Could you see the us navy bringing back the battleship but instead of gunpowder it uses turrets with railguns, with the railgun having extra rails inside the turret, able to switch out the used rails for new ones in seconds a draw back of the railgun design is the ablative rails.
What was your favorite American ship and town you visited? And if you could save 1 British Battleship that was scrapped what would it be? (Ships sunk in combat aren't viable). I'd possibly lean toward HMS Nelson given it's involvement in shooting down Bismarck and it would amazing to have it near Victory, HMS Nelson and Nelson's ship itself. I know Warspite is the obvious choice but I wanted to go with something else.
In the time period covered by the channel, what do you believe was the single most impactful advancement of naval technology? I'm inclined to think of the video on the navigation clocks, since if you can't reliably get to where the fight is, nothing else matters much.
If the ship is segregated from the bay with a casein can the salt water be replaced with fresh water? Could you float a few inches of clear mineral oil to create a clear separation between the air and water?
He adores this stuff. Glad he figured out how to make a living doing it.... Funny. So have these guys. They didn't just take and park a battleship, they thought about how to make a self financing enterprise around it. They have used imagination and entrepreneurial spirit to make it pay. That Drach was amazed at the state of the ship is enough for me. It looks obvious even from the pictures. I did not even know Alabama had been preserved, let alone that she was preserved so very well. Kudos to the geniuses who figured this out. I can't wait to go there. I've been to almost every other BB in the eastern half of the US.
I think rusting at the waterline is also heavier because both water and oxygen are available in quantity. Above less water and below less oxygen. I use to work for a utility company and our poles always rotted away at the ground line for that reason. Love your work.
Fellow futility employee! Indeed you are correct, rot like hell down to 18" or so then not so much. I spent several years running our pole treatment, reinforcement and replacement program. Retired now but I still look at the wire as I drive.
God I wish we (England) would have preserved the warspite or the vanguard. It does the heart good to see the Americans take care of beautiful ships though
I 100% get that. Unfortunately from what I've heard it was a mix of having no money for it and at least the Warspite had been pushed just about to the point of material failure.
as an American, I wish we took better care of our museum ships too...but the way it is, no one want to pay the costs. Even (large parts pf) US battlefields are being plowed under in the name of 'progress'.
Personally I would've loved to see Rodney saved, she was the most powerful British and therefore most powerful European battleship ever built, she has a very unique design, and she's the one that really charged and sank the Bismarck, she also was at D Day, and she was quite worn out at the end of service so it's not like the navy was going to keep her around for use as a ship. I know most people don't think Rodney is all that good looking but it's a very cool design to me, and I love that bit of footage of Rodney's captain talking about how excited they were to engage Bismarck and that he was glad they were chosen as the Germans' target.
The Alabama was used as a shelter when one of the hurricanes hit. Drum took a bit of a beating but the old battle wagon came through pretty well. Saw her back in the 70s.
That's not a bad idea honestly. If you're in Mobile Alabama with a Hurricane bearing down on you, USS Alabama is probably about the safest place in the whole city to be, lol.
As a local, I can say that we’d honestly not mind you spraying I-10 down with 20mm as it would do little to impact the often horrific traffic in the area 😂
My great uncle was a plank owner on her, that is, a member of her commissioning crew, and, served on her until his discharge in '46. He was my inspiration for joining the Navy
I had the privilege of knowing a gentleman who sailed on the Alabama's first voyage. He told me they left for Europe in such haste that assembly crew were still aboard making final preparations. They practiced gunnery enroute. Shortly after the Normandy invasion they quickly left for the Pacific, where he was severely wounded. Throughout his remaining life he suffered terrible nightmares. Rest in peace Mr. H.
I grew up just a few hours drive from the Alabama, and actually lived there for a few years. It's one of the best kept museum ships in the country, along with the USS Kidd. It's crazy to see how good the Alabama looks when compared to the the sad state of the USS Texas, which to its credit is an older ship, and is finally going through a refit.
Don't get me started with Texas. They do all that good patriotic talk, but other states like Alabama, Massachusetts, and others actually act on it. I'm glad Battleship Texas is getting some tlc, but the state of Texas should have never let her get in that condition in the first place.
As a native Alabamian, I can attest how proud we are of our Lucky A! They have some great programs and events on a regular basis. And it is not just the ship, but there is also a plane hanger with some beautiful museum aircraft - including one of the few SR 71's on display. Add to that the other planes, tanks, APC, artillery pieces that are in the park. The park itself has plenty picnic areas and barbecue grills - cause we love to grill in Bama. Then there is the historic city of Mobile itself as well Spanish, French, Confederate and US forts. Just a very miles away are the beautiful sugar-white beaches of Gulf Shores. Plus you will experience prime examples of Southern Hospitality and many friendly and smiling people. This makes Mobile a great vacation destination! When I was in 1st grade, I and many other schoolchildren of Alabama collected dimes to help get the 'Bama to Mobile. We actually collected about 1/3 of the total cost of moving and setting up the ship. Because of this, any Alabama student never pays admission to the museum. I am proud to have been part of that! One more interesting fact: The USS Alabama is a designated Hurricane Shelter and can accommodate over 2,000 people.
@@MrTexasDan You are correct! The A-12 is just a few feet shorter and the SR-71 was a little heavier. Other than a slight difference in nose and chines, kinda hard for a casual observer to notice. Good catch on your part - I have seen it several times and never caught it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
@@bruces1g No problem. At the risk of nit-picking, I only corrected you because I think the A-12s are even rarer. It was quite a treat seeing one that close (I actually touched the front chine, but don't tell anyone!).
@@MrTexasDan IF I remember correctly, I seem to have read that it is only 1 of 8. Regardless, Battleship Park is one of the best state parks anywhere and a great place to visit. Glad to hear that you have enjoyed it!
@@bruces1g You bet. Oh, I forgot ... when we were leaving, there was a guy on a stepladder under the B-52 wing fixing some Katrina damage. I struck up a conversation with him ... he showed me some video on his phone of them backing the A-12 into the museum using an old probably depression-era tractor. The brakes on the A12 were squeaking as it rolled.
He talked about the battle of mobile bay that happened at this location. This is where the famous naval history order “Damn the Torpedoes! Four Bells. Captain Draytin, go ahead! Joett, Full speed ahead” was issued.
USS Alabama was the first museum ship I had the pleasure of being on, back in the early 2000s when I camped aboard her as a boy scout. I have many fond memories aboard her!
During the early 1980's, as a far younger version of myself, I had the great privilege of camping overnight aboard the USS Alabama when I was a boy scout. We slept on deck beneath the stars. What a privilege, now a treasured memory! I've been looking forward to this video with great anticipation. Thank you, Drachinifel. I am so happy you seem to have enjoyed and appreciated your time aboard her as much as I. Best regards to you, sir.
I grew up and live in Mobile AL, I have been to BB60 so many times and have even spent the night. I still would love to see someone with Drach’s background discuss what a confrontation between Alabama and Tirpitz would have likely gone. Since she was hunting tirpitz for awhile there.
It’s nice to see the Alabama get the Drach love she deserves, She’s a beautiful ship, my grandfather was an employee of the insurance company that helped raise the funds to bring her to Mobile, as such he’s got a card that gives free admission to her for him and anyone he brings along
For those planning to visit Alabama make sure you get there early and allow a whole day, just like the Naval Air museum in Pensacola I found myself being searched for by friendly museum staff who wanted to go home and I didn’t even get below the main deck. The view from the highest access point is awesome though.
