Over the weekend I was recruited to deliver a fire engine from Texas to Jacksonville, Florida to be shipped to new owners in Argentina. With the ship scheduled to sail in a few days it was a "needs to be there yesterday" kind of trip (no, I couldn't use the lights and siren), but when I realised I'd be passing through Mobile I knew that Customs procedures and loading schedules would have to take a backseat. I was going to visit Alabama!
I'm pretty sure that Alabama was the first museum ship I was aware of as a kid so this was a very important visit to me. My first 'oh wow' moment was in the parking lot just looking at her silhouette rising above the visitors center (moving that off to the side would be nice) but as soon as I set foot aboard, the next three hours was one long 'oh wow' moment.
First I walked the full length the main deck (except for the stern that was roped off while the catapults were being sandblasted). Then, skipping the preset tour, I went inside and started on the lowest deck I could and made my way to the highest point open to the public (01 level I think). My goal was to visit every open space aboard and I think I was successful. One of the most interesting spaces I saw was the weather officer's office on the 02 level. It would have been cramped as a closet and I've seen bigger doors on washing machines but all he had to do was step out to the rail for one of the best views on the ship. One of the most impressive display elements was the way the ammunition handling spaces of turret 1 was opened up below decks. the work that went into that was impressive.
A day later I was standing just as close to a huge RO-RO ship at Blount Island in Jacksonville, and even though it was bigger than Alabama, it had none of the visual impact the battleship did. Looking at some of the newest naval vessels coming into service I'm afraid designers might be forgetting that it is important for a warship to look 'menacing'.
I also visited Drum of course. The sub was terrific but having visited Pampanito several times it was familiar territory. I did notice something odd while on Drum though. At one point I leaned out over the rail and saw that the off-side of the sub looks like it hasn't been painted in years. That was disappointing. Oh, by the way, I got a huge kick out of the propeller nut marked 'U.S.S. DURM'.
Needless to say, three hours was not enough.
I'm pretty sure that Alabama was the first museum ship I was aware of as a kid so this was a very important visit to me. My first 'oh wow' moment was in the parking lot just looking at her silhouette rising above the visitors center (moving that off to the side would be nice) but as soon as I set foot aboard, the next three hours was one long 'oh wow' moment.
First I walked the full length the main deck (except for the stern that was roped off while the catapults were being sandblasted). Then, skipping the preset tour, I went inside and started on the lowest deck I could and made my way to the highest point open to the public (01 level I think). My goal was to visit every open space aboard and I think I was successful. One of the most interesting spaces I saw was the weather officer's office on the 02 level. It would have been cramped as a closet and I've seen bigger doors on washing machines but all he had to do was step out to the rail for one of the best views on the ship. One of the most impressive display elements was the way the ammunition handling spaces of turret 1 was opened up below decks. the work that went into that was impressive.
A day later I was standing just as close to a huge RO-RO ship at Blount Island in Jacksonville, and even though it was bigger than Alabama, it had none of the visual impact the battleship did. Looking at some of the newest naval vessels coming into service I'm afraid designers might be forgetting that it is important for a warship to look 'menacing'.
I also visited Drum of course. The sub was terrific but having visited Pampanito several times it was familiar territory. I did notice something odd while on Drum though. At one point I leaned out over the rail and saw that the off-side of the sub looks like it hasn't been painted in years. That was disappointing. Oh, by the way, I got a huge kick out of the propeller nut marked 'U.S.S. DURM'.
Needless to say, three hours was not enough.
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