USS Alabama

[David F. Smith]

Here is a link to the USS Alabama website. They have posted photos now that the water has receded. The ship is listing at an approx 15 degree angle due to the fact it is sitting on the bottom and has shifted, not due to taking on water.

http://www.ussalabama.com/html/photos/index.php

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Looks to me like the ship did far better then just about anything else there. The museum section with the historic aircraft is a mess. I hope they can make everything right but I think it's obvious that they're going to eat some losses.

 

[David F. Smith]

An earlier article mentioned that 18 people rode out the storm on the ship after driving their vehicles up the ramp onto the deck.

I would think they battened down the hatches real well. One can imagine the looks on their faces when the ship listed over!! Not to mention when they got outside and saw that the ramp was destroyed when the ship moved. I wonder if any of their cars got blown overboard?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

The ship was probably the safest possible place to ride out the storm. They may not have liked losing the cars (I have doubts about that one. I've seen the ship and the ramps looked too small for that) but better to lose the cars then to lose their lives.

 

[Wayne Keen]

"An earlier article mentioned that 18 people rode out the storm on the ship after driving their vehicles up the ramp onto the deck."

That few? I remember close to 100 riding out Dennis earlier.

"One can imagine the looks on their faces when the ship listed over!!"

The ship also shifted. In some sense she was probably pseudo-afloat at one point - that would have been - weird.

Wayne

 

[David F. Smith]

Wayne, perhaps I misread that and they meant 18 families? But that would also imply 18 vehicles to deal with. I could see getting 5 or 6 small cars up that ramp and parked on the deck. With an anticipated storm surge of 20-25 feet they sure knew that any cars left in the lot would have been submerged. I suppose they would have tied the cars down to the deck somehow.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

From the photos I've seen, I can't find any evidence that there were any vehicals on deck and I don't recall seeing any points in the deck where much of anything could be tied down. That doesn't mean it wasn't attempted for something, but if it was, the vehical was either removed from the ship, or it's now Mobile Bay's newest marine habitat.

 

[Wayne Keen]

Update from the USS Alabama site:

http://www.ussalabama.com/html/news/index.cgi?action=fullscreen&primary_key=50

STILL NO DATE SET FOR PARK REOPENING Tuesday, Nov 01, 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park officials are encouraged by the slow-but-sure progress being made by Jordan Pile Driving, Inc. in its dredging efforts alongside Battleship USS ALABAMA (BB-60).

The Mobile based company, with the recommendation of engineers from David Volkert & Associates, Inc., has been removing soil from the starboard side of BB-60 in an attempt to slowly lower the battleship f4rom its current 4 degree list back down to a even keel sitaution. The dredge material is being stored on a barge and will be returned to the battleship's cofferdam upon completion.

If the names of Jordan Pile Driving and Volkert are familiar to Battleship supporters, they are the two firms that led the battleship' spectacular and award-winning hull restoration project in 2003.

The Park will reopen approximately 30 days after the ship becomes upright again. The Entrance building, which houses the Ticket Office as well as the Gift Shop and Galley, is currently being repaired. Repairs are currently on-going in the rest of the Park.

The concrete gangway which leads up to the battleship was destroyed in Katrina. Construction and placement of a replacement cannot take place until the ship positions itself at a position which probably will be slightly different from its original position for the past 41 years. Drawings are ready and construction should begin quickly after a definite position is achieved.

Please continue to watch this section for news. Every effort is being made to expediate this process as Battleship Memorial Park has no income while closed and receives no public funding for daily operations.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I noticed in that article that there's an address where anyone interested in helping out can send contributions. I hope it's getting some use. The lack of income can prove to be a greater threat to this ship's continued survival then any hurricane.

 

[Wayne Keen]

I wasn't sure that it was appropriate to keep that with the article that I posted. I first put it in, and then took it out.

Wayne

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Keeping it out was probably a good idea if only out of fairness to advertisers who pay for the priviledge on this site. I'd still encourage anyone who wants to make use of it to do so.

 

[Wayne Keen]

From here:
http://www.ussalabama.com/html/photos/index.php

FINALLY!! BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK TO REOPEN JANUARY 9TH Wednesday, Dec 28, 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(December 28, 2005) Mobile, AL — After being closed more than 4 months due to immense damage from Hurricane Katrina, USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park will hold a Grand Re-opening Ceremony and Press Conference at 9:00 am on Monday, January 9, 2006. Commission Chairman Robert Edington of Mobile made the announcement.

This is a special day, as it is also the 41st anniversary of Battleship Memorial Park opening to the public in 1965. Over 12 million visitors have visited USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park in the past forty one years.

It is also the 59th anniversary of the decommissioning of Battleship ALABAMA whic occurred in Bremerton, Washington on January 9, 1947.

Battleship USS ALABAMA and the Submarine USS DRUM will be open for touring and most of the aircraft, although still damaged and unrepaired, are also able to be viewed in the parking lot.

The public is encouraged to visit Battleship Memorial Park to see first hand, the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and also witness the rebuilding efforts that are ongoing bringing Battleship Memorial Park back to life. In the 41 years that the park has been open, never has Battleship Memorial Park experienced such devastation.

USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park is an independent agency of the State of Alabama, and is totally self-supporting for daily operations. Being closed for the last four months, Battleship Memorial Park has had a loss of revenue close to $700,000. Reports show that repairs will cost in excess of $4 million. Coupled with an anticipated $500,000 short fall in insurance coverage, the Park will suffer a total loss of more than $1.2 million dollars.

Battleship Memorial Park serves as a memorial to all men and women who have or are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. Battleship Memorial Park is also one of the top tourist attractions in the State of Alabama and in the City of Mobile. “The reopening of USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park brings back one of Mobile Bay’s signature attractions to our visitors and shows that Mobile Bay is truly wide open for business” said Leon Maisel, President of the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Good news here. I hope the re-opening will bring in lots of revenue from admissions and extra donations. Some of those losses, particularly of the historic aircraft, will probably never be made good.

 

[Wayne Keen]

I suspect a lot of the early days of being "open" will also serve to push the fund raising for recovery efforts - when people see how bad things still are.

I am thinking about taking my son soon. He loves going there.

Wayne

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I enjoyed that ship when I paid a visit to here back in 1989. Took me a couple of hours to get there from New Orleans but it was well worth the trip. I've since been aboard the North Carolina and I had a look at both the New Jersey and the Missouri during their final commissions.

 

[Wayne Keen]

When my son and I were coming back from visiting my mother around Thanksgiving, we noticed that section of the entrance ramp to I-10 that one would use to go from the museum onto the interstate going east were still knocked out of place.

Wayne