I live just outside of Pensacola, and the Naval Air museum just recently opened back up, cool place, got some flight simulators. And I if you come at the right time, you might get to see the Blue Angels practicing. I've had them fly over many times and once got a fly over at school. Also there is fort Pickens if you want some 1800's.
As disappointed as I am that a few ships from that era weren't preserved (USS Enterprise), it's amazing fortune that my country is able to preserve as many WW2 era museum ships as it has. I particularly liked the Alabama tour because it was retired pretty quickly after World War II, and still mostly resembles her days as one of the fast battleships of that war. Thanks for the tour.
That is a hoot - I've studied armored fighting ships for over 60 years now and visited many a museum ship but that is the best demonstration of what it is like to handle a 20mm that I have ever seen. The ammunition room below the 5" 38 is also really interesting, hard to believe that the shell handlers were feeding those guns up to 22 rounds a minute! Maybe I missed it but it would seem a certainty that two men moved ammo for each gun. Drach you are great.
As a Bama local, I'm happy to see the Mighty A get shown on your channel. She's a very well kept ship, great staff at the museum, and a wide variety of vehicles to look at around her from tanks to aircraft to the Drum. Loved your content for a while, hope everything's going well for you.
Your comment about the B-52 reminded me of an incident that happened when the US Navy and Air Force held exercises to determine how easy it would be for a B-52 to attack an aircraft carrier. One of the B-52 went through the simulation of an Air-to-Ship cruise missile launch and then decided how close the crew could take their aircraft to the the carrier without being detected. According to the story from one of the "We Were Crewdogs" books, the B-52 crew notified the carrier when they were 9 kilometers out. The carrier crew responded that they did not see the B-52. The B-52 crew suggested that they look down, whereupon the carrier crew saw the B-52 fly by below the flight deck. So, sometimes its good to be dwarfed by a big ship when you're in a big airplane.
Went to see the Alabama as a very young lad. I've been meaning to go back for a tour as an adult. I'm now satiated for the time being. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Mobile.
I live in Mobile and see the USS Alabama almost daily. No matter how many hundreds of times I pass by I can't help but stare. Beautiful ship and the highlight of my commute.
I've toured three battleships - Alabama (#60), Iowa (#61) and New Jersey (#62). Of the three I though the Alabama was the most accommodating for the public. Every single door was open, every feature was accessible. I went from whatever deck allowed me to look down into the smoke stack, then all the way down to the huge gearboxes in the bowels of the ship. And everywhere in between. I was able to roam throughout the ship on a self-guided tour, and in the course of getting lost several times, I learned to keep track of where I was via the fact that each frame was numbered. Every time I went to a different deck level the first thing I learned was to memorize the frame number at the bottom of the stairs. I was able to go to the far bow of the ship, amongst the anchor chains and windlasses , whereas on Iowa and New Jersey that wasn't possible. All three were more than enjoyable to visit, but Alabama just got a couple extra check marks on my scorecard.
North Carolina is quite open as well - they have certain exhibits that are only open when sufficient staff are present to ensure they don't mysteriously show up on eBay.
As a present to myself after I graduated with my history degree, a buddy and I drove over to the Alabama from Tallahassee and spent the day looking around her. It was my first Museum ship. Did you get to see it at night? It’s absolutely gorgeous driving down I10 with her lit up in the distance.
I remember going to the Alabama in 2011 when I was 9 and with my dad, god rest his soul. Every time my family goes to vacation up in Florida, on the way back, we honor my father and his love of military history. Suffice it to say, I have a very, very deep connection with the ship not just because of my dad, but because the Alabama introduced me to Military/Naval History, period. It sucks that I don't even have the means to go to my spirit ship again. Having Autism and a love for naval history are an odd combination, not gonna lie. Literally a crime I didn't go on vacation the same time you we're doing the tour, would've loved to meet you there!
I went to that museum when I was in the Air Force. It's a heck of a place, you could probably spend a couple days there if you wanted. The ship itself is beautiful, a real hidden gem, and the other attractions in the area is rather cheap to visit when compared to other museums I've been to. It's worth a trip if you have time, the gulf is a beautiful place, thanks to Drach for bringing back some great memories. 🙂
I'm from Alabama and my Boy Scout Troop spent the night on the Alabama. This was way back about 1988 or so. There were no security guards or representatives of the park on deck. We owned that ship for the night. The 40mm Bofors guns still swiveled with the crank, and the big deck turrets were accessible. Our imaginatIons ran wild. The first two or three decks were wide open. We played "Capture the Flag" on the main deck. We cooked our chow in her galley. It was one of the greatest nights of my entire childhood.
Our scale modeling club used to have our contests there in the aviation hangar. Great ship, great facility. The story behind how she ended up in Mobile Bay is pretty interesting. Hurricane Katrina scoured a lot of material from under her port side and left her listing because she rests on the bottom. Drum weathered the storm pretty well because she was already on land because her stern was rotting because of galvanic action. Her Kingfisher is in the aviation hangar and still shows the damage from Katrina, where the surge was so high that many of the aircraft in the hangar floated around and bumped into each other. I remember the oil booms that surrounded her because her bunkers are weeping residual fuel oil. If I remember correctly, her bunkers are filled with concrete. For a while, the curator of the many of the exhibits was named Roger, and he looked like a friendly werewolf. Whenever he would see me, he would show me the stuff he had recently acquired. When we would set up for our contests, he would pull a lot of the aircraft out into the parking lot and would even pull out the boarding ladder so we could climb into cockpits! Thanks to him I got to sit in the F-16 and an SBD they had on loan from Pensacola. People like him made history fun. He is sorely missed by a lot of people.
Absolutely fantastic! Getting up close and personal with a preserved warship is always a sobering and breath-taking experience. Alabama looks amazing. Many thanks Drach - These vids make me feel less jealous about your incredible trip, because we all get to come along with you. In fact, I get the feeling that this was sort of a busman's holiday, really? (Props to Mrs Drach; unseen but a total legend for indulging her man-child in the most incredibly generous and tolerant way. I think we all wish we had such an understanding partner.) This is really getting me excited now for the prospect of a trip to see Huascar in a couple of years' time. If that trip comes off it'll be once in a lifetime. Superb video - thanks for keeping us inspired.
And....the restoration and presentation of the submarine USS DRUM ...AT this same location...is AMAZING. Don't miss this place! Even you aviation geeks!
11:07 Drach really puts the fun back into shooting down News Copter 7. Excellent video: A great look into the details of the very interesting, and often overlooked South Dakota class battleships.
My grandfather lost his leg serving in one of the 5” gun turrets on the Alabama, it’s great to hear you explain more of what I didn’t understand when I visited the ship
Had the chance to see her back in 2018, freezing rain upon arrival, but as we toured, the weather cleared to what is seen in this video. Beautiful ship and views of her.
For someone who has visited the USS Alabama, this was a remarkably good presentation of the battleship. It's location is perfect because it is so serene and seeing the ship without a modern backdrop you get a good clue at how large it is. It is just a mountain of metal seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
The USS Alabama has a hole cut into the #2 Barbette so that you can just walk in along the tour route (otherwise only would have been accessible by manholes). They have a bunch of the 16" shells, hoisting equipment, and such visible there. And if I'm not mistaken it is the only museum ship with such access.
