Key Points and Summary: The USS Texas, a storied battleship that served in both World Wars, is undergoing a $35 million restoration at the Gulf Cooper Shipyard in Galveston, Texas.
-Known for its roles in the North Sea during WWI and at D-Day during WWII, the USS Texas is being outfitted with restored guns, a new camouflage paint scheme, and refurbished steel decks.
-While the restoration nears completion, debates continue over its permanent mooring location in Galveston.
-Despite logistical challenges, the Battleship Texas Foundation is determined to see the ship become a major tourist attraction, showcasing a vital piece of naval history.
USS Texas: The Two-War Battleship Gets a Historic Makeover
If you are a fan of battleships and are in the Galveston, Texas, area, you may see a fully restored USS Texas undergoing a considerable facelift.
This full refurbishment will be completed later this year. The USS Texas was the only battleship to serve in both World War One and World War Two so you can understand why the old dreadnought needs extensive repairs.
USS Texas: Where Is the Battleship Now?
It is currently docked at Gulf Cooper Shipyard in Galveston. The main museum is closed but you can take a “restoration tour” to see progress on the work. You must wear a hard hat and long pants on the 1.5-hour tour and some areas are off-limits.
The Guns Need a Makeover
The big project is restoring the guns. “Most of the 20 mm, 40 mm, 3″, and 5″ guns were removed for restoration.
That work is not complete yet, but all six of the 5″ guns have already been reinstalled, and one 40 mm as well. All the guns that were onboard when Battleship Texas closed in 2019 will be reinstalled after restoration,” the Battleship Texas Foundation explained.
This Is a Texas-sized Job
This foundation wants to keep the vessel in Galveston once the repairs are complete.
Workers have spent nearly 300,000 manhours on the gun project and other restoration efforts.
Remarkably, the battleship’s decks were made of mostly pinewood during active duty. But underneath is a steel deck being reworked with the studs removed and a unique coating placed on the steel.
The new paint job will be a camouflage scheme, making it look fascinating to visitors. Plus, radar antennas will be placed on the ship’s main mast.
What Made the Ship So Special?
The USS Texas served from 1914 to 1948. It was a “two-war beast.”
The Texas was instrumental in World War One as part of the “Grand Fleet” in the North Sea. It had a great role to play in World War Two during the North African invasion.
Then Texas shelled the beaches of Normandy during D-Day.
There is a question on just where exactly the ship will be moored once the restoration is complete. Like the Battleship Texas Foundation, the Chief Executive Officer of the Galveston Wharves wants to keep the USS Texas in Galveston.
Both sides are trying to negotiate a long-term lease. In October 2024, the parties decided to pause negotiations. But then the wharves board called a special session for the next month to keep the conversation going.
We Can Work It Out
Both sides are haggling over the lease length, and some restaurants in the wharves were concerned about the ship’s obstructing views of the area.
There are also some safety and liability concerns for visitors and insurance fees.
Permitting needs to be obtained, and parking must be assured.
The ship could also wind up in another part of the port, which would alleviate the congestion around the wharves but make it less accessible to the restaurants and bars in the business district.
USS Texas Is Homeless?
So, one could say the ship is “homeless,” but these considerations can be mitigated.
The USS Texas will, of course, stay in Texas, and Galveston is a natural fit. It will just take some time to iron out all the details.
The Battleship Texas Foundation is determined to see this project through, and the businesses on the wharves will come to see its value as a tourist destination where people will spend more money at restaurants and other establishments.
I’m from Texas, and nothing happens in business without a bit of scrap here and there in the Lone Star State, especially when the government gets involved with the private sector. Nonprofits compete to take credit for tourism and economic development.
I’m confident everything will work out, and the USS Texas will have a permanent home in Galveston.
You do have to worry about hurricanes there, but this battleship can take a pounding in any storm. It will be a fun place to visit once everything is settled with its location.
USS Texas: A Battleship Story in Pictures

Battleship USS Texas from 2011. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

USS Texas battleship. Image: Creative Commons.

Battleship USS Texas. Image: Creative Commons.

USS Texas
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.

Christopher Hogan
January 17, 2025 at 2:04 pm
I’m from Corpus Christi Tx. It’s been years since I’ve toured the Texas..I’m 53 with severe health issues and I don’t own a car… I’ve tried emailing the mayor of Corpus Christi and the USS Lexington Museum on The Bay… I’ve not heard back from either but I can’t seriously believe that NOBODY in Corpus Christi feels the way I do..
Corpus Christi was always touted as ‘ Navy country ‘.. and we never got the Battleship before HomePort Ingleside was finished construction because, it was the Wisconsin I believe, was decommissioned… which was the whole reason for having the HomePort..
There’s plenty of space on the bay next to the ‘Lexington’… and Landrie’s owns property, restaurants and businesses in Corpus Christi, too…
But I’m just a little guy…a broke dreamer…
P.S. I was fortunate enough as a 16 year old in 1986 to visit the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl while on family vacation
So it seems only natural to have the Lex and the Texas next to each other… The Texas was built before aircraft carriers were ever thought of so… it’s sort of like.. the Texas carried our flag and our mission before Pearl Harbor was attacked… and together with the Lex… finished out the war together with honor and victory…
Thank you for your time..
Christopher Hogan
Rita DeBord
January 17, 2025 at 9:32 pm
On a family vacation in 1960, we went to see the Battleship of Texas docked in Galveston. My dad and I got to go on a tour of the inside of it. What I remember are the mattress springs for the beds everywhere. My dad was a WWII veteran.
David G Bradford
January 18, 2025 at 8:39 pm
Dr. Eastwood,
Excellent article and Texans should be more aware of our Warfighting legacy no matter which war we engage in for America.The battleship was the epitome of a war fighting system that combined humans, machines, and data! Yes I read your books.
Regards,
Dr David Bradford
Texarkana
Scott Morris
January 20, 2025 at 6:11 pm
It’s a shame they didn’t save the USS Texas sister ship – the USS New York. My father served on that ship during WW2 – the Pacific campaign.Both ships were the first battleships to deploy 14 inch main guns
Peter Bradley
January 20, 2025 at 6:16 pm
My grandfather served as a Carpenter’s Mate on the USS Texas during WWI.
Theodore Regan
January 20, 2025 at 8:47 pm
The Texas is an important and lady surviving piece of Naval history,when enemy troops would scan a horizon with binoculars and see the Texas Naval Rifles they would truly feel barely controllable fear Texas could rain 1 1/2 to high explosive shells so quickly and accurate that the actual landscape was in for a moonscape makeover
A recipient of American superior firepower
Oh as a veteran I want to say, United States armed forces has not been utterly defeated since a December Sunday in 1941
We don’t start trouble, we finish it, as long as the chicken hawks in DC don’t start their periods of get their panties in a twist
Just saying