Est. 1942 · WWII Battleship · National Historic Landmark · Naval Memorial · South Dakota Class
The USS Alabama, hull number BB-60, was the sixth United States Navy vessel to bear the name Alabama. She was laid down at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in February 1940, launched in February 1942, and commissioned in August 1942 as the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships.
During the Second World War the Alabama served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. After convoy escort duty with the British Home Fleet in 1943, she transferred to the Pacific where she screened fast carrier task forces during operations against Tarawa, the Marshalls, the Marianas, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Her gunners are credited with shooting down a number of Japanese aircraft during the carrier raids. The Alabama earned nine battle stars and the nickname "Lucky A" for completing thirty-seven months of combat service without losing a sailor to enemy action.
The only combat-zone fatalities aboard the ship occurred on February 21, 1944, when a 5-inch gun mount (Mount 5) was struck by friendly fire from another of the ship's own 5-inch turrets during a general-quarters exercise. Five sailors inside Mount 5 were killed and eleven were wounded.
The Alabama was decommissioned in 1947 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. In 1962 the State of Alabama formed a commission to acquire the vessel for use as a memorial, and a statewide fundraising effort, including significant contributions from schoolchildren, helped offset towing costs. The ship was moved to Mobile Bay in 1964 and opened as Battleship Memorial Park on January 9, 1965. The submarine USS Drum (SS-228) joined the park in 1969. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 and remains an operating museum drawing approximately a million visitors per year.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Memorial_Park
- https://www.ussalabama.com/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Alabama_(BB-60)
Phantom footstepsPhantom voicesApparitionsDoors opening/closingPhantom sounds
The Alabama's haunted reputation rests primarily on the friendly-fire incident in Mount 5. The five men killed inside the turret on February 21, 1944, are the only deaths recorded aboard the ship in combat service, and accounts of unexplained phenomena often anchor to that compartment.
Reported phenomena include footsteps approaching down empty passageways and stopping when the witness turns to look, voices and conversation overheard in unoccupied berthing spaces, and the heavy steel watertight hatches on the superstructure closing or slamming without wind or apparent cause. Visitors have described apparitions in the cooks' galley and the officers' quarters. The Marine Compartment, where the embarked Marine detachment slept, is frequently named by overnight staff and former park employees in published interviews as a place where footsteps are most often heard.
Not all crew accounts support the haunted reputation. Park staff and Alabama veterans interviewed for local press articles have stated that they have spent long hours aboard alone without incident, and the museum itself does not market the ship as a paranormal attraction. The folklore persists primarily through visitor reports, regional ghost-tour anthologies, and television features.
Notable Entities
Sailors of Mount 5