I’ve been here half a dozen times, and I find something new every time. Love this park, and the curator has so much passion in this video! Last time I visited, I took all the drach video experience I had and explained as much as I could to my friends, so here’s hoping for more for the next time.
I discovered your channel many years ago, and have enjoyed immensely your sharing of knowledge of naval history, history in general and all the collaborations with others that I have seen you do over the years. Thank you! I was hoping that one day you would get a chance to go aboard the USS Alabama, as I have been there a couple of times, and she is indeed a breathtaking site as you pull in to Battleship Memorial Park! The sheer size of her and those bristling guns made one heck of impression on 8 year old me back in the early 1970’s That Kingfisher was still on the stern when I first went to see her, impressive! I always wondered exactly how those AA guns worked, those were fantastic demonstrations! I have been through that machine shop, and while I wasn’t aware those machines actually were still functional, I did know that was a possibility. Some of the machines that I used when I worked in a fabrication factory were from that era and still perfectly functional and accurate pieces of production equipment! The USS Drum is just as impressive in it’s own right, and I was lucky enough to get to talk with one of her crew who explained a lot about her torpedo’s and life aboard her during a tour the last time I was there. The aircraft museum may be small, but it impressive as well, now hosting an SR-71 prototype, a Huey, F-15, F-18 and even a Red Tail P-51 among others. One day is certainly not enough to see everything. This is a video from many years ago that I believe was shown aboard the Alabama, paying tribute to The Mighty ‘A’, her lucky crew, all who served aboard and those who built her. It has some fantastic footage from the 50’th anniversary celebration back in 1992, and some great archival footage! ua-cam.com/video/TPVuD_yDoHQ/v-deo.html I am very much looking forward to your video on her next year!!
Watching from NW Alabama and have visited the park and crawled all over that massive ship with my young son many years ago. At one time they had a SR-71 in the display hanger, which was a huge machine itself! Glad you enjoyed your visit.
The 5" shell weighs about 55 pounds. From my younger days when we loaded trucks with 80 pound bags of fertalizer or seed, if your team has the technique and skill the first person lifts it (the hoist may impart some momentum if the shell is taken out before it stops) second gets it moving and once it is moving the next people only keep the momentum up and changes in direction necessary to get the object to it's destination. It takes less energy than people might think. With body building excercise and adrenaline it's easier still. The view into the magazine from the lower handeling room through the doorway may have been cut in the bulkhead to permit public access later?
Fan and patron, and a career USN officer, one old enough to have seen the standards come into PNSY, I can’t understand the harping on the anti aircraft batteries. After all, the USN never lost one , even salvaging all but Oklahoma, Utah having lost its classification, after Pearl Harbor. I would be remiss if I failed to mention your three programs on the salvage are among the finest I have ever seen.
Appreciate you covering the old girl Drach. I used to camp on Alabama when I was a kid and visited the ship every summer. Have a lot of fond memories of the ship.
I lived in Mobile years ago. The staff is doing a great job of restoring so many areas of the ship that saw wear over the years. The bridge area looks amazing!
A thank you for saying hello Friday at tankfest Drach. I know you were probably incredibly sleep deprived and jetlagged at the same time. I honestly have started to become a big fan of the South Dakota's I see a size chart of them and then all they have and think how on Earth did they fit that much capability in to such a small (relatively) ship.
The folks who served on them said they robbed bunk space for gun capacity. She was home to a working crew of 2000 at her peak in wartime. They HAD to sleep in shifts. 80% of a Iowa's firepower in 65% of the space.
@@Dewydidit Actually, 80% of the North Carolina's in 65% of the space, since the South Dakota's were North Carolina's reduced in length in order to increase the armor under the Treaty System.
Been there! Feb of 1993. I was working in west Texas for the prior 3 months, then traveled home to Tampa FL after completing that project. USS Alabama was the first battleship that I've seen in person.
The curator seems like a nice and very passionate fellow. Should definitely consider starting on YT, would like to hear more from him and see the rest of the place. All the best to them and their very tidy museum, I had no idea how well kept and expansive this site was, would love to visit one day now.
Yay one the only ships I've actually visited! I was lucky enough on my visit that there was a living history crew there that weekend and one of the members gave a guided tour for our little group. Unfortunately the planes had issues and didn't do the dive bombing. Fortunately a bunch of seagulls obliged to be substitutes and I'm sure suffered a severe emotional event when the 20mms went off.
I was waiting for a video on the Alabama ^_^ When I was in Boy Scouts in the early 2000s, they invited us to tour and sleep aboard the USS Alabama two years in a row. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories and have always stuck with me. It's the whole reason I'm interested in ships, and channels like yours, so this was pleasant to see.
That favorite pic you mentioned is definitely a major factor why approaching a USN battlegroup in WWII was among the most dangerous missions. Especially once the fleet was loaded up with 40mm and 20mm instead of 1.1" and .50 cal.
Another great video on your tour in the US in 2022. I am just surprised it takes about a year to turn one of these out, but it is so nice that you did! I have been on a few of the US battleships, but none of the South Dakota c;lass. And you are heading off to the USS Wisconsin, the only Iowa BBS I have not been on, so I am looking forward to that video! Also, my favorite war plane of all time is the B-52, which I saw in your opening video in the left background. And your name for this episode is so apprepo - "How to make the B-62 look small", which is hard to do, but any major war ship would of course do so. In 1991 I went to the air show in northern San Diego, then called Top Gun, and there was one B-52 on the tarmac. I walked under the bomb bay, and there was one lone Air Force guy standing at the far end (it is quite large, to say the least), and I walked up to him and started a conversation. HE was the pilot who flew that bomber from the air base in Louisiana to Iraq and back at the beginning of the first Iraq war, something like a 34 hour mission!
I recently visited USS Missouri. I expected the 16" turrets to be hugemongous, and they were as expected. What I didn't expect was how huge the 5"/38 dual mounts are. When a USN BB provided offshore fire support its dual 5" secondary battery must have been like a Barrage in a Box.
I toured the U.S. Alabama over 60-years ago and it is still a fond memory. The condition of the U.S. Alabama is amazing as of course is the design of the overall ship. The people of Alabama should be very proud of the U.S. Alabama and the rest of the museum/park. Search UA-cam for "Sweet Home Alabama" performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd 7/2/1977 to get an idea of the spirit of the state. Drach, you did a wonderful job in presenting the ship.
You did very well with lining up the helicopter shot, one thing you did not mention is that the young men that were shooting those things were very “jacked up” on adrenaline at the same time I would imagine and that sometimes gives those young men full of testosterone a extra boost of energy when using those things! I can’t imagine what that would have been like after the fighting to come down off all that adrenaline!
She's a big and beautiful ship, got the honor of touring her a few years back and was amazed at just how big these things are when you're up close to them
Just got to view it yesterday and was awesome to look at Unfortunately i screwed up and didn't know their were no guides so i ran around the ship like an idiot twice which kinda soured the experience was still great
It's a really neat (and cheap) tour. You can also go onboard a submarine, and they have a small, but decent, aircraft collection that includes an SR-71.
Great job on U.S.S. Alabama ,Great videos you do, Looking forward to the new ones ... We broadcast from the ship via Amateur radio on a regular basis, Thanks, Stephen in Mobile , Alabama
we visited the Alabama and the Drum in 1987 on our way to Florida from Texas. it was a wonderful tour. the battleship looked like it could cast off and go to war at a moments notice and it looked like you could eat off the floors. it was absolutely spotless. a great job by the museum crew.
