The USS ALABAMA is an American battleship that served in WW2. It was the last of the South Dakota class fast battleships made and served from 1942 to the end of the war. After the war it was retired to Washington State until it was supposed to be scrapped. Instead some people raised enough money to buy it and bring it all the way to Mobile, Alabama, where they built a museum around it. The Navy later also donated a submarine in addition to the ALABAMA and the many other vehicles that they had collected by then. We were in the area, and Mom and Dad saw it and asked Aleah and me if we wanted to go. Aleah and I agreed and so we drove down and saw it.
The ALABAMA weighs around 38,580 tons standard and more than 45,000 tons with a full load. It’s about 680 ft long, which translates to a little more than 200 meters. When it served it had around 2,500 officers and enlisted men, but during peace times the number would be reduced to a little less than 1,800 total crew. The ALABAMA had, and still does have an absolutely ridiculous amount of guns. The main guns were three turrets with three 16 inch barrels each. In addition there were 20 five inch gun for both air and ground targets, and then six quadruple 40 mm anti air guns and 35 single 20 mm anti air guns. The battleship also carried three kingfisher floatplanes.
The USS ALABAMA’s first mission was to assist British battleships in the Atlantic in defending convoys and hunting down German ships, which was its primary goal. Unfortunately it left the Atlantic without finding any of its main targets. It was moved to the Pacific via the Panama Cannel, which one former sailor remembered taking most of the day. The ship participated in many operations, such as the invasion of the Marshal Islands and the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which a different crewman referred to as a “turkey shoot” because of how one sided the battle was. It’s primarily mission in the Pacific however, was as an escort for carriers to prevent other ships and aircraft from attacking the carrier. After the surrender of Japan she joined the pacific reserve fleet until her name was removed from the navel vehicle register. She was saved from the scrapper and moved to Alabama where millions have visited her.
The USS DRUM was the other primary attraction at the USS ALBAMA Memorial Park. It is a ww2 submarine that was donated by the navy in 1969 and was opened to the public on the Fourth of July of the same year. It is the oldest American submarine on public display, unfortunately the oldest submarine, which was also American, was captured by the British and destroyed in 1776. We were able to go inside the submarine, and it was extremely cramped. If it is anything like the SKIPJACK I don’t know how Cici managed to work in one as long as he did. Nonetheless, it was very interesting to see all the parts of it. There were six torpedo tubes on each side of the sub, and there were three torpedoes on display in the racks to hold them. My favorite part was going up into the conning tower and being able to look out the periscope at the battleship. We had so much fun here, and if you are ever nearby I definitely recommend going to USS ALABAMA Memorial Park. You will not be disappointed.
