_in_Casco_Bay_c1942.jpg) USSAlabama inCasco Bay in 1942 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Alabama |
| Namesake | Alabama |
| Ordered | 1 April 1939 |
| Builder | Norfolk Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 1 February 1940 |
| Launched | 16 February 1942 |
| Commissioned | 16 August 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 9 January 1947 |
| Stricken | 1 June 1962 |
| Identification | Hull number: BB-60 |
| Status | Museum ship since 11 June 1964 at theBattleship Memorial Park |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | South Dakota-classbattleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 680 ft (210 m)o/a |
| Beam | 108 ft 2 in (32.97 m) |
| Draft | 35 ft 1 in (10.69 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 27.5knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) |
| Range | 15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Crew |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
| Aircraft carried | 3 ×"Kingfisher"floatplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 2 ×catapults |
USSAlabama (BB-60) is a retired battleship. She was the fourth and final member of theSouth Dakota class offast battleships built for theUnited States Navy in the 1940s. The first American battleships designed after theWashington Treaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of an escalator clause that allowed increasing themain battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns, butCongressional refusal to authorize larger battleships kept theirdisplacement close to the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t). A requirement to be armored against the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with the displacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships. Overcrowding was exacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews.
After entering service,Alabama was briefly deployed to strengthen the BritishHome Fleet, tasked with protectingconvoys to the Soviet Union. In 1943, she was transferred to the Pacific for operations against Japan; the first of these was theGilbert and Marshall Islands campaign that began in November that year. While operating in the Pacific, she served primarily as an escort for thefast carrier task force to protect theaircraft carriers from surface and air attacks. She also frequently bombarded Japanese positions in support of amphibious assaults. She took part in theMariana and Palau Islands campaign in June–September and thePhilippines campaign in October–December. After a refit in early 1945, she returned to the fleet for operations during theBattle of Okinawa and the series of attacks on the Japanese mainland in July and August, including several bombardments of coastal industrial targets.
Alabama assisted inOperation Magic Carpet after the war, carrying some 700 men home from the former war zone. She was decommissioned in 1947 and assigned to thePacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 1962 when she was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register. A campaign to save the ship from thebreakers' yard succeeded in raising the necessary funds, andAlabama was preserved as amuseum ship inMobile Bay, Alabama.
TheSouth Dakota class was ordered in the context of global naval rearmament during the breakdown of theWashington treaty system that had controlled battleships construction during the 1920s and early 1930s. Under the Washington andLondon treaties, so-calledtreaty battleships were limited to astandard displacement of 35,000long tons (36,000 t) and amain battery of 14-inch (356 mm) guns. In 1936, following Japan's decision to abandon the treaty system, theUnited States Navy decided to invoke the "escalator clause" in theSecond London treaty that allowed displacements to rise to 45,000 long tons (46,000 t) and armament to increase to 16 in (406 mm) guns.Congressional objections to increasing the size of the new ships forced the design staff to keep displacement as close to 35,000 LT as possible while incorporating the larger guns and armor sufficient to defeat guns of the same caliber.[1]
Alabama is 680 feet (210 m)long overall and has abeam of 108 ft 2 in (32.97 m) and adraft of 35 ft 1 in (10.69 m). She displaced 37,970 long tons (38,580 t) as designed and up to 44,519 long tons (45,233 t) atfull combat load. The ship was powered by fourGeneral Electricsteam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by eight oil-firedBabcock & Wilcox boilers. Rated at 130,000shaft horsepower (97,000 kW), the turbines were intended to give a top speed of 27.5knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 15,000nautical miles (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). She carried threeVought OS2U Kingfisherfloatplanes for aerial reconnaissance, which were launched by a pair ofaircraft catapults on herfantail. Her peace time crew numbered 1,793 officers and enlisted men, but during the war the crew swelled to 2,500.[2]
