January 1942:
Two Oakwood class destroyers, the DD-48 Oakwood and DD-49 Odessa emerge from the Galveston Navy Yard with the first of many wartime refits. For Oakwood and Odessa, though, this refit was actually planned but incorporated many early war changes:
Unique to Oakwood and Odessa was the installation of the US SG-type surface search radar at the top of the foremast. The deckhouse expanded between the forefunnel and the superstructure to accomodate the associated equipment and displays. Known as the "dog house", the compartment was cramped, hot, and only had enough room for the operator and an assistant. Those two ships were the only pair fitted with the installation in early 1942. The remainder of the class only received that radar installation much later in the year.
The remainder of the changes to the Oakwoods included the installation of a fire control radar (which required raising the director high enough to clear the railing), replacing the 3"/50 AA gun with the 25mm/70 AA cannons, and a new paint scheme. Upgrades to boilers, turbines, and reduction gear were deferred due to the start of the war. Every destroyer available was needed and the powerplant upgrades were considered too time consuming in 1942.
In February, the Texas Air Force activates its first Patrol Squadron, equipped with the Consolidated Catalina:
23 Patrol Squadron actually started receiving aircraft in September 1941 with one plane per month, and the last was delivered just after New Year's day. To date, the Catalina was the largest aircraft in the inventory, and received the designation P-1A. 23 Patrol Squadron would soon start flying regular patrols from allied bases in the Caribbean Sea.
The paint scheme is a medium blue on the top and gray on the sides and bottom. An early form of unit identification, unique to the new Atlantic Command, lists the actual squadron number and a letter for the aircraft number. Letters are not necessarily sequential and are decided by the squadron, often changed regularly to prevent strength assessments by unfriendly observers. National markings have been toned down (a bit), confined to the rudder as opposed to the entire vertical stabilizer.