Thanks to Mrs. Drach for working the directional controls on the Bofors. You two make quite a team though I hope Mr. Drach's idea of romantic activities extend beyond such martial exercises.
As a former resident of the red-neck riviera, I have been aboard her (as well as USS Lexington stationed at Pensacola NAS ) and let's just say that she is one of the most impressive feats of modern engineering I've ever witnessed! Once you see the immense size of those 16 inch shells, it's hard to fathom how they were handled at all! She is nothing less than awe inspiring and truly magnificent to behold first hand! They were truly playgrounds for me as a kid! Thank you for a stroll down memory lane!
I remember seeing the Alabama in the latter 80s. They had parts of it roped off from the public as they were using it in the TV series War and Remembrance. The most impressive thing to me were the 16" shells. I'd forgotten about the "Lead dammit lead" instructions on the AA guns. Ty for this video.
I appreciate the videos that you make. I'm sure the guys who manned these ships during WWII would like what you're doing. You are demystifying Naval Warfare in order for civilians to better understand what we had to do onboard the various ships that we've Served on. A ton of great information and well presented. Thank you shipmate and keep em' coming.
Nice video Drach. I hope you do make it back to see more of the ship and the Drum. Take a little more time in that area, the forts at the mouth of Mobile Bay are well worth a visit with a long history of military activity. Down the road in Pensacola is the fantastic Naval Aviation museum. Enjoy a day at the beach and get yourself some good food while you're down there next time.
I toured that one 30 years ago. I remember fawning over all those leaded-barrel M1 Garands, the overstuffed main turrets, and the cramped space between the base of the forward main turret and hull. The ship was in excellent condition.
I've been aboard Alabama (used to live in the states). Incredibly ironically, I'd just had my application for an extended Green Card turned down, so a buddy and me went on a final roadtrip/adventure to Mobile and Florida. We got aboard the Alabama and lo and behold...there was a US Citizenship Ceremony going on. I was not amused.
I have visited the Alabama 2 times already and considering taking for 3rd time this November. It will how much my 5 year old son wants to go there. We will be on vacation headed through the area.
Thanks again Drach! I grew up in Mobile. When I was a very young school child, in the early 1960s, we gave our milk money to fund bringing the Alabama home to permanent port. Your tour was awesome. Certain parts of the upper superstructure are closed to the general public. But, as teens, it was pretty easy to monkey our way up to the top. Also, the Kingfisher was mounted on the catapult until about 1979 (Hurricane Frederic, I think). And don't worry about the decay of the upper hull and superstructure: it's been painted about a million times. And thanks for not shelling I-10.
Hi Drach! It was fun getting to meet you and listen to the “turret talk” during your visit. Good news is that 40mm #10 on Turret III has been converted to fire blanks as well. Hope you can come back in the future on a less hectic schedule. (That was a lot of ships for one go!)
I toured the Alabama back in the late 80's. It looks like they have added some exhibits since then. I love the fact it still has all those 5", 40 and 20mm mounts. Guns sticking out like porcupine quills just screams Battleship! Great report Drach. Next time I am down that way I will definitely stop in and see what's new.
One thing that kinda saddens me is that you didn't visit the memorial mount, which was one of the 5" mounts that due to a failure of a block to prevent it rotating, shot apart one of the mounts above it. It's quite a sad tale.
I had no idea about most of the stuff in this video, and I live about 5 mins away from the place. I'm glad you enjoyed your time here. I've watched your channel for years, mostly because of my interest in the age of sail, but it's cool to see a topic about something that I literally see every day but don't even really pay attention to anymore.
May not have been intentional, but liked the "outer Limits" reference at 15:53. Thank you for the videos, hope you get a chance to get back to Buffalo now the the Sullivan's is back on an even keel.
I stopped in there during my bicycle trip across America twenty years ago. Unfortunately I got there too late to have a significant visit. I did get some helpful hints from a guy in their restaurant about biking in Florida.
Thank you for sharing. I grew up about 120 miles away in SE Alabama and have made a few trips to the park and had a BSA troop on board overnight. She is still an awe inspiring sight!
I've been waiting for this video for a while now, and it was worth the wait! I've toured the Alabama several times, and also toured the U.S.S. Drum (the first Gato-class submarine to enter combat in WWII). Anyone interested in naval ships and WWII history (along with a fascination with military and other aircraft) should put the Battleship Alabama Memorial park on their list of must-see attractions...
Pinned post for Q&A :)
Could you see the us navy bringing back the battleship but instead of gunpowder it uses turrets with railguns, with the railgun having extra rails inside the turret, able to switch out the used rails for new ones in seconds a draw back of the railgun design is the ablative rails.
What was your favorite American ship and town you visited? And if you could save 1 British Battleship that was scrapped what would it be? (Ships sunk in combat aren't viable).
I'd possibly lean toward HMS Nelson given it's involvement in shooting down Bismarck and it would amazing to have it near Victory, HMS Nelson and Nelson's ship itself. I know Warspite is the obvious choice but I wanted to go with something else.
In the time period covered by the channel, what do you believe was the single most impactful advancement of naval technology? I'm inclined to think of the video on the navigation clocks, since if you can't reliably get to where the fight is, nothing else matters much.
If the ship is segregated from the bay with a casein can the salt water be replaced with fresh water? Could you float a few inches of clear mineral oil to create a clear separation between the air and water?
Just a heads-up Drachinifel there getting ready to redo the teak wood deck if you want to try to purchase you a piece of the original WWII teak deck
Drach always has so much fun when he gets to play sailor on a battleship.
I love Drach casually aiming at a helicopter with a 20mm oerlikon and exclaiming "Whee!", It's like a kid at a playground made out of candy.
Who wouldnt!
You wouldn’t. I live In the states and I loved my visit to USS North Carolina and I was running around her like a kid in a candy store.
He adores this stuff. Glad he figured out how to make a living doing it....
Funny. So have these guys. They didn't just take and park a battleship, they thought about how to make a self financing enterprise around it. They have used imagination and entrepreneurial spirit to make it pay. That Drach was amazed at the state of the ship is enough for me. It looks obvious even from the pictures. I did not even know Alabama had been preserved, let alone that she was preserved so very well.
Kudos to the geniuses who figured this out. I can't wait to go there. I've been to almost every other BB in the eastern half of the US.
Why does the word "scampering" come to mind?
I think rusting at the waterline is also heavier because both water and oxygen are available in quantity. Above less water and below less oxygen. I use to work for a utility company and our poles always rotted away at the ground line for that reason. Love your work.
Odd that the available knowledge of water soluble corrosion protection has evaded these caisons pools
@@ricardokowalski1579 I do wonder how much of it would have to be applied for the Alabama, and how periodically such a thing would need reapplication
Crossing the bridge every time you pass they’re working on it. Constantly undergoing repainting and deck work
Fellow futility employee! Indeed you are correct, rot like hell down to 18" or so then not so much. I spent several years running our pole treatment, reinforcement and replacement program. Retired now but I still look at the wire as I drive.
And the salt.
God I wish we (England) would have preserved the warspite or the vanguard. It does the heart good to see the Americans take care of beautiful ships though
I 100% get that. Unfortunately from what I've heard it was a mix of having no money for it and at least the Warspite had been pushed just about to the point of material failure.
as an American, I wish we took better care of our museum ships too...but the way it is, no one want to pay the costs. Even (large parts pf) US battlefields are being plowed under in the name of 'progress'.
