In service only for just under 20 years, the first battleship bearing the name Texas was built in the Norfolk, Virginia navy yard being the first battleship, or arguably one of the first battleships, of the United States Navy. The funding for the Texas was part of the military appropriation act that authorized the Maine (a cruiser, but also referred to as a battleship), the Baltimore (a cruiser), the Vesuvius (also a cruiser) and the Cushing (a torpedo boat). The Texas had armor plating of 12 inch thick steel over the bulkheads, turret conning tower and redoubt (a protecting reinforcement, also of steel), six inches of steel protecting much of the rest of the ship. To a certain extent, the ship was derivative, built from designs purchased from Britain, before the days when both design and construction were unique and American.
Continue reading The First Battleship Texas (1892)
TEXAS HISTORY NOTEBOOK 