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The ship was armed with a main battery of nine16"/45 caliber Mark 6 guns[a] in three triple-gun turrets on the centerline, two of which were placed in asuperfiring pair forward, with the third aft. Thesecondary battery consisted of twenty5-inch /38 caliberdual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets clusteredamidships, five turrets on either side. As designed, the ship was equipped with an anti-aircraft battery of twelve 1.1 in (28 mm) guns and twelve .50-caliber (12.7 mm)M2 Browning machine guns,[b] but she was completed with a battery of six quadruple40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns in place of the 1.1 in guns and thirty-five20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon autocannon in single mounts instead of the .50-cal. guns.[2][3]
The mainarmored belt is 12.2 in (310 mm) thick, while the main armored deck is up to 6 in (152 mm) thick. The main battery gun turrets have 18 in (457 mm) thick faces, and they are mounted atopbarbettes that are 17.3 in (440 mm) thick. Theconning tower has 16 in (406 mm) thick sides.[2]
Alabama received a series of modifications through her wartime career, consisting primarily of additions to anti-aircraft battery and various types of radar sets. The first addition was the installation of SC airsearch radar in 1941, fitted in the foremast, which was later replaced with an SK type set. At the same time, an SG surface search radar was installed on the forwardsuperstructure; a second SG set was added to the main mast after experiences during theGuadalcanal campaign in 1942. In 1943, she received a Mark 3fire-control radar, mounted on her conning tower to assist in the direction of her main battery guns. The Mark 3 was quickly replaced with more modern Mark 8 fire-control radar, and Mark 4 radars for the secondary battery guns. She later received Mark 12/22 sets in place of the Mark 4s.Alabama also received a TDYjammer. In 1945, her traditional spotting scopes were replaced with Mark 27 microwave radar sets.[4]
The ship's light anti-aircraft battery was gradually expanded. Four more 40 mm quadruple mounts were allocated to the ship in late 1942, but by the time she underwent her refit in November 1943, the allotted armament had been increased to twelve quadruple mounts. Two more were to be added to theforecastle in 1945, but experience with other ships demonstrated these to be excessively wet in most sea conditions and thus unusable, so they were never installed aboardAlabama. In May 1943, she had another eight 20 mm guns installed, bringing the total to fifty-three of the guns. By 1945, the ship's 20 mm battery had grown to fifty-six guns, all in single mounts. She was slated to have these exchanged for forty twin mounts, but the work was not done before the war ended and she was removed from service.[5]
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Thekeel forAlabama waslaid down on 1 February 1940 at theNorfolk Navy Yard. She waslaunched on 16 February 1942;Crane Ship No. 1 (ex-Kearsarge) assisted with the installation of the ship's heavy armor and armament.[6] She wascommissioned just six months later on 16 August.Fitting-out work then commenced, and on 11 November she began hershakedown cruise in theChesapeake Bay. She then began initial training to prepare the ship's crew for wartime service, first out ofCasco Bay, Maine. On 11 January 1943,Alabama returned to Chesapeake Bay for further training before moving to Norfolk. She was then assigned to Task Group (TG) 22.2 and sent back to Casco Bay on 13 February for tactical training.[7]
