What a fun outing visiting the USS Alabama and USS Drum turned out to be. Personally I'm not a big fan of military museums but every time we go to one I come out smarter and impressed with what I see. Today was no different. I took this picture of the USS Alabama from across Mobile Bay. The guardrail got her perfectly across her waterline.
This is a painting of the battleship. She was in numerous battles during WWII but never sustained significant damage. What damage she did sustain was self inflicted. The guns along the port and starboard side would be aimed down to fire at low flying or diving planes and ended with shots fired to their own decks and railings.
The Big Guns!
The Little Guns!
Check out the anchor chains.
Standing near the bow looking down the deck.
Score Card
More pictures of the upper decks.
As soon as we were all separated from each other we moved down into the interior of the ship. Every imaginable need is covered on the ship. From the sickbay to the card room and boy could these guys eat.
I can't even begin to remember what was on which deck level but here's pictures of our snooping and exploring the maze of passageways, halls, cabins and stairs.
Bunks without kids. They do have areas of the ship restricted to the public and used just for overnight stays. Usually for the scouts or school groups. Gives kids an opportunity to experience life on board.
Haircuts must have gone on 24/7 with 2500 men on board. I don't think we saw even a tenth of the bunks. Hot bunking, do you know the term. One man out, another slides in to take his place. This goes on 24/7 also.
Laundry...OMG. Talk about "locker room" smell. That would be then, not now. :-)
I hope they had more than one of these but we didn't see any. In an emergency pee downwind only.
This looks awfully primitive....it must have had a steady rush of water and headed directly overboard. No flushing.
Down we go, deeper into the ship.
Ice Cream Freezers! Now I'm impressed.
Warrant Officers Quarters. A bit nicer than enlisted.
Now if you forget how to behave yourself this is where you end up.
All the original furniture is still onboard. I've worked in offices that weren't this nice. Old, but nice. Built like a battleship.
Infirmary
Enlisted men's hospital bunks.
Officer's hospital beds. You definitely want to be an officer in the Navy.
Well this part of the self guided tour only too 2 hours. I feel like I walked 5 miles.
So Beautiful.
Okay, now we're off to see the USS Drum.
Not too wide is it. However, she was tough. She was an attack submarine.
I climbed up a vertical ladder into this tower where the periscope is located. I was able to peek out through it but couldn't get a picture of what I saw. I think I saw the water....
The galley on a submarine is not too much bigger than a motorhomes. Typical crew of 70 men.
Can you imagine sleeping in the same area as a torpedo? How about on top of one?
Immaculate engine room.
Immaculate aft engine compartment.
Okay let me out of here...light, air.
We finish off our visit with a stroll through the Air Museum.
A Huey. Also served as the Presidential Helicopter.
There were planes all around the grounds. This B52 is huge.
All Wars Memorial.
Now that was a full day of learning.
A gorgeous sunset over Robertsdale, Alabama.
A little late night fire.
Tasha enjoying the warmth from the fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment