The Ships of Battlegroup: United States Alabama (BB-60)

Displacement	37,970 tons	Belt Armor	12.2 inches
Overall Length	680 feet	Deck Armor	6 inches
Beam	108 feet	Main Turret Armor	18 inches
Speed	27.5 knots	Main Guns	9 × 16″

Prior to building BB-60 a number of ships with the Alabama name served in the United States Navy, including BB-8, a pre-dreadnought launched in 1900. The most famous ship named Alabama was the famed Confederate sea raider, the C. S. S. Alabama. All United States dreadnought battleships were named after states, a custom that went back to the naming of wooden ships of the line during the age of sail. Also, all battleships were assigned a hull number (from 1920) that was normally displayed on the hull. The first modern United States battleships built since the 1920s were the two North Carolinas (North Carolina and Washington) and the four South Dakotas , all of which could manage at least 27 knots. These ships all carried a main armament of nine 16 inch guns mounted three per turret, two centerline superfiring forward and one centerline aft on a displacement of around 35,000 tons, making them among the most powerful battleships in the world.

The U. S. S. Alabama (BB-60) was the final ship of the South Dakota class (the other sister ships were Indiana and Massachusetts). Laid down on February 1, 1940; launched on February 16, 1942 and commissioned on August 16, 1942, Alabama, like all of her class, exceeded her original treaty-imposed displacement of 35,000 tons due to the need for more powerful engines to achieve the desired 27 knots. For their day, the U. S. S. Alabama and her sisters were very advanced and powerful vessels; outclassed only by the newer Iowa class battleships, as they joined the fleet, and by the two much larger Japanese Yamato class battleships, with their 18-inch guns and thicker armor, although the Japanese battlewagons had much inferior radar.

Alabama operated in the Atlantic in late 1942 and early 1943, including some time with the British Home Fleet. BB-60 was transferred to the Pacific in August 1943 and, that November, took part in the operations to capture the Gilbert Islands. During 1944, Alabama participated in taking the Marshalls, the Marianas and the Philippines, including the decisive Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, and numerous raids on Japanese positions elsewhere in the Pacific. After an overhaul in early 1945, Alabama rejoined the fleet for the invasion of Okinawa and attacks on the Japanese home islands. She took part in the occupation of Japan and the return of veterans to the United States in late 1945. Alabama was decommissioned at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, in January 1947 and remained in mothballs until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in June 1962. Two years later, she was formally turned over to the State of Alabama, and, since September 1964, U. S. S. Alabama has been berthed at Mobile, Alabama, as a memorial to those who served in World War II.

For a foreign ship with nine 16 inch guns, see: Nelson .

Where did we get all these fascinating historical tidbits and factoids? See the Bibliography for the culprits.