At the opening of Operation Torch, Texas transmitted Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Voice of Freedom broadcast. War correspondent Walter Cronkite was also aboard during the North African operation. On the return voyage, Texas launched him in an OS2U Kingfisher once Norfolk came within flying range. That improvised air transfer helped Cronkite beat a rival correspondent aboard Massachusetts to publishing an uncensored account, showing how naval aviation, communications, and journalism intersected during the campaign.
Notable Point · 47:01-50:12
Eisenhower's broadcast and Walter Cronkite's news race
Texas served as a communications platform for Eisenhower and later flew Walter Cronkite ashore to win a race for the first uncensored Operation Torch report.