USS TEXAS BB-35 San Jacinto Memorial Houston, TX Our Landing Party's final destinations in Houston were the Battleship USS TEXAS and the San Jacinto memorial. Our shuttle arrived at the TEXAS about one half-hour before the museum ship opened (it opens at 1000, for future reference), so we enjoyed a pleasant drink under the nearby trees in the park. For information on the ship herself, please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35). TEXAS is flying a 48-star Ensign astern, and the Jack at her bow also has only 48 stars. This is appropriate, as she was decommissioned in 1948, but this was the only time I saluted a 48-star ensign whilst boarding a ship... of course, there was no OoD to request permission to board. CDR Clark's first comment upon seeing the TEXAS: "Wow... that's a big ship!" She has now been on quite a few former USN ships & boats (USS BATFISH, USS LEXINGTON, USS CAVALLA, USS STEWART), so this ship is a very impressive one. TEXAS is 573 ft in length... I was briefly on IOWA, which is 887 ft long, so TEXAS was slightly less imposing to me in that way. Still, she's a wonderful ship with a glorious history. Among the world's remaining battleships, Texas is notable for being the only remaining dreadnought battleship, though she is not the oldest surviving battleship; Mikasa, a pre-dreadnought battleship ordered in 1898, is older than Texas. She is also noteworthy for being one of only six remaining ships to have served in both World Wars.[15][A 1] Among US-built battleships, Texas is notable for her sizable number of firsts: the first US Navy vessel to house a permanently assigned contingent of US Marines, the first US battleship to mount anti-aircraft guns, the first US ship to control gunfire with directors and range-keepers (analog forerunners of today's computers), the first US battleship to launch an aircraft from a catapult on Turret 3,[16] one of the first to receive the CXAM-1 version of CXAM production radar in the US Navy,[A 2] the first US battleship to become a permanent museum ship,[A 3][16] and the first battleship declared to be a US National Historic Landmark.[A 4] Our landing party's final stop in this area was the San Jacinto battlefield monument. This was erected at the site of the final battle for the Republic of Texas' fight for independence from Mexico. An awe-inspiring edifice, that elicited somber reflection. We also visited the museum inside. Beautiful. Clark, commanding REGULATOR, out.
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Commodore Tank ClarkCaptain of USS Regulator from May 2017 (Stardate 11705.27) to Apr 2019 (Stardate 11904.27
Captain Michael G. CrossCaptain of USS Regulator from May 2015 (Stardate 11505.09) to May 2017 (Stardate 11705.27.) Commodore Tank ClarkCaptain of USS Regulator from May 2011 (Stardate 11105.18) to May 2015 (Stardate 11505.09) Archives
August 2017
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