Military Powerful

When USS Texas (BB-35) was completed in 1914, welding was not yet the standard method of shipbuilding. Instead, the battleship's hull was assembled with hundreds of thousands of red-hot steel rivets that tightly fastened overlapping steel plates. This century-old construction method made the ship's modern restoration at Gulf Copper Ship Repair in Galveston an extraordinary engineering challenge, as today's shipbuilders normally work with welded steel structures.

Restoring USS *Texas* required far more than replacing damaged steel. The ship's original steel has different properties from modern steel, making direct welding unsafe in many areas. Engineers developed specialized techniques to connect new steel to the historic riveted framework while preserving the ship's structural strength and historical authenticity. Their work ensures that one of the world's oldest surviving dreadnought battleships will be preserved for future generations.

On October 15, 1993, the Ingalls Shipbuilding Yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, captured a view of three United States Navy warships under construction. From front to back, the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG-73) is visible, followed by the guided-missile destroyers USS Stout (DDG-55), and USS Mitscher (DDG-57).

This historic photo reflects the immense capabilities of the United States' military shipbuilding industry in the post-Cold War era. All three ships later joined the active U.S. Navy fleet and participated in numerous operations and missions around the world, becoming a vital component of American maritime power for decades.⚓

In November 1944, USS Wisconsin (BB-64) was berthed at Pearl Harbor alongside the salvaged hull of USS Oklahoma (BB-37). Oklahoma had been one of the battleships sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After years of extensive salvage work, her damaged hull remained in the harbor, serving as a powerful reminder of the destruction that had launched the United States into World War II.

The contrast between the two battleships was striking. While the battered USS Oklahoma represented the scars of the war's darkest early days, the newly commissioned Iowa-class battleship USS Wisconsin symbolized America's growing industrial and naval strength. Shortly after this historic moment, Wisconsin departed Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Third Fleet, where she would participate in major Pacific campaigns against Japan during the final months of the war.

An AC-130J Ghostrider crew from the 919th Special Operations Wing complete a sink exercise mission during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2026, July 11, 2026.

The Ghostrider fired on a decommissioned U.S. Navy ship designated to be sunk during joint live-fire exercises in support of RIMPAC 2026. Exercises like these are critical to deterring conflict, validating capabilities and refining the targeting and skills needed to remain ready for any mission.

A repeat Valiant Class - the Vickers built Churchill and Courageous, together with Cammel Laird's Conqueror, the only British nuclear Fleet submarine to be built outside Barrow.

The Churchill class, were nuclear powered fleet submarines which served with the Royal Navy from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The Churchill class was based on the older Valiant Class, but featured many internal improvements.

The lead ship was named after the former Prime Minister and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. HMS Conqueror was the most famous of the class, sinking the Argentinian cruiser ARA General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands War.

The Churchills carried a crew of 103 and had a full load displacement of 4,900 tons whilst dived. They were 86.9 metres long, had a beam of 10.1 metres and a draught of 8.2 metres. Their single pressurised water-cooled reactor supplied steam to two English Electric geared turbines, producing a total of 20,000 shp for the single shaft and resulting in a maximum of 28 knots submerged. One Kelvin Type 1006 surface-search radar was fitted. The ships were built with a Type 2001 sonar array, but this was replaced in the late 1970s with a Type 2020 array and a Type 2026 towed array. Weapons included Mark 8 torpedoes, Mark 24 Tigerfish torpedoes, and Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Six 21-inch torpedo tubes fired from the bow.

Spanish Navy Ship ESPS Alvaro De Bazan (F101) launches a Harpoon missile at the hulk of decommissioned Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) during a combined sinking exercise in the Pacific Ocean as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026, July 17, 2026. Over 35 years of naval service, Peleliu, with a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons, launched a variety of aircraft from its formidable flight deck while conducting combat operations and humanitarian missions across half the globe.

LHAs are the largest of all amphibious warfare ships, resembling a small aircraft carrier. Thirty nations, 30 ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 190 aircraft and more than 30,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 24 to July 31.

The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2026 is the 30th exercise in the series that began in 1971

The photographs show the wreck of the Japanese submarine I-52, resting approximately 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. The first image captures the submarine's deck, where an anti-aircraft gun is still mounted despite decades underwater. The vessel is covered with marine deposits and corrosion, highlighting the effects of the deep-sea environment. The second image shows the stern (rear section) of the submarine, partially buried in the seabed. Although heavily deteriorated, the submarine's overall structure remains recognizable. These images, taken by National Geographic in 1999, provide a rare glimpse of a historic World War II shipwreck preserved in the darkness of the deep ocean.

The photographs show the conning tower of a sunken submarine resting approximately 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) beneath the ocean's surface. Captured during a National Geographic deep-sea expedition in 1999 using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), these rare images provide an extraordinary glimpse into one of the most inaccessible environments on Earth.

At this depth, the submarine has endured decades of relentless exposure to extreme conditions. The enormous hydrostatic pressure more than 500 times greater than atmospheric pressure at sea level combined with corrosion, marine deposits, and the passage of time has severely damaged the vessel's structure. Large sections of the conning tower appear crushed and torn apart, while thick layers of rust and deep-sea organisms now cover much of the exterior, transforming the once-powerful war machine into a silent underwater relic.

The surrounding environment is completely dark, with no natural sunlight reaching the seabed. Every detail visible in these photographs is illuminated solely by the powerful lights mounted on the ROV. Operating at such an extreme depth requires highly specialized technology capable of withstanding immense pressure while transmitting live video and scientific data back to the research vessel on the surface.

These images are far more than historical photographs. They represent an important milestone in deep-sea exploration and underwater archaeology, helping researchers better understand the fate of long-lost submarines while preserving valuable historical evidence. For historians, engineers, and naval enthusiasts, the wreck offers unique insights into submarine design, the destructive forces involved in deep-sea sinkings, and the long-term effects of the ocean environment on steel structures.

Today, the wreck remains undisturbed on the ocean floor, serving as both a historical artifact and a solemn underwater memorial to the submarine and the crew who never returned. The haunting images stand as a powerful reminder of the dangers of naval operations and the enduring mysteries hidden in the deepest parts of the world's oceans.

This image shows the stern section of the Imperial Japanese submarine I-52, resting approximately 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) below the Atlantic Ocean. Discovered by a National Geographic expedition in 1999, the wreck remains remarkably intact despite spending decades on the seabed. The submarine was sunk on June 24, 1944, while carrying strategic cargo, including two tonnes of gold intended for N**i Germany.

This image captures the conning tower (sail) of the I-52, covered with marine growth after more than half a century underwater. The visible damage reflects the devastating attack that sank the submarine during its secret mission across the Atlantic. Today, the wreck serves as a rare and well-preserved reminder of one of World War II's most mysterious submarine losses.