@@tomw8647all the battlefields are preserved at least the ones from the revolution and civil war now the native wars are another thing all together
Personally I would've loved to see Rodney saved, she was the most powerful British and therefore most powerful European battleship ever built, she has a very unique design, and she's the one that really charged and sank the Bismarck, she also was at D Day, and she was quite worn out at the end of service so it's not like the navy was going to keep her around for use as a ship. I know most people don't think Rodney is all that good looking but it's a very cool design to me, and I love that bit of footage of Rodney's captain talking about how excited they were to engage Bismarck and that he was glad they were chosen as the Germans' target.
We are holding on to our guns just in case ya'll try going King George on us again.
The Alabama was used as a shelter when one of the hurricanes hit. Drum took a bit of a beating but the old battle wagon came through pretty well. Saw her back in the 70s.
It was also set up as a Cold War Civil Defense shelter. There’s still dozens of cans of survival rations in storage.
Like a hurricaine is gonna sink a battleship!😂
2:43 . Wonderful comment on why they're called battleship, she'll battle anything. THX. 🇺🇲👍
That's not a bad idea honestly. If you're in Mobile Alabama with a Hurricane bearing down on you, USS Alabama is probably about the safest place in the whole city to be, lol.
As a local, I can say that we’d honestly not mind you spraying I-10 down with 20mm as it would do little to impact the often horrific traffic in the area 😂
Odds are you'd face return fire.
@@Dewydidit Yep.
Honestly it'd probably improve it. Not like the road could get worse, anyway.
As someone who drives from Mississippi to Destin every year, I agree.
and don't slow down to 15 mph in the tunnel!
My great uncle was a plank owner on her, that is, a member of her commissioning crew, and, served on her until his discharge in '46. He was my inspiration for joining the Navy
I had the privilege of knowing a gentleman who sailed on the Alabama's first voyage. He told me they left for Europe in such haste that assembly crew were still aboard making final preparations. They practiced gunnery enroute. Shortly after the Normandy invasion they quickly left for the Pacific, where he was severely wounded. Throughout his remaining life he suffered terrible nightmares. Rest in peace Mr. H.
I grew up just a few hours drive from the Alabama, and actually lived there for a few years. It's one of the best kept museum ships in the country, along with the USS Kidd. It's crazy to see how good the Alabama looks when compared to the the sad state of the USS Texas, which to its credit is an older ship, and is finally going through a refit.
But I have a feeling texas is gonna have new life at the end of her drydocking
I’ve seen this beauty of a ship from i10 many times in my work travels, never had a chance to take a tour though.
Don't get me started with Texas. They do all that good patriotic talk, but other states like Alabama, Massachusetts, and others actually act on it. I'm glad Battleship Texas is getting some tlc, but the state of Texas should have never let her get in that condition in the first place.
@@Odin029 States tend to get the government that their voters deserve. Texas, sadly, is a prime example of that.
@@stuartdollar9912Eat a bag. Texas is awesome.
As a native Alabamian, I can attest how proud we are of our Lucky A! They have some great programs and events on a regular basis.
And it is not just the ship, but there is also a plane hanger with some beautiful museum aircraft - including one of the few SR 71's on display. Add to that the other planes, tanks, APC, artillery pieces that are in the park.
The park itself has plenty picnic areas and barbecue grills - cause we love to grill in Bama. Then there is the historic city of Mobile itself as well Spanish, French, Confederate and US forts. Just a very miles away are the beautiful sugar-white beaches of Gulf Shores. Plus you will experience prime examples of Southern Hospitality and many friendly and smiling people. This makes Mobile a great vacation destination!
When I was in 1st grade, I and many other schoolchildren of Alabama collected dimes to help get the 'Bama to Mobile. We actually collected about 1/3 of the total cost of moving and setting up the ship. Because of this, any Alabama student never pays admission to the museum. I am proud to have been part of that!
One more interesting fact: The USS Alabama is a designated Hurricane Shelter and can accommodate over 2,000 people.
I do believe that is an A-12, not an SR-71. But pretty close.
@@MrTexasDan You are correct! The A-12 is just a few feet shorter and the SR-71 was a little heavier. Other than a slight difference in nose and chines, kinda hard for a casual observer to notice.
Good catch on your part - I have seen it several times and never caught it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
@@bruces1g No problem. At the risk of nit-picking, I only corrected you because I think the A-12s are even rarer. It was quite a treat seeing one that close (I actually touched the front chine, but don't tell anyone!).
@@MrTexasDan IF I remember correctly, I seem to have read that it is only 1 of 8.
Regardless, Battleship Park is one of the best state parks anywhere and a great place to visit. Glad to hear that you have enjoyed it!
@@bruces1g You bet.
Oh, I forgot ... when we were leaving, there was a guy on a stepladder under the B-52 wing fixing some Katrina damage. I struck up a conversation with him ... he showed me some video on his phone of them backing the A-12 into the museum using an old probably depression-era tractor. The brakes on the A12 were squeaking as it rolled.
He talked about the battle of mobile bay that happened at this location. This is where the famous naval history order “Damn the Torpedoes! Four Bells. Captain Draytin, go ahead! Joett, Full speed ahead” was issued.
USS Alabama was the first museum ship I had the pleasure of being on, back in the early 2000s when I camped aboard her as a boy scout. I have many fond memories aboard her!
I spent i night there as a Cub Scout in the 2000’s as well. It stormed so bad but being on the ship in a thunderstorm will be a memory I never forget!
What Troop? I was in Troop 25 when we stayed aboard her in the late 90's
@@thedabblingwarlock I don't remember if I am honest, wasn't in long tbh
@@magosryzak7477 Fair enough. I was just trying to see if we might have grown up in the same area.
Drach spinning on a 20mil saying "weeee" made my day
Looked like a workout! 😂
During the early 1980's, as a far younger version of myself, I had the great privilege of camping overnight aboard the USS Alabama when I was a boy scout. We slept on deck beneath the stars. What a privilege, now a treasured memory! I've been looking forward to this video with great anticipation. Thank you, Drachinifel. I am so happy you seem to have enjoyed and appreciated your time aboard her as much as I. Best regards to you, sir.
I grew up and live in Mobile AL, I have been to BB60 so many times and have even spent the night. I still would love to see someone with Drach’s background discuss what a confrontation between Alabama and Tirpitz would have likely gone. Since she was hunting tirpitz for awhile there.
It’s nice to see the Alabama get the Drach love she deserves, She’s a beautiful ship, my grandfather was an employee of the insurance company that helped raise the funds to bring her to Mobile, as such he’s got a card that gives free admission to her for him and anyone he brings along
For those planning to visit Alabama make sure you get there early and allow a whole day, just like the Naval Air museum in Pensacola I found myself being searched for by friendly museum staff who wanted to go home and I didn’t even get below the main deck. The view from the highest access point is awesome though.
I live just outside of Pensacola, and the Naval Air museum just recently opened back up, cool place, got some flight simulators. And I if you come at the right time, you might get to see the Blue Angels practicing. I've had them fly over many times and once got a fly over at school. Also there is fort Pickens if you want some 1800's.
