[Danzig]

i love ships. if anyone is ever in/near houston or beaumont, go to the san jacinto monument. near the battlefield sits the u.s.s texas, a dreadnought class battleship from 1898. she is our only ship in existence to serve in both world wars. ships today are painted 'haze gray' but in her day, the new york class battleship was painted a dark bluish-grey. we built her and the new york as a bit of oneupsmanship. european countries, japan, and who knows who else went on a mad dash to have the best warships along with building their armies. japan built new ships with 13" guns, england answered with ships such as the hms dreadnought with 13.5" guns. the new york and texas both got 14" main guns, along with countless guns up and down both sides. the texas also had torpedo tubes! in all her engagements, she actually only lost one crewman when the helmsman was killed when a bomb made a direct hit to the wheelhouse.
she bombarded the beaches of normandy on d-day, and later steamed to the pacific, helping in the battles of iwo jima and okinawa. she served as the flagship for the fleet during ww2. a great tour.
those near mobile, go see the uss alabama and the other ships available for tours. also has a great display of airplanes, including my favorite-the sr-71 blackbird.
charleston sc also has a great set of ships to tour. but of all the ones i've seen, i think i enjoyed the texas most since she has been around so long.