"New Life for the WWI Battleship USS Texas" Topic

"It isn't every day that a national historic landmark looks for a new home.

The Battleship Texas Foundation has put out a request for proposals from municipalities interested in hosting the USS Texas. This is not your average battleship. Once dubbed the world's greatest battleship, the dreadnought was commissioned in 1914 and served in both World War I and II. It achieved landmark status in 1976 and today is the only one of its kind in existence…"

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Amicalement
Armand

The Texas Broadsides gaming convention used to hold their gaming convention on board the USS Texas – see their website for some of the pictures of gaming events taking place throughout the ship. The convention also offered on-board lodging – it will be missed.

texasbroadside.webs.com

The big issue is to keep the old girl from sinking due to the 100+ year old metal, as well as the salt water and the rust and humidity from the Gulf Coast. She's been at San Jacinto since 1948 and where she has said, it's only been the last 20 odd years that real work was done on her to make her look decent. During the 60's-80's her deck was covered in poured concrete, and she was painted a "Peacetime gray" scheme. The engine room was filled with empty coke cans, and she was rusting away.
Her last major redo was mostly cosmetic and it was very precarious as she almost shook herself apart being towed to the shipyard.
Two years ago she almost sank because of a hole in the side and a pump failing. She went down almost six feet into the water in a period of 3 days and no one working there even noticed until the fourth day…
Best bet would be to tow her, fix her, and then return her somewhere. Her hull is too old for the constant assault of the gulf coast saltwater so a concrete casing may be of necessity.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand