CSS Texas CSS Texas was the last ironclad built at Richmond, though she was never completed due to lack of iron for her casemate and suitable cannon. Her design with its shortened casemate and only four cannon, characterizes the increasing desperation of the Confederate Navy as the war wore on. With no iron mines they were forced to tear up railroads to furnish iron for the ship’s armor and rifled cannon had to be manufactured from existing smoothbore examples. As stated elsewhere she was never completed and fell into Union hands with the capture of Richmond. Her final contribution was as the star attraction in Clive Cussler’s novel and the subsequent film, “Sahara”. Specifications: (Some speculative) Length-217’, Beam-48’ 6”, Draft-16’, Tonnage(est.) 900t, Speed (est.) 9+kts, Crew- (est.) 75, Armor-6” Casemate only, Armament- (proposed) Six 7” Brooke Rifles. Launched- Richmond, VA. 1864. 

The Model: 1/72 Scale, 38” Long. The scratch built model by William Hathaway was built to represent how the vessel would have appeared in action. Her unarmored wooden decks would be scorched the first time her cannon were fired fore or aft and would have been vulnerable . But with two high velocity guns firing forward, the thickly armored casemate, and her superior speed she would have made a formidable opponent to an opposing Union fleet.