Can Battleship Texas Win its War with Time and Corrosion?

Posted: 2017-6-19

Source: Houston Chronicle

http://www.hous...me-11214882.php

For decades, the USS Texas was one of the most feared battleships in the U.S. Navy. Armed with anti-aircraft guns during World War I, its crew kept German fleets from severing Allies' supply lines. It became the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's flagship before World War II, then fired on Nazi defenses at Normandy before being transferred to the Pacific and providing gunfire support and anti-aircraft fire to the landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It was decommissioned in April, 1948.

Now, the 103-year-old Battleship Texas is still at war with two of its most challenging adversaries to date - water and rust.

On Sunday, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials closed Battleship Texas after crews noticed around 12 p.m. that the ship was off-kilter. A leak in the vessel allowed water to gush in, ripping a hole in the boat and causing it to tilt 8 degrees to one side.

By Tuesday morning, emergency crews had patched 13 leaks on the ship.

Workers had also pumped enough water out of USS Texas that the ship was only listing about 3.5 degrees on Tuesday, said Justin Rhodes, director for the southeast region of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Monday morning, emergency crews - including dive teams - patched a 6-inch by 8-inch hole in the boat. They found and patched another six leaks by 4:45 p.m. But water still poured out of the ship's starboard side. And there are likely countless leaks yet to be found, Rhodes said.

Read the full article at The Houston Chronicle.