Bret's+Battleship+Project



USS Texas Battleship

Have you ever wanted to learn about a historical battleship? Well if you have, then you’re reading the right paper. Because I am going to tell you all you need to know about the famous USS Texas Battleship—which is very historical. The ship was designed in the 1910’s by a man named L. Meyer. It was built between 1911 and 1912. She was first launched in 1912 from Newport, Virginia. In 1914 she was commissioned and claimed to be the most powerful weapon in the world. She also became the first ship to mount aircraft gunners in 1916. Isn’t that just the coolest thing! She was also the first ship to have commercial radar. After being commissioned she rushed over to the Mexican waters to solve the Vera Cruz Incident. When the United States went to war in WW2, horns blaring, USS Texas spent 1917 training for merchant ships, often attacked by surfaced submarines. She joined the 6th battle squadron of the British Grand Fleet in 1918. She operated in the Scapa Flow on the Fifth of Forth. She protected forces laying a North Sea line barrage and responded to German High Fleets sorties. She escorted German Fleets to surrender Anchorage in late 1918. She, USS Texas, was a hero in this war and many others to come. That is why I picked this ship. Right now I’m as sweaty as a dog writing this paper, but I had a lot of fun writing it. I just love this ship and how awesome she was in battle. I hope you had as much fun as I did reading this paper. Thanks for reading!!!

Materials needed to build my battleship
 * Smoke gray paint
 * 4 x 8 x 3/8 plywood
 * Finishing nails
 * Silicone
 * 2 x 6 board
 * 6 8in. 3/8 stainless steel tubing
 * Closet rod
 * 3 ¼ in. x close nipples
 * 10 green army men
 * Wood filler

Tools needed to build my battleship
 * Jigsaw
 * Tape measure
 * Hammer
 * See clamps
 * Safety glasses
 * Chop saw
 * Speed square
 * Framing square

How I built my battleship

The first step in building my battleship was to place the plywood on the workbench, and clamp it down. I then figured out what size I wanted to make the ship. Then I took a sharpie, tape measure and a framing square to lay out the hull, deck, and cabins. Once I used the jigsaw to cut out these pieces, I cut out the bottom of the sides on a 30 degree angle to allow the sides to extend out. Using the hammer, I nailed together the hull and siliconed the seams of the hull. Once I had the hull built, I began building the cabins and cannons in separate pieces to install on the top deck. First, I cut the holes in the deck with the jigsaw to install the nipples for the cannon placements. I then built the cabins and nailed them onto the deck. I then installed the cannons to the cannon barrels and fastened them to the deck and cabins. After completing the upper levels of the ship, I nailed the top deck to the hull, seals in the cracks with the wood putty and painted the ship.