USS Alabama Last Sunday

Do you ever get the feeling that time isn't in a line like most people think? The past behind us and the future a head? What if time is more like the multiverse, with the past, present and future all sandwiched on top of each other, co-mingling and existing in the same instance? We have memories of the past, which is where the idea "behind" comes from, but just because we have memories doesn't mean the past has left.

When I visit a historical site, sometimes I have the feeling that the past is still happening. That if I strain something a bit harder, I'll see unsubstantial figures flicker in out out of my vision, going about their daily routine, not seeing me, not realizing they are in their future and my present. Is this what ghosts really are?

Sometimes- not all the time. I had this feeling on the USS Alabama, but not the entire time I was there. Just for a moment or two. Or maybe I have it backwards, and time is as most people think it is, and it was ghosts I was feeling. There is a lot of history on that ship.


USS Alabama- now in Mobile Bay- a WWII battleship.


Is this the same type of aircraft I saw flying at the airshow?


Very big guns.


This projectile was taller than I am.


Crew sleeping area. Any large open space held these bunks. Mostly the bunks had been taken down but you could still see the hooks where they had hung up.


Head. TP is a nice touch.


Stall dividers are nice, too bad you'd be staring at the person across from you.


More of the washroom.


The brig.



No toilet or bench or anything.


A sad poster.


What one of the personal lockers for your stuff looked like.


An officer's room. Private and a real bed. But still very small of course.


All of the tiny offices and other such work areas like barber shop all had bunks in them also. You'd eat and work in the same spot.


One of the control rooms.


The captain's room. An informative sign informed us he never slept here, instead he always slept in the much smaller room right outside the bridge.


Captain's formal dining room.


A bottomless shaft that I avoided falling down.

All of the hatch covers had letters stamped on them that meant when they should be left open. Some were left open all the time for ventilation, some closed when underway or only when under attack, etc. The bottomless shaft was stamped X. I think that means- leave open so the less intelligent crewmen can fall in and we don't have to deal with them anymore.


Part of the engine room. My flash made it very bright but in fact it was very dark.


More of the cramped engine room.



Looking towards the back.


Looking towards the front.


Some of the tanks on display.


The bridge. You can see how thick the walls are by noticing the viewing slits.


I wonder if he WWII men ever thought tourists would be posing on the deck of their ship?


Door to the bridge showing not only the massive thickness but also the decay.


The captain's room off the bridge.


Is this one of those shouting tubes? When I found it it was closed but I was easily able to flip it open.


The visitor's center from my high perch.

Even though I was high up, I had still further to climb.


It was a long way down. I really didn't know how tall battleships were.



Aircraft on display. I was really high up.


But there was still more above me! This was the highest the public could go.


This part was blocked off but I glanced through the cracked door and spotted what looks like the flag holders for the semaphore.

Then I climbed all the way back down to the main deck. (It was a long way down.)


Back down on the main deck I crawled through a tiny hole into one of the main turrets for the huge guns. Again very dark and crowded.


Inside the turret with the flash on.




Back outside looking towards those same guns.


All the way at the front of the ship.


That is the hole I went into.


I was surprised the deck was wood. In the very front it was metal and all the other decks were metal, but the main part of the main deck was wood. I stepped in one section that sagged under my weight. Looks like it is time for another patch.

After exiting the Alabama, I went into the Aircraft hanger.


The CIA version of the SR-71. A-12 I think.


And the back end.


Anyone know what this means? And why the odd spacing?


Another view. (The SR-71 is my favorite aircraft, after all. This one is close enough.)



This is the type of aircraft launched off the battleship. There was no literature, but from what I figure they used a slingshot type thing to get it moving fast enough for take off, then it landed in the water and a crane was used for recovery back onto the ship. I saw a model of the Alabama and it looked like she had 2 of these aircraft.


A local Alabama resident who was a Marine stationed at the Pentagon on Sept 11 and was involved in the recovery donated his hazmat suit.


The obligatory "Katrina Damage" photo.


Onto the WWII submarine. USS Drum. This is not it. This is a replica of one of the the first subs, the CSS Hunley.



On the deck of the Drum.


Torpedo room.



Bunks.


This guy was quite a hero. Click on the picture to make it bigger and read his story.


Turns out a hatch is something involving a ladder and a door involves something you just step through so this is a door.


For escaping a sinking submarine. Not a very pleasant thought.


Back on deck looking towards the Alabama.


A funny helicopter.


The last display I viewed before leaving. The Calamity Jane- B-52 Bomber.

There was much more on the battleship especially that I did not photograph. Have to leave something as a surprise in case anyone plans on going for themselves (which I highly recommend if you are in the area.) Some of the other areas where the hospital surgery, isolation room, barber shop, laundry, dining area, soda fountain (with ice cream!) various other offices and control rooms, pharmacy, post office, basically anything you can think of that a hotel, office building, city or tank would have, because a battleship is all of those things- but crammed together and floating on the ocean, and getting attacked and fighting back.