HOUSTON The finishing touches for a major celebration were under way Thursday as the Battleship Texas prepared to mark a major milestone in her storied history.
It was 100 years ago that Congress authorized her construction, which resulted in what was once considered the most powerful weapon on the planet.
It was state-of-the-art, said Andy Smith of Texas Parks and Wildlife. It was the biggest, baddest thing afloat. There s nothing like it. It propelled the United States into world dominance immediately.
The Battleship Texas was one of a kind the only naval warship to serve in both world wars, providing crucial support on D-Day and later at Iwo Jima. Now, however, she s battling her most serious enemy yet.
Time is not our friend, said Steven Howell of the Battleship Texas Foundation.
The same could be said for salt water, which has to be pumped from the ship s hull at a rate of nine tons per day.
The hull metal was only a half-inch thick in 1912, said Howell. Well, now it s literally paper thin.
The situation is precarious at best, which became obvious earlier this month when one of the many pumps onboard failed. For about a week, they went from pumping the usual nine tons of water a day to 100 tons a day.
Back in 2007, Texas voters approved $24 million to place the ship in a dry berth. So what s the hold-up?
We re not looking at something you re going to do over a couple of months, said Smith. This is years, and the engineering firm that designs this has to be the best.
After serving with such distinction in the last century, he said, the ship deserves nothing less in the next.
