3. TIL that on D Day the crew of the Battleship USS Texas intentionally flooded a t...

TIL that on D Day the crew of the Battleship USS Texas intentionally flooded a torpedo tube in order to cause a 2 degree list, giving their main guns just enough extra elevation to boost their range & hit the target on the mainland.

They just could not upgrade the guns because of some engineering issues with the original design:

In the 1930s, the Mark 1, 2, 3, and 5 were upgraded to allow for increased charges and muzzle velocities, resulting in the Mark 8, 9, 10, and 12, respectively. All guns employed a Welin breech block and used a Smith-Asbury mechanism, and in the case of the Mark 12 chromium plating was introduced to prolong barrel life. These improvements enabled the guns to fire heavier 1,500 lb (680 kg) shells, and increasing the gun mount elevation to 30 degrees[2] extended the range of the guns to 36,000 yd (33,000 m). The New York-class did not have their turrets modernized because their shell hoists could not accommodate the longer AP and HC shells, instead, a shorter version of shells with windshields were produced for them.

The Texas was NY class. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14%22/45_caliber_gun

It was just a ship with technical limitations so they had 1910s vintage guns with 1910s technical limitations.

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