The centering pin is a small, but important detail found in all cruiser and battleship gun turrets. The pin is used to lock a turret in place when not in use so that slight movements caused by the ship moving in heavy seas don't stress the training gear that rotates the turret. I had no idea what it looked like or where they were on Battleship Texas. After weeks of frustration, dedicated searching documents and drawings, and help from Travis Davis, I finally determined where it was. It turns out that the pin location was clearly visible once I knew what to look for. I may have even stumped my toe on it sometime in the past! Like other design features on Texas' turrets, the beauty is in its simplicity. Other centering pin arrangements on other turrets are complex and have mechanical indicators to show how deep they are sitting. On Texas, it is nothing more than a large steel pin that you pick up and drop in the hole. If it drops all of the way in, you know it is set, if it sticks up some, you know it isn't.
