Neutrality Patrol
Soon after war broke out in Europe in September 1939, "Texas" began operating on the Neutrality Patrol, an American attempt to keep the war out of the Western Hemisphere. Later, as the United States moved toward more active support of the Allied cause, the warship began convoying ships carrying Lend-Lease materiel to the United Kingdom. In February 1941, the US 1st Marine Division was activated aboard "Texas". On 1 February, Admiral Ernest J. King hoisted his flag as Commander-in-Chief of the re-formed Atlantic Fleet aboard "Texas". That same year, while on Neutrality Patrol in the Atlantic, "Texas" was stalked unsuccessfully by the German submarine .