During the invasion of Normandy in 1944, the USS Texas was stationed off of Pointe du Hoc. She began her bombardment of the coast in support of the 29th Infantry Division, 2nd, and 5th Ranger Battalions. In 34 minutes, Texas had fired 255 14-inch shells into Pointe du Hoc. Afterwards, with the help of aerial observers, she shifted her main batteries to fire on German reinforcements, artillery batteries, and other strong points. As further allied forces pushed off the beach, Texas moved closer to shore to support them.
Originally stationed 12,000 yards offshore, she moved to just 3,000 yards from the beach. On June 7 and 8, she continued to bombard German positions. Eventually she was forced to return to England to rearm and was stationed off France again on June 11. By June 15 though, allied forces had pushed so far inland that their targets were now out of Texas’ range. In order to fulfill the requested fire missions, Texas’ crew had to get creative.
The ship’s massive 14-inch guns did not have the elevation required to lob their shots as far inland as the invasion forces needed. The crew reasoned that if the guns facing port couldn’t be raised any further, then the starboard side needed to be lowered. The starboard torpedo blister, a sponson on the hull below of the waterline, was then flooded with water. This lifted Texas two degrees to starboard and gave her main batteries just enough elevation to complete the fire mission.
Stay creative, gents.
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