different purpose.

A lot of good it did her.

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IMG_2237-edited.png

Question for anyone that might know, was the "bridge" on top of the tripod mast where commanding/senior officers fought the ship or more of an observation/fire-direction platform?

I learned not too long ago that the Royal Navy was dedicated to fighting a ship from an open bridge and built ships that way until I believe well into WWII and the USN sort of followed that for many years, but enclosed fighting bridges relatively early by comparison.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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34 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Question for anyone that might know, was the "bridge" on top of the tripod mast where commanding/senior officers fought the ship or more of an observation/fire-direction platform?

I learned not too long ago that the Royal Navy was dedicated to fighting a ship from an open bridge and built ships that way until I believe well into WWII and the USN sort of followed that for many years, but enclosed fighting bridges relatively early by comparison.

I'm no naval architect, but I believe the structure beneath the tripod mast is the navigation bridge, where the ship is conned and steered, and the structure on top of the tripod is a flying bridge of sorts for fire control and observation.

There's a lot here to digest, the vast majority of it extraneous to your question, but given your interest in the subject matter, it seems like you won't mind. Interesting material as it was originally published in December 1942.

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/ship-shapes-anatomy-and-types-of-naval-vessels.html

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9 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

I'm no naval architect, but I believe the structure beneath the tripod mast is the navigation bridge, where the ship is conned and steered, and the structure on top of the tripod is a flying bridge of sorts for fire control and observation.

There's a lot here to digest, the vast majority of it extraneous to your question, but given your interest in the subject matter, it seems like you won't mind. Interesting material as it was originally published in December 1942.

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/s/ship-shapes-anatomy-and-types-of-naval-vessels.html

I believe you are correct.  And, normally the ship would be fought from a position near the helm or pilothouse, so the navigation bridge.  But stranger things.

Also, sometimes when operating as a flagship, there were two discrete bridges:  the captain's bridge, for fighting the ship, and a separate flag bridge from which the flag officer commanded the fleet/task force, etc.  And the flag bridge tended to be above, sometimes merely a deck, and sometimes a good bit higher.

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On 8/30/2022 at 12:14 PM, Brisketexan said:

You missed the 4th spot:  somewhere in the Red River, where it can relentlessly shell Oklahoma.

I like this idea.  Put it on the Red River by I35, or in Wilbarger County where those bastards are still pushing BLM to take that stretch of land south of the Red River.  Fucking thieves.  

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15 minutes ago, elfenix said:

They were alluding to this on the tour, but didn't want to put out any specifics.  They said things like, "There's an open berth just across from the yard on Galveston Island.  But that's none of my business."  

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2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

why is the rudder permanently fixed at an angle? 

The guide said there are various rumors, but they're not exactly sure.  The primary rumor is that the Navy fixed it that way when they gave it up so that it couldn't be used again.  Of course, this seems dubious as it was an old ship in 1946 and no one was ever going to use it again anyhow.  While it may've been fixed at that time, it also seems likely that a lack of maintaining the steering mechanisms in general could've contributed.  There are some gaskets that have to be regularly changed out back there to keep the rudder turning, and no one has done any of that since it was handed over by the Navy.  There was never any reason to do so and other maintenance tasks were always more pressing.  There's a high likelihood all the mechanisms are frozen together at this point.   It isn't leaking, so they aren't messing with it.  

They are contemplating doing a t-shirt with the ship profile and the motto "Come and Straighten It", which I would buy if they did.  Pretty good inside joke there. 

Edited by Chad Fuck
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They were alluding to this on the tour, but didn't want to put out any specifics.  They said things like, "There's an open berth just across from the yard on Galveston Island.  But that's none of my business."  

Tillman gonna monetize. And in this case, that is the highest and best use for the ship IMO.
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16 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:


Tillman gonna monetize. And in this case, that is the highest and best use for the ship IMO.

Agreed.  You have to get paying customers onto the ship.  So the obvious answer is to park it where there are the most potential paying customers.

San Jacinto, unfortunately, was not that.  

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On 6/26/2023 at 5:38 AM, TwiceHorn said:

I believe you are correct.  And, normally the ship would be fought from a position near the helm or pilothouse, so the navigation bridge.  But stranger things.

Also, sometimes when operating as a flagship, there were two discrete bridges:  the captain's bridge, for fighting the ship, and a separate flag bridge from which the flag officer commanded the fleet/task force, etc.  And the flag bridge tended to be above, sometimes merely a deck, and sometimes a good bit higher.

When I toured the USS Missouri over the summer, I was struck by the number of command centers.  You had the Combat Engagement Center, the navigation bridge, and a flying bridge (open air a deck above the navigation bridge)--all serving a different purpose.

The wildest thing was on the navigation bridge, the helm was located inside a bunker in the center of the bridge.  And when I mean a bunker, I mean a bunker.  It is a small circular room surrounded by probably three feet of steel.  They really didn't want that helm getting shot away.

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On 8/25/2023 at 2:17 PM, Braff Zacklin said:

Personally, the bow-on shots of the Texas in drydock are awesome.

304172782_10108159808600326_645032698667

1024px-USS_Texas_no-blister.jpg

What a leviathan!

And for good measure, here's one from astern, depicting the deflected rudder.

vq0xzvx1tyl91.jpg

Jealous of those who get to see this landmark up close.

I saw it look just like that from across the Ship Channel when it was in drydock in Galveston in '89-90.

 

image_2023-08-29_144034821.thumb.png.5a98da180b5cec88e592e786810e8862.pngimage_2023-08-29_144014807.thumb.png.63a807cead6ca46f96a3867f7ee1c132.pngimage_2023-08-29_144045255.thumb.png.c6354e1394a37af00d042d8ebc3fbe1b.png


And this is a screengrab of her stern on May 14, 2023.

image.thumb.png.16b4b5c633724d908fb9d8c010be9c76.png

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On 8/25/2023 at 2:17 PM, Braff Zacklin said:

Personally, the bow-on shots of the Texas in drydock are awesome.

304172782_10108159808600326_645032698667

1024px-USS_Texas_no-blister.jpg

What a leviathan!

And for good measure, here's one from astern, depicting the deflected rudder.

vq0xzvx1tyl91.jpg

Jealous of those who get to see this landmark up close.

One of my Mom's many uncles served on her during WWII, so soon after the Battleship Texas opened to the public at the San Jacinto Monument berth, my Mom, her brother, and her parents got a guided tour by her uncle, who showed them his duty stations, around the places he knew where he lived and worked on the ship, and especially "those damn brass fittings/(whatever) I was responsible for shining-up every goddamn day!" -- much to the amusement of his brother and sister-in-law (my grandparents) and his family, including my Mom.  Lulz.

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Looks like it is to be as we had expected:

https://www.chron.com/gulf-coast/article/battleship-texas-galveston-deal-18467432.php?utm_campaign=CMS&fbclid=IwAR2SxvaKgLYCbWZcUICHz8CEV8FKFTvkFIVw7Uca_BOPZnLtpv-sbicBmcE_aem_AVfVEUxwmpzWdfvoSW_LGByXDH5RtJZyPWWL3q4HkYbv8wWRfWtDDBLphFsvJzeX2Hk&mibextid=S66gvF

 

Quote

Battleship Texas much closer to securing permanent home in Galveston

The first step is a ten-year lease with the port, coming in at $20,000 a month or more depending on the weather

 

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