USS Alabama (BB-60)

History of USS Alabama (BB-60)

The U.S. Navy became one of the most powerful military forces in the world during World War II (1939-1945), and American industry played a huge and important role in the Allied marches through Rome, Berlin and Tokyo. While the aircraft carrier became the undisputed "king of the sea" during the war, the United States Navy (USN) also invested in a large submarine force and continued to deliver newer and better ship designs in the final months of the war.

In the latter case, the South Dakota class was formed, which would consist of a total of four ships - USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Indiana (BB-58), USS Massachusetts (BB-59) and USS Alabama (BB-57) -60). At standard loads in the 35,000-ton range, the ships have a main battery of nine 16-inch guns and can deploy two seaplane reconnaissance aircraft.

The entire class managed to survive the war, and two of them ended up as surviving museums (USS Massachusetts and USS Alabama).

The aircraft carrier USS Alabama would have a storied career in warfare when it entered service on April 1, 1939. World War II did not officially begin until September of that year, but there were clear signs to many that shipbuilding programs around the world were breaking the naval constraints observed since the end of World War I (1914-1918).

America's number one enemy would undoubtedly be the Japanese Empire in the West, so naval superiority justified the need at the time.

Norfolk Naval Shipyard was commissioned to build this new ship, which was laid on 1 February 1940. With the Japanese navy's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the United States officially went to war with the Allies and continued to expand its industry and manpower in 1942 and throughout 1942. While Germany would be the main enemy of a future European alliance led by the United States and Britain, it was also amassing resources to fight Japan in the Pacific.

The USS Alabama was launched on February 16, 1942, and officially commissioned by the U.S. Navy on August 16 of the same year.

When completed, Alabama will have a standard load of 35,000 tons, a length of 680 feet, a beam of 108.2 feet, and a draft of 36.2 feet. She was powered by an oil-fired steam turbine producing 130,000 horsepower on four axles. Under ideal conditions, it can reach speeds of 27.5 knots with a range of 15,000 nautical miles (17,000 miles/28,000 km). All told, her crew consisted of 1,793 officers who were drafted into the army.

Alabama carries two Vought OS2U Kingfisher retrievable seaplanes for over-the-horizon reconnaissance and weapons guidance.

Her primary armament consists of a 9 x 16 in (406 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 main gun mounted as three barrels spread over a total of three turrets - two in front of the hull superstructure and one powerful The broadside stern, still the effective firepower of other attack angles. Plus a 20 x 5" (127mm)/38 caliber support gun for use when a 16" weapon is considered excessive. For anti-aircraft defense, the ship is armed with 24 x 40mm Bofors automatic cannons and up to 22 x 20 mm Oerlikon cannons. These weapons would be the last line of defense against dive bombers, torpedo planes and kamikaze attacks.

With all its armament (supported by radar), Alabama could be called upon to attack enemy warships directly or support land-based targets by bombing from the sea with amphibious landings. The 16-inch gun has enough firepower and range for both operations.

Alabama's first operation was as part of a British fleet in the Mediterranean to support the 1943 invasion of Sicily. She then served in "Government Action" on the south coast of Norway. Their presence could not pull the German battleship KMS Tirpitz out of port.

She arrived in Virginia in August 1943, where she underwent an overhaul before being called to the waters of the Pacific for her next mission. She arrived at the theater via the Panama Canal, which passed through August, and arrived in Port Havana on the island of Efate in the southwest Pacific in mid-September.

Alabama has conducted numerous training events and participated in drills during this break. She served as part of Operation Current during the Gilbert Islands raid in November and supported the Marines' landings on Tarawa and the Army's landings on Makin Atoll. In addition to their artillery leveling positions inland, their air defense network threatened Japanese aircraft in the area.

Their guns were then used against enemy positions on Nauru Island. The USS Alabama escorted the carriers USS Bunker Hull and USS Monterey before arriving at Pearl Harbor in January 1944 for refit and overhaul. Before the end of the month, she was busy with other warships during Operation Flintlock in the Marshall Islands area, before assisting US transport companies in transit.

This continued until February 1944. A brief patrol meeting ended with no apparent result.

As part of Task Force 58 (TF58), Alabama was once used against a U.S. aircraft carrier and successfully shot down several incoming enemy aircraft. On March 30, Allied forces, backed by Alabama, launched airstrikes against enemy positions on several islands. Her artillery covered the amphibious forces that landed in New Guinea in April and used aircraft carriers to slam the Truk Atoll.

She then joined other warships to raze Pohnpei to the ground before an amphibious assault on the Marianas. Invasion is carried out through "Operation Forager".

The USS Alabama took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, marking the last major carrier engagement of the war. As the battle developed into Mariana's turkey fire, the ship provided a formidable defense with her anti-aircraft guns -- the Allies shot down some 400 enemy fighter jets, while the Japanese Navy lost three entire aircraft carriers -- This turned the tide of naval power in the Pacific in favor of the Allies.

Alabama followed with bombing missions on Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, and supported the landings on Guam in July 1944, before engaging enemy forces in the Carolines in September. She reported on the liberation of the Philippines and supported aircraft carrier strikes against targets in Okinawa and Taiwan. The warship ended in dry dock in January 1945 and will be out to sea as early as March, where it will train personnel and test new devices. This took them from California to Pearl and finally to Ulithi in April. Her weapon helped land in Okinawa that month, where she survived a deadly typhoon in June.

In July, she joined other U.S. warships to the Japanese mainland for a final assault to end the war in the Pacific. During this period, it supported air strikes on important Japanese industrial centers.

The fall of the Japanese Empire in August 1945 found Alabama near Honshu. During this time, she helped the Marines land on Japanese soil before entering Tokyo Bay on September 5. She assembled her troops and sailed to Okinawa, where she boarded hundreds of ships for the voyage back to the United States ("Operation Magic Carpet"). She was discontinued in 1946 and officially retired on January 9, 1947.

She was subsequently shelved as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet before being removed from the Naval Register on June 1, 1962.

Alabama received a total of nine battle stars for their service in WWII. Her nickname became "Lucky A".

A civilian-led initiative in 1963 eventually saved Alabama from abandonment and became a floating museum in 1964. She is now (2015) a tourist destination along with the attack submarine USS Drum (SS-228) and many aircraft and armor exhibits in Mobile Bay, Alabama.

USS Alabama represented another WWII veteran, USS Missouri (BB-63), in Steven Seagal's 1992 film Under Siege. The USS Drum (SS-228) represents the French-built North Korean attack submarine in the same film. The USS Alabama was also used in the Abbott and Costello TV miniseries War and Memorial and the 1942 film "Navy."

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