Battleship Texas
8 h
Howdy y’all, we are back with our weekly report of the work going on around the Battleship Texas.
As we’ve said before, the foam removal continues on the starboard side blister tanks. Things are starting to move like clockwork now as they begin to move past midship. Along with the foam removal of the blisters, the foam removal around the stern continues as well. The large trimming tank has been mostly cleared and the last bit of foam seems to be coming out now. The smaller tanks around the stern have also had the removal process started and some hot work is starting to begin in the spaces which have been cleared.
The blister removal that has been ongoing as the blister tanks are cleared of foam has been moving forward at a quick pace. So far, the blister on the starboard side has almost made it to around frame 60. The ship's hull which is slowly being revealed is looking rusty but overall, good.
More parts of the hull are being cut open to expose the inner bottom tanks with work starting on the A section this week. Once they are all done, the process of cleaning them out and coating them to protect the steel can begin.
This week was particularly notable as the first 5” gun from the ship’s secondary battery was removed on Friday. The gun was lifted out of the mount and pulled from the gun port over the course of many hours. Once all the guns are out, we can start the process of moving them to our offsite warehouse to work on them alongside the ship’s AA guns.
We are grateful your continued support in the restoration efforts of this dreadnought. Thank you and “Come on Texas”!