As disappointed as I am that a few ships from that era weren't preserved (USS Enterprise), it's amazing fortune that my country is able to preserve as many WW2 era museum ships as it has. I particularly liked the Alabama tour because it was retired pretty quickly after World War II, and still mostly resembles her days as one of the fast battleships of that war. Thanks for the tour.
That is a hoot - I've studied armored fighting ships for over 60 years now and visited many a museum ship but that is the best demonstration of what it is like to handle a 20mm that I have ever seen. The ammunition room below the 5" 38 is also really interesting, hard to believe that the shell handlers were feeding those guns up to 22 rounds a minute! Maybe I missed it but it would seem a certainty that two men moved ammo for each gun. Drach you are great.
Greetings from Birmingham! … the other Birmingham, Drach.
Thanks for the attention to our state’s ship!
As a Bama local, I'm happy to see the Mighty A get shown on your channel. She's a very well kept ship, great staff at the museum, and a wide variety of vehicles to look at around her from tanks to aircraft to the Drum. Loved your content for a while, hope everything's going well for you.
Your comment about the B-52 reminded me of an incident that happened when the US Navy and Air Force held exercises to determine how easy it would be for a B-52 to attack an aircraft carrier. One of the B-52 went through the simulation of an Air-to-Ship cruise missile launch and then decided how close the crew could take their aircraft to the the carrier without being detected. According to the story from one of the "We Were Crewdogs" books, the B-52 crew notified the carrier when they were 9 kilometers out. The carrier crew responded that they did not see the B-52. The B-52 crew suggested that they look down, whereupon the carrier crew saw the B-52 fly by below the flight deck. So, sometimes its good to be dwarfed by a big ship when you're in a big airplane.
If that's true the ship's lookouts were doing a very poor job.
@@RCAvhstape they're a lot faster than you'd think at that level.
ua-cam.com/users/shortsINzx-iU4gyc
OMG, that must have been a hell of a thing to see! 😮
Went to see the Alabama as a very young lad. I've been meaning to go back for a tour as an adult. I'm now satiated for the time being.
Hope you enjoyed your stay in Mobile.
It’s always a good day when Drachinifel spotlights your state’s ship.
I live in Mobile and see the USS Alabama almost daily. No matter how many hundreds of times I pass by I can't help but stare. Beautiful ship and the highlight of my commute.
I've toured three battleships - Alabama (#60), Iowa (#61) and New Jersey (#62). Of the three I though the Alabama was the most accommodating for the public. Every single door was open, every feature was accessible. I went from whatever deck allowed me to look down into the smoke stack, then all the way down to the huge gearboxes in the bowels of the ship. And everywhere in between. I was able to roam throughout the ship on a self-guided tour, and in the course of getting lost several times, I learned to keep track of where I was via the fact that each frame was numbered. Every time I went to a different deck level the first thing I learned was to memorize the frame number at the bottom of the stairs. I was able to go to the far bow of the ship, amongst the anchor chains and windlasses , whereas on Iowa and New Jersey that wasn't possible. All three were more than enjoyable to visit, but Alabama just got a couple extra check marks on my scorecard.
North Carolina is quite open as well - they have certain exhibits that are only open when sufficient staff are present to ensure they don't mysteriously show up on eBay.
As a present to myself after I graduated with my history degree, a buddy and I drove over to the Alabama from Tallahassee and spent the day looking around her. It was my first Museum ship. Did you get to see it at night? It’s absolutely gorgeous driving down I10 with her lit up in the distance.
I remember going to the Alabama in 2011 when I was 9 and with my dad, god rest his soul. Every time my family goes to vacation up in Florida, on the way back, we honor my father and his love of military history. Suffice it to say, I have a very, very deep connection with the ship not just because of my dad, but because the Alabama introduced me to Military/Naval History, period. It sucks that I don't even have the means to go to my spirit ship again. Having Autism and a love for naval history are an odd combination, not gonna lie. Literally a crime I didn't go on vacation the same time you we're doing the tour, would've loved to meet you there!
Same I went in 2001 with my Dad when I was 6 this episode brought back some memories. He has been gone for a couple years now.
I went to that museum when I was in the Air Force. It's a heck of a place, you could probably spend a couple days there if you wanted. The ship itself is beautiful, a real hidden gem, and the other attractions in the area is rather cheap to visit when compared to other museums I've been to. It's worth a trip if you have time, the gulf is a beautiful place, thanks to Drach for bringing back some great memories. 🙂
I'm from Alabama and my Boy Scout Troop spent the night on the Alabama. This was way back about 1988 or so. There were no security guards or representatives of the park on deck. We owned that ship for the night.
The 40mm Bofors guns still swiveled with the crank, and the big deck turrets were accessible. Our imaginatIons ran wild. The first two or three decks were wide open.
We played "Capture the Flag" on the main deck. We cooked our chow in her galley.
It was one of the greatest nights of my entire childhood.
Same. Around the same time period. I have pictures somewhere. Best rip we ever did.
And a hearthy thanks to mrs. Drach for lending a hand in moving that gun platform!
Our scale modeling club used to have our contests there in the aviation hangar. Great ship, great facility. The story behind how she ended up in Mobile Bay is pretty interesting. Hurricane Katrina scoured a lot of material from under her port side and left her listing because she rests on the bottom. Drum weathered the storm pretty well because she was already on land because her stern was rotting because of galvanic action. Her Kingfisher is in the aviation hangar and still shows the damage from Katrina, where the surge was so high that many of the aircraft in the hangar floated around and bumped into each other. I remember the oil booms that surrounded her because her bunkers are weeping residual fuel oil. If I remember correctly, her bunkers are filled with concrete. For a while, the curator of the many of the exhibits was named Roger, and he looked like a friendly werewolf. Whenever he would see me, he would show me the stuff he had recently acquired. When we would set up for our contests, he would pull a lot of the aircraft out into the parking lot and would even pull out the boarding ladder so we could climb into cockpits! Thanks to him I got to sit in the F-16 and an SBD they had on loan from Pensacola. People like him made history fun. He is sorely missed by a lot of people.
Still have her hat from when I visited her!
USS Drum and the other vehicles there are just an added bonus, and I always recommend everyone go who can!
The team at BMP have done a great job in preserving and presenting history. They are constantly upgrading and restoring.
Absolutely fantastic!
Getting up close and personal with a preserved warship is always a sobering and breath-taking experience. Alabama looks amazing.
Many thanks Drach - These vids make me feel less jealous about your incredible trip, because we all get to come along with you. In fact, I get the feeling that this was sort of a busman's holiday, really?
(Props to Mrs Drach; unseen but a total legend for indulging her man-child in the most incredibly generous and tolerant way. I think we all wish we had such an understanding partner.)
This is really getting me excited now for the prospect of a trip to see Huascar in a couple of years' time. If that trip comes off it'll be once in a lifetime.
Superb video - thanks for keeping us inspired.
And....the restoration and presentation of the submarine USS DRUM ...AT this same location...is AMAZING. Don't miss this place! Even you aviation geeks!
11:07 Drach really puts the fun back into shooting down News Copter 7.
Excellent video: A great look into the details of the very interesting, and often overlooked South Dakota class battleships.
My grandfather lost his leg serving in one of the 5” gun turrets on the Alabama, it’s great to hear you explain more of what I didn’t understand when I visited the ship
Had the chance to see her back in 2018, freezing rain upon arrival, but as we toured, the weather cleared to what is seen in this video. Beautiful ship and views of her.
