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The USS Texas, over 100 years old, fought in I and II, sails again,,,,,,,,,

I lived in Clear Lake in the early 1990's and must have visited the Texas about 20 times. It's one of the coolest ships in the historical fleet.

This is amazing! Thanks for making my day with this!! I would have loved to see her 'underway' even if being towed.

Awesome!

Sirhr
 
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I lived in Clear Lake in the early 1990's and must have visited the Texas about 20 times. It's one of the coolest ships in the historical fleet.

This is amazing! Thanks for making my day with this!! I would have loved to see her 'underway' even if being towed.

Awesome!

Sirhr
Had some buddies @ Texas A&M that were from Clear Lake. We were running around Clear Lake from 92-95.

Remember the Turtle Club? Lots of fun back in the day.

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Had some buddies @ Texas A&M that were from Clear Lake. We were running around Clear Lake from 92-95.

Remember the Turtle Club? Lots of fun back in the day.

View attachment 7946899
I do remember Turtle Club and a couple of other places over in Kemah. I lived less than 1/2 miles from the Crazy Cajun. Best extra rare blackened cajun steak! I was there the same years... Got there in '92 and left in '94. If you ever saw an old green 1960's British Army Land Rover banging around, that was me!

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
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I do remember Turtle Club and a couple of other places over in Kemah. I lived less than 1/2 miles from the Crazy Cajun. Best extra rare blackened cajun steak! I was there the same years... Got there in '92 and left in '94. If you ever saw an old green 1960's British Army Land Rover banging around, that was me!

Cheers,

Sirhr
Damn we all might have crossed paths before...
Spent most of my life there.
Still have a house just south of there,
 
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Questions:
1) Is that the current picture in dry-dock?
2) What's that at the front of the bow? Never seen the protusion on the before, and amazingly the front looks more bulbous than I'd have thought for that era.
3) Are the two rectangular panels near the front from previous restorations
I am guessing that is from '88

The bulbous protrusion was 'naval architecture c. 1900' and was thought to be hydrodynamic... and efficient. Still used on a lot of modern ships like tankers.

I think the rectangular panels are AC/Cooling units. It's Houston you know. Hotter than the surface of the sun in July.

Sirhr
 
I am guessing that is from '88

The bulbous protrusion was 'naval architecture c. 1900' and was thought to be hydrodynamic... and efficient. Still used on a lot of modern ships like tankers.

I think the rectangular panels are AC/Cooling units. It's Houston you know. Hotter than the surface of the sun in July.

Sirhr
Sorry, wasn't clear here. I was talking about the little thing at the bottom. Yes, even today's ships use the bulb to generate the bow wave to lower drag.
The panels were below the water line...sorry I wasn't more specific again.
 
I was amazed at how cramped everything was, my 6’2” ass would be cramped all the time
Probably 1:100 was 6-2 back than.

My thing lately has been trying to buy WWII issue USMC khaki shirts and pants.

Lots of size 1,2,3 which equates to 5-6 and weighing less than 170.

Size 34 waist would have been a morbidly obese person or 6-2.

I just picked up from my tailor today a set of size 34 that easily had greater than 6’ inseam on them.

Guy was also a size 5 shirt but I think he tailored it to less than size 5 at the waist.

Dude was an in shape giant in WWII.

Post in the vintage section.
 
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Sorry, wasn't clear here. I was talking about the little thing at the bottom. Yes, even today's ships use the bulb to generate the bow wave to lower drag.
The panels were below the water line...sorry I wasn't more specific again.
Square things below water line are called strakes... they were also part of handling and hydrodynamics. If I remember right, they dated back to the Victorian times and an engineer named Isombard Kingdom Brunel. Who created the SS Great Britain and was involved in the early dreadnaught designs.

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
Questions:
1) Is that the current picture in dry-dock?
2) What's that at the front of the bow? Never seen the protusion on the before, and amazingly the front looks more bulbous than I'd have thought for that era.
3) Are the two rectangular panels near the front from previous restorations
Tactics were different back than.

Armor belt was a thing.

In order to compromise between weight and protection the armor belt was a design feature and a guess in regards to how far were encounters going to be from and how were munitions going to be delivered.

When Texas was built it was gun duels.

Later it became torpedos.

Followed by aircraft.

