Reconstruction of the Historic Battleship TEXAS
Commissioned in 1914 as the most powerful weapon in the world, the Battleship TEXAS (BB-35) is the last surviving Dreadnought and the only battleship left in existence today, which fought in both World War I and World War II. Time and nature have taken a major structural toll on the ship; she is in immediate need of critical repairs, as well as a long-term solution for her continued preservation. Although a major shell restoration project was completed in 1990, the internal structure of the inner bottom has continued to deteriorate. In 2012, Texas Parks and Wildlife issued a Request for Proposals to solicit bids to perform an in-situ repair of the deteriorated frames, longitudinals, and inner-bottom plating. This phase of structural repairs is largely complete and has employed some novel techniques to restore the strength of the structural members while retaining as much of the historic fabric as possible. Additionally, the restoration presented an unusual scenario of needing to support the original triple expansion steam engines from overhead deck structure while renewing the foundation supports. This paper will describe the engine support system and the structural analysis used to design the system as well as details of the repair procedures to replacing or doubling the existing keel, longitudinals, and framing throughout the aft end of the ship