According to 19fortyfive, The USS Texas, the oldest surviving modern naval warship, became the first of eight US Navy battleships to be converted into a permanent floating museum in 1948 after serving in both World Wars.
Battleship USS Texas Is Making the Ultimate Comeback – 19FortyFive
It may be the only time most people can walk around a battleship out of the water. Visitors can still tour the USS Texas (BB-35) in dry dock through April in San Jacinto, Texas.
According to the US Navy, the USS Texas, a 27,000-ton New York class battleship built in Newport News, Virginia, was commissioned in March 1914.
Regular operations with the Atlantic Fleet began in the middle of the year and lasted until January 1918. The battleship then crossed the Atlantic to join the Grand Fleet in the North Sea, where she remained until the war’s end.
The USS Texas returned to the United States in late December 1918 and rejoined the Atlantic Fleet. It was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet in mid-1919 and redesignated BB-35 in 1920 before returning to the Atlantic in 1924 for another training cruise.
USS Texas’ operations were divided between the Atlantic and the Pacific until 1931when her base was relocated to California.
During 1937-1939, USS Texas was training Navy officers. During World War II, she joined other Atlantic Squadron ships in maintaining a Neutrality Patrol, an activity that became increasingly warlike when the United States Navy began convoying western Atlantic shipping in 1941.
On June 25, she took part in a bombardment of Cherbourg, France, and was hit twice by enemy coastal artillery fire. In August, her heavy guns were back in action in the Mediterranean Sea, supporting landings in southern France. After an overhaul, Texas was sent to the Pacific, arriving in time for the February 1945 Iwo Jima invasion.
According to Navy. mil, USS Texas returned to the Atlantic coast in February 1946 and remained inactive until April 1948.
