Waiting for the Video...

Just so you’ll know that this Battleship project isn’t done, I sent Brett a video that the Texas Parks and Wildlife department made on the project and he is going to edit it for publication here. No pressure Brett, but we’re all waiting…

Did you know that the Texas is noteworthy for being one of only two remaining ships to have served in both World War I and World War II?

Here's a little insight on the restoration. While dad worked on her (the ship), yard workers sand-blasted paint from not only the hull but also the superstructure of the ship and replaced many tons of rusted metal from the hull. Inside the ship, welders and fabricators replaced weakened structural beams and numerous rusted-out deck plates. Topside, workers removed the cement from the main deck and replaced it with wooden beams and a new pine deck. A new complement of anti-aircraft guns was also installed. In total, more than 375,000 pounds (170,000 kg) of steel (amounting to approximately 40 percent of the ship's hull) was replaced. My dad oversaw all of that. Btw – I remember my dad telling me that on the day that they moved her from her slip in San Jacinto to the dry dock at Todd where she would be revitalized; they only had so much time to get from point A to point B. They had to get her to Todd while the tide was still right. You see, she was taking on water during the whole trip while her bilges were doing all they could to keep her afloat. She couldn’t float any higher, she could only stay even or sink lower during the trip. It was a long trip for the old ship (56 miles) and when she reached Todd, her hull had to have enough clearance to get over the lip of the dry dock. If the dry dock was as low as it could go, and the ship was steadily sinking due to water infiltration, and the tide went low enough, she wouldn’t make it over the edge. She would arrive at her destination and simply and slowly sink to the bottom of the ship channel while the lip of the dry dock stretched further and further away. Dad had to figure all that out. Not only that, but who would guarantee that the old gal would hold up to the mechanical stresses induced on her failing frame during the long trip? What a disaster that would have been – what do you do with a sunken battleship blocking your shipping commerce lane?

As you would guess, things didn’t go smoothly – the ship was stuck to the bottom of her berth in the mud and they couldn’t free her. Think of it like a giant mud suction cup around your boot. They struggled for hours and hours before they finally got her free, and when they finally got her to Todd, she cleared the dry dock by only inches. My dad had a successful but very stressful day…