Modifications were few, since both ships of this class were not at Pearl Harbor on 7th December, and were thus spared damage - and the following modifications.Minor changes were made to the secondary armament, and the AA weapons.  
Texas spent her time in the Atlantic, first as Neutrality Patrol vessel, then escort ship for convoys. During her time as Neutrality Patrol ship, she operated from Iceland, and was nearly torpedoed once. In later 1942, she supported the North Africa landings, then returned to escort convoys again in 1943 and early 1944. In June 1944, she provided fire support for the Neptune landing in Normandy, and duelled with the German batteries at Cherbourg. She moved to Southern France to support Dragoon, and then she departed for the Pacific, shelling Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She remains a museum at San Jacinto, Texas.

    New York's career was slightly less action-laden, but important. She was radar training vessel for a short while in 1942, before she supported the North Africa landings and fought down the French battleship Jean Bart. Escort service for Atlantic-Convoys followed in early 1943, and from July 1943 to June 1944 she became artillery training vessel. She then came to support the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations, and was a target vessel for the Bikini A-Bomb tests. Slightly damaged she was scuttled near Pearl Harbor in 1948.