Alabama's first deployment came in April with the temporary assignment to the BritishHome Fleet to reinforce the Allied naval forces available to escort theArctic convoys to the Soviet Union. At the time, the British had sent severalcapital ships to theMediterranean Sea to support theAllied invasion of Sicily, stripping away forces necessary to counter German naval strength in Norway, most significantly the battleshipTirpitz. Accordingly,Alabama and hersister shipSouth Dakota got underway on 2 April as part of Task Force (TF) 22. Screened by fivedestroyers, the two battleships steamed to theOrkney Islands by way of Little Placentia Sound andNaval Station Argentia,Newfoundland, arriving in the main British naval base atScapa Flow on 19 May. There, they were organized as TF 61, Home Fleet, and the ships began thorough training to familiarize the American ships with their British counterparts for joint operations. TF 61 was commanded by Rear AdmiralOlaf M. Hustvedt; over the course of the next three months, they frequently operated with the battleshipsHMS Anson andDuke of York.[7][8]
Alabama,South Dakota, and several British units covered an operation to reinforce the island ofSpitzbergen in the Arctic Ocean in early June. The following month,Alabama took part in Operation Governor, ademonstration to distract German attention during the Sicily invasion. The Allies also hoped to lure outTirpitz to sink her, but the Germans took no notice of the ships and remained in port. On 1 August,Alabama andSouth Dakota were detached to return to the United States; they departed immediately and arrived in Norfolk on 9 August, whereAlabama underwent an overhaul in preparation for operations against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.Alabama emerged from the shipyard on 20 August and began the voyage to the Pacific by way of thePanama Canal, which she transited on 25 August. She reachedEfate in theNew Hebrides on 14 September.[7][9]
_during_Gilbert-Operation.jpg)
On arriving in the south Pacific,Alabama embarked on an extensive training program that lasted for a month and a half to prepare the battleship to operate with thefast carrier task force. She then steamed toFiji on 7 November before departing four days later to support theGilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, which began with theinvasion of Tarawa on 20 November.Alabama escorted theaircraft carriers while they struck Japanese airfields on nearby islands in theMarshalls to neutralize their ability to interfere with the landing. She then supported the landing onBetio in theTarawa Atoll on 20 November, followed by thelanding at Makin.Alabama twice engaged Japanese aircraft that approached the fleet on the night of 26 November.[7]
Alabama and five otherfast battleships bombardedNauru on 8 December, which the Japanese used as a source ofphosphate. The destroyerBoyd, which had been hit by Japanese artillery fire, came alongsideAlabama and transferred three wounded men to the battleship. The ships then escorted the carriersBunker Hill andMonterey back to Efate, which they reached on 12 December.Alabama got underway on 5 January 1944 forPearl Harbor, arriving on 12 January for maintenance that included replacing one of her propellers. She arrived inFunafuti in theEllice Islands on 21 January, where she joined the fleet for the next operation in the campaign. She was assigned to Task Group (TG) 58.2, whichsortied on 25 January to begin Operation Flintlock, theinvasion of Kwajalein.Alabama,South Dakota, and the battleshipNorth Carolina shelled the island ofRoi-Namur over the course of 29 and 30 January, targeting defensive positions, airfields, and other facilities. For the remainder of the campaign, she patrolled to the north of Kwajalein to guard against a possible Japanese counterattack that did not materialize.[7][10]
Over the next two months, the fast carrier task force embarked on a series of raids on Japanese-held islands in the central Pacific to prepare for the next major offensive. The ships of TG 58.2 sortied on 12 February to participate inOperation Hailstone, a major raid on the island ofTruk, which had been the primary staging area for the Japanese fleet in the central Pacific.Alabama escorted the carriers that struck the island over the course of 16–17 February, inflicting heavy damage to the Japanese forces and infrastructure there. The fleet then continued on to raid Japanese bases onSaipan,Tinian, andGuam. During a Japanese air attack on the fleet on 21 February,Alabama's No. 9 5-inch turret accidentally fired into the No. 5 mount, killing five and wounding eleven men. That day,Alabama took part in a sweep to the southeast of Saipan to search for Japanese vessels that might be in the area. Having found none, the fleet steamed toMajuro to replenish fuel and ammunition. While there, she served as theflagship ofVice AdmiralMarc Mitscher, the commander of the fast carrier task force, from 3 to 8 March.[7][11]
_with_USS_Alabama_(BB-60)_in_April_1944.jpg)