For someone who has visited the USS Alabama, this was a remarkably good presentation of the battleship. It's location is perfect because it is so serene and seeing the ship without a modern backdrop you get a good clue at how large it is. It is just a mountain of metal seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
The USS Alabama has a hole cut into the #2 Barbette so that you can just walk in along the tour route (otherwise only would have been accessible by manholes). They have a bunch of the 16" shells, hoisting equipment, and such visible there. And if I'm not mistaken it is the only museum ship with such access.
Iowa and New Jersey, at least, are also looking into opening up their barbettes the same way as Alabama and North Carolina.
I’ve been here half a dozen times, and I find something new every time. Love this park, and the curator has so much passion in this video! Last time I visited, I took all the drach video experience I had and explained as much as I could to my friends, so here’s hoping for more for the next time.
I discovered your channel many years ago, and have enjoyed immensely your sharing of knowledge of naval history, history in general and all the collaborations with others that I have seen you do over the years. Thank you! I was hoping that one day you would get a chance to go aboard the USS Alabama, as I have been there a couple of times, and she is indeed a breathtaking site as you pull in to Battleship Memorial Park! The sheer size of her and those bristling guns made one heck of impression on 8 year old me back in the early 1970’s
That Kingfisher was still on the stern when I first went to see her, impressive! I always wondered exactly how those AA guns worked, those were fantastic demonstrations! I have been through that machine shop, and while I wasn’t aware those machines actually were still functional, I did know that was a possibility. Some of the machines that I used when I worked in a fabrication factory were from that era and still perfectly functional and accurate pieces of production equipment!
The USS Drum is just as impressive in it’s own right, and I was lucky enough to get to talk with one of her crew who explained a lot about her torpedo’s and life aboard her during a tour the last time I was there. The aircraft museum may be small, but it impressive as well, now hosting an SR-71 prototype, a Huey, F-15, F-18 and even a Red Tail P-51 among others. One day is certainly not enough to see everything.
This is a video from many years ago that I believe was shown aboard the Alabama, paying tribute to The Mighty ‘A’, her lucky crew, all who served aboard and those who built her. It has some fantastic footage from the 50’th anniversary celebration back in 1992, and some great archival footage! ua-cam.com/video/TPVuD_yDoHQ/v-deo.html
I am very much looking forward to your video on her next year!!
Watching from NW Alabama and have visited the park and crawled all over that massive ship with my young son many years ago.
At one time they had a SR-71 in the display hanger, which was a huge machine itself!
Glad you enjoyed your visit.
So nice to see a BB with her full complement of guns as she was in WWII.
The 5" shell weighs about 55 pounds. From my younger days when we loaded trucks with 80 pound bags of fertalizer or seed, if your team has the technique and skill the first person lifts it (the hoist may impart some momentum if the shell is taken out before it stops) second gets it moving and once it is moving the next people only keep the momentum up and changes in direction necessary to get the object to it's destination. It takes less energy than people might think. With body building excercise and adrenaline it's easier still.
The view into the magazine from the lower handeling room through the doorway may have been cut in the bulkhead to permit public access later?
Fan and patron, and a career USN officer, one old enough to have seen the standards come into PNSY, I can’t understand the harping on the anti aircraft batteries. After all, the USN never lost one , even salvaging all but Oklahoma, Utah having lost its classification, after Pearl Harbor. I would be remiss if I failed to mention your three programs on the salvage are among the finest I have ever seen.
The lads that manned these ships in WW2 were savage beasts.
I can only imagine the muzzle blast from all that AA going at once 😮
USS Alabama is right now getting some minor refreshments
Appreciate you covering the old girl Drach. I used to camp on Alabama when I was a kid and visited the ship every summer. Have a lot of fond memories of the ship.
LOVE the Alabama! Dad lives nearby so every time I drive to visit him (I'm in Colorado), I tour the ship(s).
I lived in Mobile years ago. The staff is doing a great job of restoring so many areas of the ship that saw wear over the years. The bridge area looks amazing!
A thank you for saying hello Friday at tankfest Drach. I know you were probably incredibly sleep deprived and jetlagged at the same time. I honestly have started to become a big fan of the South Dakota's I see a size chart of them and then all they have and think how on Earth did they fit that much capability in to such a small (relatively) ship.
The folks who served on them said they robbed bunk space for gun capacity. She was home to a working crew of 2000 at her peak in wartime.
They HAD to sleep in shifts.
80% of a Iowa's firepower in 65% of the space.
@@Dewydidit Actually, 80% of the North Carolina's in 65% of the space, since the South Dakota's were North Carolina's reduced in length in order to increase the armor under the Treaty System.
@@davidbriggs7365 I take your point, but bear in mind, no North Carolina ever sported that much AA. Iowa's did.
Been there! Feb of 1993. I was working in west Texas for the prior 3 months, then traveled home to Tampa FL after completing that project. USS Alabama was the first battleship that I've seen in person.
The curator seems like a nice and very passionate fellow. Should definitely consider starting on YT, would like to hear more from him and see the rest of the place. All the best to them and their very tidy museum, I had no idea how well kept and expansive this site was, would love to visit one day now.
Funny you should say that. The USS Alabama has had a UA-cam channel for well over a year now
A pleasure to see that mutual enthusiasm.
Yay one the only ships I've actually visited! I was lucky enough on my visit that there was a living history crew there that weekend and one of the members gave a guided tour for our little group.
Unfortunately the planes had issues and didn't do the dive bombing.
Fortunately a bunch of seagulls obliged to be substitutes and I'm sure suffered a severe emotional event when the 20mms went off.
I was waiting for a video on the Alabama ^_^ When I was in Boy Scouts in the early 2000s, they invited us to tour and sleep aboard the USS Alabama two years in a row. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories and have always stuck with me. It's the whole reason I'm interested in ships, and channels like yours, so this was pleasant to see.
That favorite pic you mentioned is definitely a major factor why approaching a USN battlegroup in WWII was among the most dangerous missions. Especially once the fleet was loaded up with 40mm and 20mm instead of 1.1" and .50 cal.
Alabama was the first warship I had ever visited. Really blew my mind how big battleships are. Still one of my favorite ships of all time.
Another great video on your tour in the US in 2022. I am just surprised it takes about a year to turn one of these out, but it is so nice that you did! I have been on a few of the US battleships, but none of the South Dakota c;lass. And you are heading off to the USS Wisconsin, the only Iowa BBS I have not been on, so I am looking forward to that video!
Also, my favorite war plane of all time is the B-52, which I saw in your opening video in the left background. And your name for this episode is so apprepo - "How to make the B-62 look small", which is hard to do, but any major war ship would of course do so. In 1991 I went to the air show in northern San Diego, then called Top Gun, and there was one B-52 on the tarmac. I walked under the bomb bay, and there was one lone Air Force guy standing at the far end (it is quite large, to say the least), and I walked up to him and started a conversation. HE was the pilot who flew that bomber from the air base in Louisiana to Iraq and back at the beginning of the first Iraq war, something like a 34 hour mission!
I recently visited USS Missouri. I expected the 16" turrets to be hugemongous, and they were as expected. What I didn't expect was how huge the 5"/38 dual mounts are. When a USN BB provided offshore fire support its dual 5" secondary battery must have been like a Barrage in a Box.
My grandfathers ship. He loved her till the day he died. One of these days I need to make it back down there for another walkaround.
