USS Alabama (BB-60)

USS Alabama (BB-60) was a South Dakota-class battleship (1939) of the United States Navy, the fifth vessel to bear the name of the U.S. state of Alabama. Commissioned in 1942 during World War II, she served extensively in both the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, earning nine battle stars. Following her decommissioning, she was preserved as a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, where she remains a centerpiece of the Battleship Memorial Park.

Design and description

The design of the *Alabama* was a product of the Second London Naval Treaty limitations, which restricted battleship displacement to 35,000 long tons. Naval architects at the Bureau of Construction and Repair created a compact but powerfully armed and heavily armored vessel. Her main battery consisted of nine 16-inch/45-caliber Mark 6 guns mounted in three triple gun turrets, capable of firing a 2,700-pound armor-piercing shell over 20 miles. Secondary armament included twenty 5-inch/38-caliber guns in twin mounts for anti-surface and anti-aircraft defense. Protection was formidable, with a main belt armor of Class A armor up to 12.2 inches thick, designed to withstand fire from contemporary battleships like the Japanese battleship Yamato. The General Electric-built steam turbine propulsion plant delivered 130,000 shaft horsepower, enabling a top speed of 27.5 knots.

Construction and commissioning

The contract for the construction of BB-60 was awarded to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, on 1 April 1939. Her keel was laid down on 1 February 1940, and the hull was launched on 16 February 1942, sponsored by Henrietta McCormick Hill, the wife of Alabama Senator J. Lister Hill. The ship was commissioned into the United States Atlantic Fleet on 16 August 1942, under the command of Captain George B. Wilson. Following a rigorous shakedown cruise in the Chesapeake Bay and the North Atlantic, she was declared ready for combat duty by early 1943.

Service history

*Alabama*'s initial service was with the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1943, serving as a deterrent against the German battleship *Tirpitz* and protecting Arctic convoys. She was then transferred to the Pacific Theater of Operations in August 1943, joining the Fast Carrier Task Force (Task Force 38) of the Third Fleet under Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.. For the remainder of the war, she operated primarily as a heavy escort for aircraft carriers, providing formidable anti-aircraft fire. Her battle group participated in major campaigns across the Central Pacific, supporting amphibious landings and conducting shore bombardment.

World War II

Throughout the Pacific War, *Alabama* saw action in numerous critical campaigns. She provided covering fire during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, including the invasions of Tarawa and Kwajalein. She participated in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, engaging Japanese forces during the Battle of the Philippine Sea—known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"—where her guns helped repel aerial attacks. The battleship supported the Battle of Leyte and the subsequent Battle of Leyte Gulf, though she did not directly engage enemy capital ships. In 1945, she bombarded Iwo Jima and Okinawa during the Battle of Iwo Jima and Battle of Okinawa, enduring numerous kamikaze attacks without sustaining major damage. She ended the war patrolling off the coast of Japan and was present in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender.

Post-war service and museum ship

Following Victory over Japan Day, *Alabama* participated in Operation Magic Carpet, transporting American servicemen back to the United States. She was decommissioned on 9 January 1947 and placed in the reserve fleet in Bremerton, Washington. Facing scrapping in the early 1960s, a statewide fundraising campaign led by the citizens of Alabama, including Attorney General MacDonald Gallion, saved the ship. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1962 and formally donated to the state. In 1964, she was towed to Mobile, Alabama, and permanently docked as the centerpiece of Battleship Memorial Park, which also includes the USS Drum (SS-228). Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, she is maintained by the USS Alabama Battleship Commission and serves as a memorial to Alabama veterans of all services.