BATTLESHIP USS ALABAMA (BB-60)

[valley ranch]

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• Battleship USS ALABAMA
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BATTLESHIP USS ALABAMA (BB-60)
Service Record
Battleship Stats

USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park

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The keel of the USS ALABAMA (BB-60) was laid at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, on 1 February 1940, the sixth vessel to bear the name of ALABAMA. At the outbreak of hostilities, her hull construction was nearing completion. Some two years later (16 February 1942), the new South Dakota Class battleship was launched in a colorful ceremony attended by many national figures. Sponsoring the vessel was Mrs. Lister Hill, wife of Alabama's Senator Hill. On 16 August 1942, in ceremonies at Portsmouth, Virginia, the new ship was placed in full commission and Captain George B. Wilson, USN, assumed command. The name ALABAMA was first assigned to the 74-gun ship-of-the-line, whose keel was laid in June 1819, at Portsmouth Navy Yard. Work proceeded slowly until the outbreak of the Civil War when "Almost Alabama" was renamed the NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The first ALABAMA, a 56-ton Revenue Cutter built at New York and acquired on 22 June 1819 at a cost of $ 4,500, was active in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in the 1820s. She was responsible for the capture of more than one dozen pirate vessels and slave traders, and sold in 1833.
READ MORE:
http://www.ussalabama.com/battleship-uss-alabama/

 

[majorcatfish]

have visited the battleship north carolina in wilmington <bb-55> very impressed... these old gals should be put into dry dock their hulls repaired and install updated equipment on them. so sad to see them just sitting there rusting away....

 

[Ridgerunner]

Major, start your fund-raising. When you get enough you can handle all that. Money is always the problem. Those ships do have a proud history.

Valley, I've visited the Alabama in Mobile a couple of times with the Boy Scouts. It makes for an interesting trip. You can stay overnight.

We also took the Cub Scouts for overnight stays on the USS Kidd, a destroyer in Baton Rouge. One of our adult leaders hit it off with one of the chaperones. We got a guided tour of places generally off limits.

 

[Just-Moxie]

We lived for many years just down the road in Biloxi/Gulfport. Visiting the USS Alabama, in Mobile, as well as any and all of the other military and historical was a great way to spend weekends and the 3 kids got loads of extra fun education

 

[valley ranch]

My brother was on the Saratoga Aircraft Carrier during WWII. It was made of a Battle crusier.
Darn fools used it for target and and A Bomb test after the war, it wouldn't sink, the Japanese couldn't sink it in the pacific as hard as they tried, so they went on board to set explosives. It could have been one of our monuments today.

USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a Lexington-class aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. Originally designed as a battlecruiser, she was converted into one of the Navy's first aircraft carriers during construction to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. The ship entered service in 1928 and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for her entire career. Saratoga and her sister ship, Lexington, were used to develop and refine carrier tactics in a series of annual exercises before World War II. On more than one occasion these included successful surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was one of three prewar US fleet aircraft carriers, along with Enterprise and Ranger, to serve throughout World War II.

Read more:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Saratoga_(CV-3)

 

[valley ranch]

Propulsion
The Lexington-class carriers used turbo-electric propulsion; each of the four propeller shafts was driven by two 22,500-shaft-horsepower (16,800 kW) electric motors. They were powered by four General Electric turbo generators rated at 35,200 kilowatts (47,200 hp). Steam for the generators was provided by sixteen Yarrow boilers, each in its own individual compartment.[20] Six 750-kilowatt (1,010 hp) electric generators were installed in the upper levels of the two main turbine compartments to provide power to meet the ship's hotel load (minimum electrical) requirements.[21]

The ship was designed to reach 33.25 knots (61.58 km/h; 38.26 mph),[5] but Lexington achieved 34.59 knots (64.06 km/h; 39.81 mph) from 202,973 shp (151,357 kW) during sea trials in 1928.[20] She carried a maximum of 6,688 long tons (6,795 t) of fuel oil, but only 5,400 long tons (5,500 t) of that was usable, as the rest had to be retained as ballast in the port fuel tanks to offset the weight of the island and main guns.[22] Designed for a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph),[5] the ship demonstrated a range of 9,910 nmi (18,350 km; 11,400 mi) at a speed of 10.7 knots (19.8 km/h; 12.3 mph) with 4,540 long tons (4,610 t) of oil.[22]

Close to 40 mph. Imagine how fast that is for a big ship.