Alabama and the rest of the fleet departed Majuro on 22 March to attack the next set of targets:Palau,Yap,Ulithi, andWoleai in theCaroline Islands. By this time,Alabama had been transferred to TG 58.3 as part of the screen for the carrierYorktown. While en route to the Carolines, the ships came under attack from a group of Japanese aircraft on the night of 29 March andAlabama shot one of them down and assisted with another. The next day, the carriers began their raids andAlabama stood by, engaging Japanese aircraft as they attacked the fleet. She helped to drive off a lone Japanese aircraft late that day before it could close to attack. The fleet then returned to Majuro for replenishment before departing on 13 April;Alabama now escorted the veteran carrierEnterprise for a series of strikes along the coast of westernNew Guinea in support of Army operations in theNew Guinea campaign. The final action in the series of raids saw the fleet return to the Carolines to strikePohnpei, whichAlabama and five other battleships bombarded on 1 May. The group then returned once again to Eniwetok on 4 May to begin preparations for the invasion of the Marianas.[7][12]
Alabama sortied with the rest of TF 58 in early June, now as part of TG 58.7; the fleet had arrived off the initial target, Saipan, by 12 June. The next day,Alabama took part in a preparatory bombardment of the island intended to weaken Japanese defenses so thatminesweepers could begin to clear approaches to the landing beach.Alabama's gunners were not as experienced with shore bombardment as other dedicated bombardment ships, and her shooting was not particularly effective. She thereafter screened the carriers as they struck Japanese positions around the island, and ground troopslanded on the island on 15 June. The landing was a breach of Japan's inner defensive perimeter that triggered the Japanese fleet to launch a major counter-thrust with the1st Mobile Fleet, the main carrier strike force.[7]
The Japanese fleet arrived on 19 June, leading to theBattle of the Philippine Sea.Alabama was the first vessel to pick up the incoming Japanese aircraft on her radar, 141 nautical miles (261 km; 162 mi) away, at 10:06. The battleshipIowa quickly corroborated the report, and 40 minutes later the Japanese aircraft arrived over the fleet. A total of seven waves hit the American fleet, though only three of them hit TG 58.7. Of those,Alabama was able to engage Japanese aircraft in two of the attacks. During one of the attacks, a pair of aircraft penetrated theCombat Air Patrols and attackedSouth Dakota, andAlabama was among the vessels that fired on them. About an hour after that attack, twotorpedo bombers attempted to attackSouth Dakota again, butAlabama helped to drive them off with abarrage of anti-aircraft fire. During this latter attack, a singledive bomber was able to use the gunners' distraction with the torpedo bombers to approachAlabama, but the pilot nevertheless missed with his bombs and caused no damage. Vice AdmiralWillis A. Lee, the TG 58.7 commander, commendedAlabama's radar operators for their prompt detection of the Japanese aircraft, which allowed the American carriers to launch theirfighters with enough time to intercept the attackers away from the fleet.[7]
Alabama remained on station, escorting the carriers while they raided Saipan, Guam, Tinian, andRota throughout the campaign. She was then detached from the fleet toEniwetok in the Marshalls for periodic maintenance. The ship then became the flagship ofRear AdmiralEdward Hanson, the commander of Battleship Division (BatDiv) 9, and left the island on 14 July in company withBunker Hill. The next stage in the campaign, theinvasion of Guam, began on 21 July andAlabama performed her role of carrier escort during operations there for the next three weeks. On 11 August, she left to return to Eniwetok before embarking on the next assault on 30 August, code-named Operation Stalemate II; this consisted of a series of landings onPelelieu, Ulithi, and Yap. By this time, the fast carrier task force had been transferred fromFifth Fleet toThird Fleet and accordingly renumbered as TF 38, soAlabama was now part of TG 38.3. She escorted the carriers while they launched a series of strikes on the islands from 6 to 8 September to prepare for the amphibious assaults.[7][13]