I toured the U.S. Alabama over 60-years ago and it is still a fond memory. The condition of the U.S. Alabama is amazing as of course is the design of the overall ship. The people of Alabama should be very proud of the U.S. Alabama and the rest of the museum/park.
Search UA-cam for "Sweet Home Alabama" performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd 7/2/1977 to get an idea of the spirit of the state.
Drach, you did a wonderful job in presenting the ship.
You did very well with lining up the helicopter shot, one thing you did not mention is that the young men that were shooting those things were very “jacked up” on adrenaline at the same time I would imagine and that sometimes gives those young men full of testosterone a extra boost of energy when using those things! I can’t imagine what that would have been like after the fighting to come down off all that adrenaline!
I'm so glad you did a video on Alabama. It was the first ship and the first BB I've ever visited when I was a child.
This is just so nostalgic.
having just visited this fine lady a couple weeks ago I do have to say you did a good job making her look good drac
She's a big and beautiful ship, got the honor of touring her a few years back and was amazed at just how big these things are when you're up close to them
Just got to view it yesterday and was awesome to look at
Unfortunately i screwed up and didn't know their were no guides so i ran around the ship like an idiot twice which kinda soured the experience was still great
It's a really neat (and cheap) tour. You can also go onboard a submarine, and they have a small, but decent, aircraft collection that includes an SR-71.
I got to visit last summer. The battleship, submarine, and all the other vehicles make the park really, really cool!
Great job on U.S.S. Alabama ,Great videos you do, Looking forward to the new ones ... We broadcast from the ship via Amateur radio on a regular basis, Thanks, Stephen in Mobile , Alabama
we visited the Alabama and the Drum in 1987 on our way to Florida from Texas. it was a wonderful tour. the battleship looked like it could cast off and go to war at a moments notice and it looked like you could eat off the floors. it was absolutely spotless. a great job by the museum crew.
Thanks to Mrs. Drach for working the directional controls on the Bofors. You two make quite a team though I hope Mr. Drach's idea of romantic activities extend beyond such martial exercises.
As a former resident of the red-neck riviera, I have been aboard her (as well as USS Lexington stationed at Pensacola NAS ) and let's just say that she is one of the most impressive feats of modern engineering I've ever witnessed! Once you see the immense size of those 16 inch shells, it's hard to fathom how they were handled at all! She is nothing less than awe inspiring and truly magnificent to behold first hand! They were truly playgrounds for me as a kid! Thank you for a stroll down memory lane!
I remember offloading 5" and reloading 5" rounds and propellant cases when the ship went into the yards. We cradled, not toss, the rounds.
I remember seeing the Alabama in the latter 80s. They had parts of it roped off from the public as they were using it in the TV series War and Remembrance. The most impressive thing to me were the 16" shells. I'd forgotten about the "Lead dammit lead" instructions on the AA guns. Ty for this video.
I appreciate the videos that you make. I'm sure the guys who manned these ships during WWII would like what you're doing. You are demystifying Naval Warfare in order for civilians to better understand what we had to do onboard the various ships that we've Served on. A ton of great information and well presented. Thank you shipmate and keep em' coming.
We went there in 1968.Went back in 2021,still have my card from 1963 when kids raise pennies to get het here.
When I was a child, I got to tour the submarine when it was in the water. You can look out the periscope!
Nice video Drach. I hope you do make it back to see more of the ship and the Drum. Take a little more time in that area, the forts at the mouth of Mobile Bay are well worth a visit with a long history of military activity. Down the road in Pensacola is the fantastic Naval Aviation museum. Enjoy a day at the beach and get yourself some good food while you're down there next time.
I toured that one 30 years ago. I remember fawning over all those leaded-barrel M1 Garands, the overstuffed main turrets, and the cramped space between the base of the forward main turret and hull. The ship was in excellent condition.
Thanks as always to Drach for your videos, but especially thanks to Mrs. Drach for handling deflection corrections on the quad 40mm.
I drive Past the Alabama 4 times a year going to and from college. I’m hoping to finally stop and visit her soon
I've been aboard Alabama (used to live in the states).
Incredibly ironically, I'd just had my application for an extended Green Card turned down, so a buddy and me went on a final roadtrip/adventure to Mobile and Florida. We got aboard the Alabama and lo and behold...there was a US Citizenship Ceremony going on. I was not amused.
Thanks for this road movie. Love all your stuff but these parts are crown jewels for sure :)
Love the curators' enthusiasm
I have visited the Alabama 2 times already and considering taking for 3rd time this November. It will how much my 5 year old son wants to go there. We will be on vacation headed through the area.
Thanks again Drach! I grew up in Mobile. When I was a very young school child, in the early 1960s, we gave our milk money to fund bringing the Alabama home to permanent port. Your tour was awesome. Certain parts of the upper superstructure are closed to the general public. But, as teens, it was pretty easy to monkey our way up to the top. Also, the Kingfisher was mounted on the catapult until about 1979 (Hurricane Frederic, I think). And don't worry about the decay of the upper hull and superstructure: it's been painted about a million times. And thanks for not shelling I-10.
I have visited this ship twice while on beach vacations. Great video Drach
The deck rework they're finishing up looks phenomenal
I visited the ship twice in my life. Great tour and the additional ships and airplanes as well.
Hi Drach! It was fun getting to meet you and listen to the “turret talk” during your visit. Good news is that 40mm #10 on Turret III has been converted to fire blanks as well. Hope you can come back in the future on a less hectic schedule. (That was a lot of ships for one go!)
I toured the Alabama back in the late 80's. It looks like they have added some exhibits since then. I love the fact it still has all those 5", 40 and 20mm mounts. Guns sticking out like porcupine quills just screams Battleship! Great report Drach. Next time I am down that way I will definitely stop in and see what's new.
The effect of all of those guns that went to war pointed towards the sky is much more impressive than today's missile batteries that are so effective.
One thing that kinda saddens me is that you didn't visit the memorial mount, which was one of the 5" mounts that due to a failure of a block to prevent it rotating, shot apart one of the mounts above it. It's quite a sad tale.
It did not shoot a mount about it. Mount 9 fired into the back of Mount 5, they are at the same level.
I had no idea about most of the stuff in this video, and I live about 5 mins away from the place. I'm glad you enjoyed your time here. I've watched your channel for years, mostly because of my interest in the age of sail, but it's cool to see a topic about something that I literally see every day but don't even really pay attention to anymore.
Your comment "doesn't that just say 'Merica" made me think of the USS Second Amendment Rights in the HMS By Jove video on an April 1 some time back.
May not have been intentional, but liked the "outer Limits" reference at 15:53. Thank you for the videos, hope you get a chance to get back to Buffalo now the the Sullivan's is back on an even keel.
I stopped in there during my bicycle trip across America twenty years ago. Unfortunately I got there too late to have a significant visit. I did get some helpful hints from a guy in their restaurant about biking in Florida.
Thank you for sharing. I grew up about 120 miles away in SE Alabama and have made a few trips to the park and had a BSA troop on board overnight. She is still an awe inspiring sight!
I've been waiting for this video for a while now, and it was worth the wait! I've toured the Alabama several times, and also toured the U.S.S. Drum (the first Gato-class submarine to enter combat in WWII). Anyone interested in naval ships and WWII history (along with a fascination with military and other aircraft) should put the Battleship Alabama Memorial park on their list of must-see attractions...