Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)NEW PICS ADDED

[BIGHEAD]

I took my sons and nephew to battleship park in Mobile,Ala a few months back for their birthdays. I was shocked at the state of decay that the artifacts were in. I remember when I was a kid and my father took me I it was a grand majestic ship. When I talked to the guide and asked why things were in such bad shape he said that they didn't get any state funding so they could not afford restoration. I thought this was a shame, being born in Alabama. Any way here are a few pics i took of the Grand OLE Lady!!

 

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[Cynangyl]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

wow, even in bad shape that is a beauty! Thanks for sharing!

 

[lessthanzero]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

So sorry to hear about the state of disrepair this great ship is in. This is all too sad that items of such historical significance are left in the preverbal "dust". Great pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[fossis]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

Thanks for sharing, it would be a great project to get the folks in AL to start a 'fundraiser' for the old girl.

Fossis..............

 

[noob]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

I remember in about the third or fourth grade ('63 or '64) taking up a collection of dimes to bring the Alabama home to dock at Mobile. Much like the March of Dimes used to do with cards that held the coins.

I last saw her eight or ten years ago. It is sad to hear there's no money to keep her up. Another bit of history fading.

 

[wesfrye53]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

Matbe the State should let Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, and their bunch fix it up after they did all that welding and cutting on Her! IF it hadn't been for Casey Ryback they would have really messed her up!

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[warsawdaddy]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

In the mid 80's,we were recommissioning the USS Iowa,and we swapped several pieces of inop equipment from the Iowa to the Alabama.We even gave the guys taking care of the Alabama,a new welding mach at their request.The Alabama was still in great shape at that time.Too bad they have let it go downhill.I suspect the crew that use to take care of it have all retired and the new guys just haven't got the history in them.

 

[K-Man]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

i cant wait till im on one of them nice pics

 

[BIGHEAD]

Re: Great Ship in sad shape( USS ALABAMA)

I have some more pics, but there at home I'll post them tonight. The USS Drum is in worse shape than the Alabama. She has a huge hole in her stern!!! The Alabama's 20mm guns were so rusted that they looked like if you touched them they would fall apart. They had tanks out front with the barrels missing. It was just a shame that they can't get any funding for restoration work. BIGHEAD