Now…….all of the above plus missiles from over the horizon. So who cares build them out of aluminum and hope speed can overcome the threat.
 
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I do remember Turtle Club and a couple of other places over in Kemah. I lived less than 1/2 miles from the Crazy Cajun. Best extra rare blackened cajun steak! I was there the same years... Got there in '92 and left in '94. If you ever saw an old green 1960's British Army Land Rover banging around, that was me!

Cheers,

Sirhr
Don’t remember your Land Rover however that Turtle Club pic you can see a speed boat in the back well one of my buddies friends had a 34’ Fountain with twin 468 big blocks super charged he said around 725 horsepower each.

We went out a few times thru Seabrook/Kemah into the bay to run it out and what a blast. Going across the bay with 2-3 swells @ 60-70MPH getting lift off the waves floating thru the air was an absolute glorious feeling what a rush when the boat touches down very intoxicating.

Damn we all might have crossed paths before...
Spent most of my life there.
Still have a house just south of there,

Probably did all those bars down there seemed small so easy to strike up conversations with people & have a drink.
 
Don’t remember your Land Rover however that Turtle Club pic you can see a speed boat in the back well one of my buddies friends had a 34’ Fountain with twin 468 big blocks super charged he said around 725 horsepower each.

We went out a few times thru Seabrook/Kemah into the bay to run it out and what a blast. Going across the bay with 2-3 swells @ 60-70MPH getting lift off the waves floating thru the air was an absolute glorious feeling what a rush when the boat touches down very intoxicating.



Probably did all those bars down there seemed small so easy to strike up conversations with people & have a drink.
Fucking Grindr is another site……..:)
 
Fucking Grindr is another site……..:)
@JR_PRO77 Don't Mind Pmclaine... he is worried about getting a case of crotch-eating pants-rabbits from a set of ex-USMC skivvies he bought from Korea... ;-) Some things you just can't disinfect...

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
Probably 1:100 was 6-2 back than.

My thing lately has been trying to buy WWII issue USMC khaki shirts and pants.

Lots of size 1,2,3 which equates to 5-6 and weighing less than 170.

Size 34 waist would have been a morbidly obese person or 6-2.

I just picked up from my tailor today a set of size 34 that easily had greater than 6’ inseam on them.

Guy was also a size 5 shirt but I think he tailored it to less than size 5 at the waist.

Dude was an in shape giant in WWII.

Post in the vintage section.
My wife’s grand father was on the Blessman in WW2 and was 5-3, he said it was cramped for him as a boiler man.
 
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Definitely not patches from anything recent (orange). Maybe they are some
And must have been some known hydrodynamic enhancement at lower end of bulb (green)
And the blue, yes, a strake.

I'd just never seen the thing in green and the items in orange area seem somewhat add-on and not moveable, but again this was early 1900's. Unlike a strake which would be to give stability, I cannot say what the rectangles in orange are. Just curiousity is all.

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Those panels in orange are odd. I wonder if there are some on the starboard side as well.
My brother lives in LaPorte so have been on her a couple times and yes it felt cramped especially in the main gun turret and I'm only 6'-1" and 180
Also T-Bone Tom's in Kemah is still good. Love their Armadillo eggs. For those of you non-Texans they're jalapenos stuffed with smoked brisket and cheese then breaded and deep fried. Cholesterol bullets but hey, you only live once!:)
 
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Those panels in orange are odd. I wonder if there are some on the starboard side as well.
My brother lives in LaPorte so have been on her a couple times and yes it felt cramped especially in the main gun turret and I'm only 6'-1" and 180
Also T-Bone Tom's in Kemah is still good. Love their Armadillo eggs. For those of you non-Texans they're jalapenos stuffed with smoked brisket and cheese then breaded and deep fried. Cholesterol bullets but hey, you only live once!:)
Armadillo eggs, rattlesnake eggs, rattlesnake bites, poppers... whatever you call them, who cares how many hours they took off your life... worth it!!

What I miss most are actual corn tamales off carts on Galveston. Holy crap, I could live off those real tamales. Hotter than hell. Great flavor. Cheaper than dirt. Oh gawd I miss Galveston tamales.

Sirhr

PS. In Houston in the '90's the 'Citas' restaurants were awesome. Papacitas. Mamacitas. All of them. Fresh tortillas. Amazing.... everything. You can't get Mexican food like that outside of a few towns. And Houston was one of them. Damn I miss that. Not the 105 in the shade in July. I don't miss that. But I do miss the food. Oh shit that was good...
 
