Battleship Texas Condition Report

Battleship Texas Condition Report

Battleship Texas Commission.; Tourism.; USS Texas (Battleship)

A condition report of the Battleship Texas created by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1984. The video provides an orientation to the ship as well as a tour of her critical problem areas.

Texas. Parks and Wildlife Department

Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 2011/430

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1984

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The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.

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VHS

English

MovingImage

2011/430-1-7

La Porte (Tex.)

VHS

11:11

Hx624

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We are at the site of the Battleship
Texas one of the latest additions to the

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Texas state park system. Our purpose is
to provide a brief orientation to the

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ship and to take a quick tour of her
critical problem areas. Commissioned in

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1914 the Texas is the nation's oldest
battleship, the only survivor of the

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dreadnought era. The Texas has a number of features not found on any surviving

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military vessel in service or out. First,
the ship is a riveted structure, it was

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not built with any wells. She still has
two triple-expansion piston-driven steam

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engines, which are a national engineering
landmark. However, the Texas seen by the

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visitor differs in many respects from
her original design. Most of these

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changes were made during a major
conversion during the mid-20s. The Texas

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was originally built with caged masts
rather than tripod masts.

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She had no radar gear. There were two
stacks to accommodate 14 coal-fired

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boilers instead of the single stack for
six oil-fired boilers seen in later

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years. A last obvious difference was the
addition of torpedo blisters that bulge

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out from each side of the ship just
below the second deck. From a distance it

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is the superstructure that identifies a
ship. Going up the levels of the

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superstructure of the Texas, one begins
to see the problems that have developed

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over the years. Super structures require
continuous maintenance because they are

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constantly exposed to the elements; sun,
cold, rain, and airborne pollutants. From

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the Admirals bridge it is possible to
see corrosion on all portions of either

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crane. Looking up to the girders that
support the different levels of the

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superstructure, significant areas of
corrosion are apparent in numerous

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locations. The worst conditions exist in
the main battery fire control stations

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high overhead. Access to these areas is
difficult and hazardous because their

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decks are not structurally sound.
Because of the difficulty of access

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these areas have received minimal
maintenance since 1948, when the ship was

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turned over to the state of Texas to
operate as a naval ship museum. Going

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back down to the first level above the
main deck, we can step into the support

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structure for the secondary fire control
tower located aft of the stack. This area

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was a vegetable locker, now used as
storage. The fire control station once

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located on top of the structure housed
men and equipment responsible for

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directing the fire of the 5-inch guns
during action. The top of the structure

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reportedly blew off during Hurricane
Carla in 1961 and was covered over

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afterwards. At this moment the interior
is corroded so badly that is no longer

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structurally sound. Stepping out on the
main deck the most obvious thing the

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visitor sees is the concrete deck. Until
1968, the main deck as well as the deck

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above was wood. Over the years the deck
had deteriorated to an unsalvageable

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condition, so concrete was poured over
the steel splintered deck underneath. But

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concrete has not worked well, as
installed the concrete has neither

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expansion joints nor a moisture barrier
between the concrete and the steel.

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As a result, serious corrosion has
damaged the supporting steel. Water has

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penetrated through cracks in the
concrete, around hatch penetration of

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the deck, and at the joint seam with the
waterway around the entire perimeter of

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the ship. Going below to the second deck
close inspection overhead reveals

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obvious trouble spots: expanded seams
where the rust has swelled joints

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between deck and support beams, loose and
missing rivets. These are only what can

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be seen. Unfortunately, it is impossible
to know the total extent of damage until

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the concrete is removed. Forward, within
the port passageway of the ship, we come

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to a section that has not been open to
the public

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because it was not in viewable condition.
During the past summer the Texas

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Conservation Corps was able to
completely clean this area, remove all

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rust, coat with a preservative primer and
final coat. Soon the passageway will be

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open to the public with improved visitor
circulation. Forward of this is officer's

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country! One of these quarters
demonstrate the extent of damage that a

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minor source of corrosion can cause. This
hole in Officer's Quarters O was caused

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by a leak in the deck overhead.
Surprisingly, water from this leak has

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penetrated not just the second deck here,
but the quarter deck below the third

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deck and so on to the inner bottom. In
Officer's Quarters P we can see damage

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caused by rain blown through an open
porthole. Damage is extensive to the

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porthole, bulkhead, and deck. Going aft all
the way to the back of the ship, we

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descend a ladder into chief petty
officers mess. We are in the overhang

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above the rudder and twin screws. This
area has been closed off for years.

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Corrosion is everywhere on the bulkheads,
overhead, and especially on the deck. This

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corrosion stems from two causes: leaks
through the deck above and through holes

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in the bulkhead and from condensation.
Being a closed area evaporation and

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condensation repeated in continuous
cycles. Access to the steering flat where

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the rudder controls are located is down
a vertical trunk. Looking into the

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steering flat, a single large shaft runs
to the rear of the ship with a single

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motor driving a pinion gear located
about halfway down. The motor run zone DC,

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which allows a change in the direction
of rotation of a shaft by simply

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changing the direction of current, to the
right are a series of large wooden ships

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wheels these were emergency backup
rudder controls that are no longer found

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on ships.

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Proceeding back to where the rudder post
penetrates the hull, evidence of water

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flooding increases. This water is coming
through deteriorated packing around the

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rudder post. In the past two months,
storms and heavy rains have increased

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the pressure on the packing. The rate of
leakage has increased dramatically. The

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water from the rudder post leak runs
down into the aft trim tanks immediately

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below. In July this footage of the aft
trim tank was shot with the naval

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architect John Baxter and a safety
engineer, Jerry Crocin from Todd

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Shipyards. At this time the aft trim tank
had been pumped down. Now, during periods

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of high tide the space fills up in about
a day's time. Because of repeated

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flooding and pumping and accumulation of
silt over many years this area has

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corroded badly and as a matter of great
concern to the naval architect working

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on the ship. Descending the narrow
ladders leading into boiler room B2 we

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quickly reach a level where oil has
coated all the bulkheads. Entering the

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boiler room proper we see that oil coats
everything up to a distinct line 12 to

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15 feet above the platform we are
standing on. Below are two double bottom

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tanks, each four feet high. The level
indicated by the oil line is

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approximately equivalent to the exterior
waterline. What happened is that several

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years ago a pipe in a tank below gave
way, apparently the manhole into that

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tank was open or leaked badly, and the
compartment flooded to waterline. The

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Battleship Texas Commission was able to
get a diver to go into the flooded space,

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locate the leak, and make an emergency
patch. The compartment was then pumped

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and the tank below sealed. The only
positive result was that the oil coating

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serves as an effective, though messy,
preservative, as you have seen the

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Battleship Texas has some serious
problems that cannot be ignored.

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But the ship represents a fascinating
era in naval history. In her prime,

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the Texas was the best the US Navy had
to offer. Navy tradition and state pride

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hinge on the effective restoration of
the USS Texas.