13/06/2026
⚓ The Last of Her Kind: USS Texas (BB-35) Fights for Survival Once More
The massive steel hull before you is USS Texas (BB-35), photographed during her historic restoration project in dry dock near Houston. The rust, exposed steel, and towering scaffolding reveal a sobering truth: even the mightiest warships cannot escape the relentless effects of time and saltwater.
Commissioned on March 12, 1914, USS Texas is one of the most significant warships in American naval history. She served with distinction in both World War I and World War II, making her the last surviving battleship in the world to have fought in both conflicts.
During World War II, Texas provided critical naval gunfire support during some of history's most important amphibious assaults. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, her powerful 14-inch guns pounded German defenses along the Normandy coast, helping Allied troops establish a foothold in Nazi-occupied Europe. She later supported operations at Cherbourg, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, delivering devastating bombardments against enemy positions and helping pave the way for advancing Allied forces.
After decades of service, Texas was preserved as a museum ship and became a beloved symbol of American naval heritage. Yet years spent moored in the Houston Ship Channel took a heavy toll. Corrosion slowly weakened her aging hull, causing persistent leaks and raising fears that the legendary battleship could eventually be lost.
In 2022, a dramatic rescue mission began. For the first time in decades, USS Texas was moved to dry dock at the Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston, Texas, where experts launched the most extensive restoration in her 110-year history. Workers have removed and replaced large sections of deteriorated steel, repaired critical structural damage, and strengthened the vessel for future generations.
What appears to be decay is actually preservation in action. This is not the end of USS Texas—it is a rebirth.
Once restoration is complete, the battleship will be relocated to a specially constructed permanent dry berth at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. There, protected from the corrosive effects of constant immersion in water, she will stand as a lasting monument to the sailors who served aboard her and to the generations who fought for freedom across two world wars.
More than a museum ship, USS Texas is a living piece of history—a veteran of two world wars, a witness to some of the 20th century's most decisive battles, and the last surviving battleship of her kind.
After more than a century of service and sacrifice, she has earned the chance to endure for another hundred years.
🇺🇸 "Don't give up the ship."