Shell Magazines - 1st Platform

In 1914, magazine bulkheads were lined with cork and cooled with mechanical air conditioning. Each grouping of magazines (1-2, 3, and 4-5) had a "cooler box" fitted with pipe coils through which CO2 circulated from one of the two refrigeration units.  Forced air (from electric blowers) passing over the coils cooled the air entering the magazines. Do not know when the cork and mechanical cooling systems were removed.

Storage Capacity

1914: 1,130 (max), 1,000 (allowed). - "General Information USS TEXAS finished plans 37 & 38". 1945: 1,255 (max), 1,200 (allowed). "Max" counting of locations by Wesley Grace, 4 Nov 2001. "Allowed" letter BB35/S78-3, Serial 091, dated 13 July 1944; Subject: Ammunition Storage -- Capacities aboard U.S.S. TEXAS", provided by Ed Morrison obtained from the National Archives.

Upper Turret

Lower shell deck	Upper shell deck (Turret 1 and 2)
1914:130 (26 per turret) 1945:150 (30 per turret)	1914: none listed 1945: 122 - #2 - 81, #4 - 41

Not implemented was storing shells along the side of the gun barrel.  The means to store the shells is there but lifting the shells was not possible.  To lift a shell, a pad-eye had to be inserted into the base of the shell and the shell is sitting on the base Not implemented, horizontal shell storage in the magazines, per the 1914 "General Information USS TEXAS finished plans 37 & 38".

Shell Magazine

with Mark 19 High Capacity - photo courtesy of Tom Scott.  The shell racks were modified  23 January - 25 February 1944 Boston Navy Yard to accommodate the Mark 19 HC and Mark 20 AP shells. Shell foregound-right, in the base is a pad-eye with a lifting hook in it

A shell rigged up for movement out of the magazine into the handling room for loading into the shell hoist