After the strikes in the Carolines, the fast carrier task force left the area to begin initial raids in thePhilippines, with the first strikes occurring from 12 to 14 September. Aircraft from the carriers hit Japanese bases on the islands ofCebu,Leyte,Bohol, andNegros. Another series of strikes, concentrated around the capital ofManila, followed on 21 and 22 September, and in the central Philippines on the 24th.Alabama returned to Saipan on 28 September before proceeding to Ulithi, which was by now a major staging area for the US fleet, on 1 October. Five days later, the fast carrier task force sortied to begin a major raid on the island ofFormosa (Taiwan) and other islands to neutralize the airfields there in advance of the invasion of the Philippines.Alabama continued to escort the carriers as part of TG 38.3, providing heavy anti-aircraft support. On 14 October, the fleet turned south to begin raids onLuzon in the Philippines andAlabama engaged aircraft that attempted to attack the fleet. The ship's gunners claimed to have destroyed three Japanese aircraft and damaged another.[7][14]
Alabama supported thelanding at Leyte on 15 October before returning to the carrier screen to escort them for another series of air strikes on islands throughout the Philippines on 21 October, by now having been transferred to TG 38.4.[7][15] The landings on Leyte led to the activation ofOperation Shō-Gō 1, the Japanese navy's planned riposte to an Allied landing in the Philippines.[16] The plan was a complicated operation with three separate fleets: the 1st Mobile Fleet, now labeled the Northern Force under Vice AdmiralJisaburō Ozawa, the Center Force under Vice AdmiralTakeo Kurita, and the Southern Force under Vice AdmiralShōji Nishimura. Ozawa's carriers, by now depleted of most of their aircraft, were to serve as a decoy for Kurita's and Nishimura's battleships, which were to use the distraction to attack the invasion fleet directly.[17]
Kurita's ships were detected in theSan Bernardino Strait on 24 October, and in the ensuingBattle of the Sibuyan Sea, American carrier aircraft sank the powerful battleshipMusashi, causing Kurita to temporarily reverse course. This convinced AdmiralWilliam F. Halsey, the commander of Third Fleet, to send the fast carrier task force to destroy the 1st Mobile Fleet, which had by then been detected.Alabama steamed north with the carriers, and on the way Halsey established TF 34, consisting ofAlabama and five other fast battleships, seven cruisers, and eighteen destroyers, commanded by Vice AdmiralWillis Lee.[18] TF 34 was arrayed ahead of the carriers, serving as their screen. On the morning of 25 October, Mitscher began his first attack on the Northern Force, initiating theBattle off Cape Engaño; over the course of six strikes on the Japanese fleet, the Americans sank all four carriers and damaged two old battleships that had been converted into hybrid carriers. Unknown to Halsey and Mitscher, Kurita had resumed his approach through the San Bernardino Strait late on 24 October and passed intoLeyte Gulf the next morning. While Mitscher was occupied with the decoy Northern Force, Kurita moved in to attack the invasion fleet; in theBattle off Samar, he was held off by a group ofescort carriers, destroyers, anddestroyer escorts, TU 77.4.3, known as Taffy 3. Frantic calls for help later that morning led Halsey to detach Lee's battleships to head south and intervene.[19]
However, Halsey waited more than an hour after receiving orders from AdmiralChester W. Nimitz, theCommander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, to detach TF 34; still steaming north during this interval, the delay added two hours to the battleships' voyage south. A need to refuel destroyers further slowed TF 34's progress south.[20] Heavy resistance from Taffy 3 threw Kurita's battleships and cruisers into disarray and led him to break off the attack beforeAlabama and the rest of TF 34 could arrive.[19] Halsey detachedIowa andNew Jersey as TG 34.5 to pursue Kurita through the San Bernardino Strait while Lee took the rest of his ships further southwest to try to cut off his escape, but both groups arrived too late. The historian H. P. Wilmott speculated that had Halsey detached TF 34 promptly and not delayed the battleships by refueling the destroyers, the ships could have easily arrived in the strait ahead of Center Force and, owing to the marked superiority of their radar-directed main guns, destroyed Kurita's ships.[21]
