The USS Alabama

Today, we look at a piece of the United States Navy. Launched in February 1942 at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia and commissioned on 16 August 1942, the USS Alabama now rests in Mobile, Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park. The USS Alabama because known as the "Mighty A", serving 37 months of active duty during WWII. She safely carried her crew throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean campaigns, never once suffering any casualties or significant damage due to enemy fire. The USS Alabama is credited with shooting down 22 Japanese planes and being the first to detect enemy bombers in the Battle of the Philippine Sea from a range of 190 miles. After the war, she was decommissioned to the Puget Sound in Washington in 1947 and remained there until 1964. When the Navy announced that she, along with many other war ships, would be scrapped. However, "a campaign was launched to bring the "Mighty A" home to Alabama as a memorial to the state's sons and daughters who had served in the armed forces." She was towed to Mobile, Alabama in 1964 and on 9 January 1965, the "Mighty A" was opened to the public as an independent agency of the state of Alabama. She is now a National Historic Landmark. Living in Mobile, Alabama my whole life, I can honestly say that she is a sight to see and definitely worth the visit. She is full of history and its great to have her home!