USS Alabama (Page 4): Thanks Saigon.......these old battle ships are unbelievable when you come along side of one of them. They are really Bad Ass looking and as potentially wicked as...

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Thanks Saigon.......these old battle ships are unbelievable when you come along side of one of them.

They are really Bad Ass looking and as potentially wicked as one would imagine. Just the logistics of manning & supplying a vessel like this is overwhelming to normal citizen and the range that they cover in short order is amazing in itself.

I am glad Alabama got saved for us to enjoy and to take pride in knowing that people make a difference and size does matter when it needs to do so.

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

Blair Shaw Jr wrote:

Thanks Saigon.......these old battle ships are unb... (show quote)

Thanks Blair...Totally agree with you on that...Imagine manning a huge super nuclear aircraft carrier with 5000 sailors/pilots would be a huge task.

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

EdJ0307 wrote:

My brother was stationed on the Midway for four or five years back in the late '50s and early '60s. When I was living near San Diego I asked brother if he wanted to come down and tour his old boat but he wasn't interested. Said he saw and had enough of it back then.

What a story EdJ0307! Thanks

John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan

Great images. Looking at it, it is hard to believe something that intimidating is outdated militarily.

therwol Loc: USA

John from gpwmi wrote:

Great images. Looking at it, it is hard to believe something that intimidating is outdated militarily.

In this list of US naval vessels sunk in WW2, aircraft and torpedoes played a huge role. The defenses were primitive. Of course, if you were in range of the guns of a battleship, you stood a good chance of being blown to bits. These ships as they were fitted in WW2 would be sitting ducks today against modern planes and missiles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_losses_in_World_War_II#Battleships_(BB)

FB2

Great shots. A lot of thought went into setting those up.
For those who like old Navy ships, the queens on the West Coast are MIDWAY in San Diego, CA and IOWA in San Pedro (Long Beach). Also worth a visit are HORNET in Alameda (near Oakland) and one of only two Liberty ships still operating, the JEREMIAH O’BRIEN in San Francisco. Hitting all four would make a great week’s trip!

canarywood1 Loc: Sarasota,Florida

Just to add my 2 cents, one of the barrels of her main battery, that is the 16 inch guns, weighs in at 108 tons, that's 3 hundred and 24 tons in one turret, and thats not counting the breech.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Very good set Saigon. They used to have a section of the USS Alabama that they kept operational, galley and sleeping quarters, don't know if that is still the case. Guessing this was about 1987, my son was in the scouts. Quite a few scouts and dads, me included, spent the night on the vessel. The kids had a ball.

Don

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

John from gpwmi wrote:

Great images. Looking at it, it is hard to believe something that intimidating is outdated militarily.

Thanks John....It looks even bigger when you step on the ship. May be in another war or something we may retrofit those out of commissioned battle ships...

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

therwol wrote:

In this list of US naval vessels sunk in WW2, aircraft and torpedoes played a huge role. The defenses were primitive. Of course, if you were in range of the guns of a battleship, you stood a good chance of being blown to bits. These ships as they were fitted in WW2 would be sitting ducks today against modern planes and missiles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_losses_in_World_War_II#Battleships_(BB)

Wow...Two big battle ship had been shunk...Thanks for the information therwol!

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

FB2 wrote:

Great shots. A lot of thought went into setting those up.
For those who like old Navy ships, the queens on the West Coast are MIDWAY in San Diego, CA and IOWA in San Pedro (Long Beach). Also worth a visit are HORNET in Alameda (near Oakland) and one of only two Liberty ships still operating, the JEREMIAH O’BRIEN in San Francisco. Hitting all four would make a great week’s trip!

Thanks for the information...I will keep it in case...

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

canarywood1 wrote:

Just to add my 2 cents, one of the barrels of her main battery, that is the 16 inch guns, weighs in at 108 tons, that's 3 hundred and 24 tons in one turret, and thats not counting the breech.

Thanks for you detail information canarywood1! They are huge in deed...

Saigon Loc: Atlanta, GA

PAR4DCR wrote:

Very good set Saigon. They used to have a section of the USS Alabama that they kept operational, galley and sleeping quarters, don't know if that is still the case. Guessing this was about 1987, my son was in the scouts. Quite a few scouts and dads, me included, spent the night on the vessel. The kids had a ball.

Don

Thanks PAR4DCR! They have a pretty big souvenir/museum shop on the location with all kind of information about the battle ship.

woodweasel Loc: bellingham Wa

Fabulous set and equally enjoyable story. Many thanks.👍👍👍

M from NF Loc: Niagara Falls, NY

Great series! I used to get buzzed by B-52's driving from Buffalo to Boston on the NYS Thruway near Rome, MY by Griffiths Air Force Base. Many years ago, when I was with my old girlfriend, I received a to tour of that Base. ( Her father was a Colonel at the Base.) The closest that I was able to get to any of the B-52 's was about a mile. The reason was that those planes were fully armed! Fast forward to about four years ago, the Air Force Base across the street had an air show that featured a static display of a B-52. I was able to walk under the open bomb bay doors.