Having failed to intercept the retiring Japanese fleet,Alabama and the rest of TF 34 returned to their positions screening the carriers. On 30 October, the fleet withdrew to Ulithi to replenish ammunition and fuel. On 3 November, the fleet departed for another series of raids on Japanese airfields and other facilities on Luzon as the amphibious force prepared for its next landing on the island ofMindoro in the western Philippines. Over the next few weeks,Alabama cruised with the carriers, protecting them from Japanese aircraft, while the carriers struck targets on Luzon and theVisayas in the central Philippines. The fleet returned to Ulithi once again on 24 November and through early DecemberAlabama was occupied with routine maintenance and training exercises with other vessels in the fleet. During this period, the fleet was reorganized andAlabama was assigned to TG 38.1. The fleet sortied again on 10 December for more strikes on Luzon that lasted from 14 to 16 December; the carriers massed so many aircraft that they could keep Japanese airfields constantly suppressed to prevent them from interfering with the passage of the Mindoro invasion fleet.[7][22]
On 17 December, the fleet withdrew to refuel at sea, but late in the day,Typhoon Cobra swept through the area, battering the fleet. The storm conditions—Alabama recorded wind gusts as high as 83 knots (154 km/h; 96 mph) and heavy seas that caused her to roll up to thirty degrees—sank three destroyers and inflicted serious damage to several other vessels, thoughAlabama emerged with only minor damage to her superstructure, and both of her Kingfishers were wrecked. The fleet returned to Ulithi on 24 December andAlabama was detached for an overhaul at thePuget Sound Naval Shipyard. She entered the dry-dock there on 18 January 1945 for work that lasted until 25 February, at which point she was floated out of the dry-dock for further repairs, which were completed on 17 March. The ship then began a series of sea trials and training exercises along the coast of California before departing on 4 April for Pearl Harbor. She arrived there on 10 April, spent a week on additional training exercises, and then proceeded on to Ulithi, arriving there on 28 April.[7]
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At Ulithi,Alabama re-joined the fast carrier task force, which had by this point reverted to Fifth Fleet. The fast carrier task force got underway on 9 May to support the forces fighting in theBattle of Okinawa, who had gone ashore on 1 April. The Japanese had massed significant reserves of aircraft forkamikaze strikes against the invasion fleet. During one such attack on 14 May, while approximately 120 miles southeast of the Japanese home island ofKyushu,Alabama shot down two Japanese aircraft and helped to destroy two others, but one kamikaze nevertheless penetrated the fleet's anti-aircraft defenses and struckEnterprise.[23] The operations off Okinawa continued for the next two weeks and on 4–5 June, the fleet was hit by another typhoon andAlabama—part of TG 38.1 at this time—again suffered only superficial damage, though many other vessels in the group were badly damaged. The fleet resumed its normal operations in support of the Okinawa fight on 7 June, including air strikes on Japanese airfields onKyushu the next day thatAlabama supported. With an escort of five destroyers on 9 June,Alabama,Indiana, andMassachusetts steamed to shell Japanese facilities on the island ofMinami Daito Jima; they repeated the attack the next day. The fleet thereafter returned to Leyte Gulf to begin preparations for a series of attacks on the JapaneseHome Islands.[7][24]
Third Fleet resumed control of the carrier fleet for these operations, which began on 1 July when the fleet sortied from Leyte Gulf. The carriers conducted wide-ranging attacks on various military and industrial targets throughout Japan, particularly concentrating on the area around Tokyo. On the night of 17–18 July,Alabama, four other American battleships, the British battleshipHMS King George V, and a pair of cruisers bombarded six industrial facilities northeast of Tokyo. On 9 August,Alabama shelled targets atKamaishi in company with two battleships and six American and British cruisers. The same day,Alabama transferred a medical party to the destroyerAult, which took them to the destroyerBorie, which had been hit by a kamikaze and needed medical assistance. When she received word of the Japanese surrender on 15 August,Alabama was still at sea off the coast of Japan. She contributed sailors and marines to the initial occupation force, and she cruised with the carriers while they used their aircraft to search forprisoner of war camps.[7][25]
On 5 September,Alabama steamed intoTokyo Bay, where she re-embarked crew-members who had gone ashore. She remained there until 20 September, when she got underway for Okinawa, where she took on 700 men, most of whom wereSeabees, to carry them back to the United States as part ofOperation Magic Carpet. The ship arrived in San Francisco on 15 October and remained there for theNavy Day celebrations held there on 27 October, where she hosted some 9,000 visitors. Two days later, she steamed toSan Pedro, California, where she lay until 27 February 1946, when she got underway for an overhaul at Puget Sound to prepare her for deactivation.[7]
