Texas (CGN 39) - Naval Cruise Book

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The USS TEXAS CCGN-391 is the fifth ship to bear the name for the state of Texas. Of the previous four ships named for Texas, two were U.S. Navy ships and one served in the Texas Navy. Each of these ships has left her mark in history and two helped change the course of Naval Warfare and the History of Seapower. The first ship named for the State of Texas was a Sloop of War commissioned in the Texas Navy on Janu- ary 5th, 1840. The TEXAS was 125 feet long and weighed 600 tons. Consisting mainly of heavy oak frames and copper sheathing, she had eighteen 24-pound Co- lumbiad guns with 25 rounds of solid shot, 13 of canister, 12 of grape, and powder for 25 rounds per gun. Her compliment was 24 officers and 147 enlisted men, but she was never fully manned. The TEXAS was allowed 30 muskets, 10 pistols, and 30 cutlasses. She was to carry 8000 gallons of water, a 26 foot launch, and four smaller boats. On April 20th, 1840, President Lamar Cof the Confederate State of Texasj changed the name of the TEXAS to AUSTIN, and on May 11th, 1846, she ran aground and broke up. The second ship named TEXAS was originally a Con- federate twin-screw Iron-clad Ram. She was seized by Union forces in 1865 and taken to the Norfolk Navy Yard where she was sold in 1867. The first ship which was named for the State and saw service in the U.S. Navy was also the Navy's first.Battle- ship. She was launched in 1889 at the Norfolk Navy Yard under the sponsorship of Miss Madge Houston, Granddaughter of Sam Houston. She cruised to Galves- ton in 1898 to be visited by the citizens of Texas. The night she arrived there, the Battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor in an appalling catastrophy which preci- pitated the Spanish-American War. Beginning in 1898, TEXAS was in constant blockade patrol between San- tiago and Guantanamo Bay. In July of that year, TEXAS was involved in the battle in which the entire Spanish fleet was either captured or destroyed at Santiago.

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YEKAS From 1908 until 1911, TEXAS served as station ship at Charleston. Among those assigned quarters on the Battleship was future Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. In 1911, she was decommissioned and renamed SAN MARCOS. Sometime later, she was sunk as a target for gunfire practice. Built by Newport News Shipbuilding, the second Bat- tleship USS TEXAS QBB-35j was commissioned in 1914. Her twin gunned 14-inch turrets were of the latest design, and she had what was reputed to be the largest and most efficient set of reciprocating main engines afloat. In her speed trials, she made her designed speed of 21 knots, and her gunnery scores laid the foundation for her reputation as one of the finest gunnery ships in the Navy. During World War I, she served in European waters and was present at the surrender of the German Imperial High Seas Fleet. On the fateful day of December 7th, 1941, TEXAS was in Portland, Maine. Shortly thereafter, she began serving as an escort for convoys to Europe. These escort duties extended through 1942 and 1943. In April of 1944, she was ordered to remain in the European theater to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. At Normandy, TEXAS anchored offshore to deliver pre-invasion bombardment on the morning of June 6th This dawn bombardment threw 250 projectiles into the German shore batteries. TEXAS spent 33 more days on the Normandy coast until the ground troops advanced further than her guns could reach. On June 25th, she was struck by the enemy for the first time in her 30 year career. During a three hour duel with the German guns at Cherbourg, TEXAS took two hits which killed one man but caused no disabling damage. After repairs, she proceeded to the Mediterranean for the invasion of Southern France. Texas left Europe, the need for Battleships there hav- ing come to an end, and after repairs, steamed to the Pacific to fight the Japanese. She arrived there just in time for the invasion of Iwo Jima. There, she blasted the enemy installations with every round of ammunition alotted to her. She was present at the famous flag raising at Mount Suribachi. After a brief rest, TEXAS participated in the invasion of Okinawa, where she fired four complete shiploads of ammunition in support of ground operations. Her crew set a near record by remaining at their battle stations for a period of 50 days, sleeping at their posts, and eating at odd hours, thus surviving one of the toughest Naval operations in history. Following the war, TEXAS was decommissioned and moved to San Jacinto Battlegrounds, Texas, for a well deserved rest where she remains today as a memorial.