The USS Alabama scanned from film, back in the day
Jan 11, 2020 08:05:03 #
The USS Alabama (BB-60) is a retired WWII battleship, now preserved as a museum ship in Mobile Bay, Alabama.
Photography and scanning Dave Evar dave.speeking from Cristobal, Panama while the Alabama passed through the Panama Canal on her way to her new home in Mobile Bay, Alabama in Aug-Sept 1964. Camera - Minolta SR-7. Editing by Paul Sager using Lightroom6.
USS Alabama
On 1 June 1962, Alabama was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register for disposal. The State of Alabama passed a bill to establish the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" with a view toward preserving the battleship as a museum ship. Governor George 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, the rest coming primarily from corporate donations.
USS Alabama
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. She was towed from Seattle to Mobile via the Panama Canal, and opened as a museum ship on 9 January 1965.
USS Alabama
Alabama was commissioned in August 1942, served in both the Altantic and Pacific theaters, earning 12 battle stars in WWII. She was decommissioned on 9 January 1947 at the Naval Station in Seattle and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, stationed in Bremerton, Washington.
USS Alabama
Alabama assisted in Operation Magic Carpet after the war, carrying some 700 men home from the former war zone. At the end of the war, over eight million American military personnel needed to be repatriated from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Beginning in October 1945, over 370 navy ships were used for repatriation duties in the Pacific.
USS Alabama
Alabama was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986. During her career as a museum ship, Alabama has been used as a set for a number of movies including Under Siege in 1992 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016.
USS Alabama
When Alabama arrived to her new home in Mobile, the channel in Mobile 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, including sandblasting painted surfaces, applying primer, and then re-painting the entire ship. These images are from before she opened as a museum in January 1965.
USS Alabama
The four ships of the South Dakota class were: South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama. The ships can be visually distinguished from the earlier vessels by their single funnel, compared to twin funnels in the North Carolinas. All four ships of the South Dakota class were retired shortly after World War II; South Dakota and Indiana were scrapped in the 1960s, Massachusetts and Alabama were retained as museum ships.
USS Alabama
These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
Photography and scanning Dave Evar dave.speeking from Cristobal, Panama while the Alabama passed through the Panama Canal on her way to her new home in Mobile Bay, Alabama in Aug-Sept 1964. Camera - Minolta SR-7. Editing by Paul Sager using Lightroom6.
USS Alabama
On 1 June 1962, Alabama was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register for disposal. The State of Alabama passed a bill to establish the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" with a view toward preserving the battleship as a museum ship. Governor George 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, the rest coming primarily from corporate donations.
USS Alabama
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. She was towed from Seattle to Mobile via the Panama Canal, and opened as a museum ship on 9 January 1965.
USS Alabama
Alabama was commissioned in August 1942, served in both the Altantic and Pacific theaters, earning 12 battle stars in WWII. She was decommissioned on 9 January 1947 at the Naval Station in Seattle and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, stationed in Bremerton, Washington.
USS Alabama
Alabama assisted in Operation Magic Carpet after the war, carrying some 700 men home from the former war zone. At the end of the war, over eight million American military personnel needed to be repatriated from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Beginning in October 1945, over 370 navy ships were used for repatriation duties in the Pacific.
USS Alabama
Alabama was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986. During her career as a museum ship, Alabama has been used as a set for a number of movies including Under Siege in 1992 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016.
USS Alabama
When Alabama arrived to her new home in Mobile, the channel in Mobile 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, including sandblasting painted surfaces, applying primer, and then re-painting the entire ship. These images are from before she opened as a museum in January 1965.
USS Alabama
The four ships of the South Dakota class were: South Dakota, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Alabama. The ships can be visually distinguished from the earlier vessels by their single funnel, compared to twin funnels in the North Carolinas. All four ships of the South Dakota class were retired shortly after World War II; South Dakota and Indiana were scrapped in the 1960s, Massachusetts and Alabama were retained as museum ships.
USS Alabama
These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
Jan 11, 2020 08:07:05 #
Jan 11, 2020 08:29:15 #
Thank you for the history lesson as well as the great photos. You brought everything together very well. I was surprised this shop was used the the movie "Under Siege" I have always enjoyed that movie.
Jan 11, 2020 08:31:03 #
Jan 11, 2020 08:47:38 #
More nice stuff and even better historical narrative this time. So one even might be able to see its sibling the USS Masachussetts as well. Love these old dreadnaughts of the sea. They have such unique bow shapes when viewed in a full frontal.
Jan 11, 2020 09:12:44 #
Jan 11, 2020 10:48:00 #
Jan 11, 2020 12:12:50 #
Jan 11, 2020 13:43:24 #
Thank you John, thephotoman, country boy, Hereford, Earnest, Longshadow, Mike! And an special Thanks to Dave who captured these moments in history, and shared the scans for edit and post. One of the things that caught my eye was the removal of the ladders to climb atop the 16 inch guns. And the new paint job.
Jan 11, 2020 14:43:29 #
therwol
Loc: USA
CHG_CANON wrote:
The USS i Alabama /i (BB-60) is a retired WWII b... (show quote)
I gave 10 cents in school toward moving the ship to Mobile. I got a lifetime pass, but later lost it. This picture was taken in 1980. This ship was much smaller than the Iowa class battleships but had the same firepower. The 2000 crew members were a bit cramped.
Jan 11, 2020 16:27:52 #
therwol wrote:
I gave 10 cents in school toward moving the ship to Mobile. I got a lifetime pass, but later lost it. This picture was taken in 1980. This ship was much smaller than the Iowa class battleships but had the same firepower. The 2000 crew members were a bit cramped.
Excellent! You can even see the Drum still in the water back in the background. There was so much damage to both ships from the storm surge of Hurricane Georges in 1998, the submarine was moved on land for repairs and kept out of the water for good.
Jan 12, 2020 06:04:50 #
Jan 12, 2020 10:29:59 #
Jan 12, 2020 11:15:11 #
This brings back memories of my first trip to the South at around 12 years old in the mid-seventies. I toured this ship with my father who had served in the Pacific with the Navy during WWII. 12 year old me was fascinated and asked a million questions, my dad knew what everything was and what it did. Thanks for this post.
Jan 12, 2020 13:03:59 #
therwol wrote:
I gave 10 cents in school toward moving the ship to Mobile. I got a lifetime pass, but later lost it.
I remember (about 60 years ago) giving a dime and I too have lost my lifetime pass...but don't mind paying admission to help keep the U.S.S. Alabama maintained.
Thank you Paul for the posting the old pictures (and the new pictures last week). If I had known you were traveling through Alabama I would have bought you lunch.
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