Questions:
1) Is that the current picture in dry-dock?
2) What's that at the front of the bow? Never seen the protusion on the before, and amazingly the front looks more bulbous than I'd have thought for that era.
3) Are the two rectangular panels near the front from previous restorations
1. current pic....edit, not.
2 not sure
3 yep looks like previous repair

link to harbor cam
 
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Armadillo eggs, rattlesnake eggs, rattlesnake bites, poppers... whatever you call them, who cares how many hours they took off your life... worth it!!

What I miss most are actual corn tamales off carts on Galveston. Holy crap, I could live off those real tamales. Hotter than hell. Great flavor. Cheaper than dirt. Oh gawd I miss Galveston tamales.

Sirhr

PS. In Houston in the '90's the 'Citas' restaurants were awesome. Papacitas. Mamacitas. All of them. Fresh tortillas. Amazing.... everything. You can't get Mexican food like that outside of a few towns. And Houston was one of them. Damn I miss that. Not the 105 in the shade in July. I don't miss that. But I do miss the food. Oh shit that was good...
Papacitas is still around. We have some really good Tex/Mex here in central TX plus in our neighborhood about once a week this Latina gramma and her grandson drives around selling her homemade tamales. Good stuff!
 
Not in Texas, but McClard's BBQ in Hot Springs, AR has some super delicioso hot tamales. For the heart-attack special I recommend the Tamale Plate. Just get half plate and postpone the heart attack for a little while.
 
Papacitas is still around. We have some really good Tex/Mex here in central TX plus in our neighborhood about once a week this Latina gramma and her grandson drives around selling her homemade tamales. Good stuff!
In Austin I always liked 'Curra's Grill."

Tex Mex is good but have you tried the green chili on food out in New Mexico>
 
As said above the North Carolina is an awesome stop. It is truly amazing to be on board one of these ships. My son is obsessed with battleships we have been here twice on mission trips with our youth. We are starting to tour them. Plan on taking him to Pearl Harbor for his senior trip next year. The powder charge really puts it in to perspective of what it takes to launch that round.
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I am guessing that is from '88

The bulbous protrusion was 'naval architecture c. 1900' and was thought to be hydrodynamic... and efficient. Still used on a lot of modern ships like tankers.

I think the rectangular panels are AC/Cooling units. It's Houston you know. Hotter than the surface of the sun in July.

Sirhr
Yep. Sleeping berths for overnight stays are cooled. Rest of ship is an oven but that how she was run back then.
 
I was reading a history of D-Day last night. Detailed action around Omaha mentioned the Texas as the Flagship for Omaha and leading the fires
- nailing several gun emplacements and also deep interdiction fires behind the lines. The craters on the beach and inland were vital for the landing soldiers for cover.

At one point the Texas approached to 1.6 miles from the beach!!

The ability of those big guns to make precision fires still amazes me. Back then many of the gunnery officers and the commanders of those ships were accomplished riflemen of their own. Ching Lee on the USS Washington is a famous example.
 
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Papacitas is still around. We have some really good Tex/Mex here in central TX plus in our neighborhood about once a week this Latina gramma and her grandson drives around selling her homemade tamales. Good stuff!
Pappacito's. O not an a. I agree with those that miss their food. It's good to try to go back when you visit. Might have to when I go visit my parents this Christmas. Also miss the chicken fried steak in the south. Goodsons in Tomball is really good.
 
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These were taken from Morgan’s Point and edited on my phone to try to get more details out of the shadows. It was hard shooting into the morning sun using my phone. I should have had a real camera with me.

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Took our kids (Scouts) about 25 years ago to tour it. Turns out there was a group that brings her back to life once a year! They spend the weekend, cook dressed in proper uniforms with rank. A guy from Texas in the Coast Guard I shot with was in that group. He took us all over the ship, then went to the bow and fire a .50 with blanks out over the park. Need less to say it was awesome! 👍👍🇺🇸
 
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If I can interject, the 'thing in blue' is actually called a "Bilge Keel" and I do believe (but could be wrong) that the thing in green had to do with a Paravane. They were used for a while, for 'anti-mine'.

Or, I can be completely wrong and not know what I'm talking about.