USSAlabama (battleship) | |
 USSAlabama at permanent berth. | |
| Built | 1964 for museum |
|---|---|
| NRHP reference No. | 86000083 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 14 January 1986[26] |
| Designated NHL | 14 January 1986[27] |
She was decommissioned on 9 January 1947 at the Naval Station inSeattle and assigned to thePacific Reserve Fleet, stationed inBremerton, Washington.[7] Plans were drawn up during the period she was in reserve to modernizeAlabama and the other ships of her class should they be needed for future active service. In March 1954, a program to equip the four ships with secondary batteries consisting of ten twin 3-inch (76 mm) guns were proposed, but the plan came to nothing. Another plan to convert the ship into aguided missile battleship arose in 1956–1957, but the cost of the conversion proved to be prohibitive. She would have had all three main battery turrets removed and replaced with a twinRIM-8 Talos missile launcher forward, twoRIM-24 Tartar launchers aft, anti-submarine weapons, and equipment to handlehelicopters. The cost of the project amounted to $120 million.[28]
On 1 June 1962,Alabama was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register for disposal; with the ship slated to bebroken up, the state of Alabama passed a bill to establish the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" with a view toward preserving the battleship as amuseum ship. GovernorGeorge Wallace signed the law on 12 September 1963, and the commission set about raising funds to acquire the ship; ultimately around $800,000 was raised, of which an eighth came from children in the state,[7][29] the rest coming primarily from corporate donations.[30]
On 16 June 1964, the Navy awarded the ship to her namesake state, with a provision that the Navy would retain the ability to recall the ship to service in the event of an emergency.Alabama was formally handed over on 7 July during a ceremony in Seattle, and she was then towed toMobile, Alabama to be restored as a museum, by way of the Panama Canal. On the way to the canal, one of the tugboats accidentally sank. The ship's screws were removed for the voyage to avoid any damage. The carrierLexington, a veteran of the fast carrier task force and still in service, escorted the ship while she was towed through theGulf of Mexico.Alabama arrived in Mobile on 14 September having traveled some 5,600 nautical miles (10,400 km; 6,400 mi), the longest tow of a vessel that was not an active warship. The channel inMobile Bay to her permanent berth had not yet been completed, and she had to wait until the end of the month before dredging work was finished. Once the ship was moored in her berth, work began to prepare the ship for visitors, includingsandblasting painted surfaces, applyingprimer, and then re-painting the entire ship. The museum was opened on 9 January 1965.[29][31]
In the early 1980s, when the Navy reactivated the fourIowa-class battleships, parts were cannibalized fromAlabama and the other preserved battleships, includingMassachusetts andNorth Carolina, to restore theIowas to service. Engine room components that were no longer available in the Navy's inventory accounted for most of the material removed from the ships.[29] The ship was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1986.[27][32] During her career as a museum ship,Alabama has been used as a set for several movies includingUnder Siege in 1992 andUSS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016.[33]
In the early 2000s, the museum raised funds to complete major repairs toAlabama, including removing 2.7 million gallons of water contaminated with fuel oil from the ship. This involved erecting acofferdam around the ship and pumping it dry, which also allowed workers to repair the ship's hull. At the same time, thesubmarineUSS Drum, another component of the museum, was moved from the water to a display on land so her hull could be repaired.[34]Alabama was damaged byHurricane Katrina in September 2005, taking on water and alist to port; repairs were effected byVolkert, Inc.[33]
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30°40′54″N88°00′52″W / 30.68178°N 88.01448°W /30.68178; -88.01448
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