USS Alabama (Images of America)

USS Alabama
Author: Kent Whitaker, Bill Tunnell
Arcadia Publishing
Images of America
2013
ISBN-13: 978-1467110211
Pages: 128
Language: English
Format: EPUB
Size: 70 MB

Powerful: this single word aptly describes a naval vessel known as a battleship. The USS Alabama (BB 60) was the last of four South Dakotaclass battleships built for World War II. She is well armored and designed to survive an attack while continuing to fight. Her main battery, known as Big Guns, consisted of nine 16-inch guns; each could launch a projectile weighing as much as a small car that could hit a target 21 miles away. Her crew numbered 2,332 men, none of whom were lost to enemy fire, earning her the nickname Lucky A. She served as more than just a battleship: she carried troops, supplies, and seaplanes and served in the Pacific and Atlantic; her doctors treated patients from other ships; she was the wartime home for a major-league ballplayer; the movie setting for Hollywood films; and she traveled home to the state of Alabama with the help of schoolchildren.