I’m a sucker for stuff like this.
Can you imagine operating this ship under wartime conditions?
Mesmerizing. Let’s crawl through the turret as well.
If you aren’t gobsmacked by the ingenuity and the creative genius of a device like this ship — designed and assembled in only four years (a fraction of what it takes to build a ship today) — then you’re not paying attention.
BZ
Of all the Battle Wagon Museums the USS Alabama (BB-60) berthed in Mobile Alabama offers the best tours (self guided) you can visit everything from stem to stern, top to bottom.
USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota-class battleship, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy named after the US state of Alabama. Alabama was commissioned in 1942 and served in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters
WWII-era battleship docked at a memorial park. Visitors can board & explore via self-guided tours.
Yes can imagine operating under battle conditions. It would be awful and terrifying as are all battle conditions.
One of the design firms that I used to work for had the contract to oversee the conversion of the Battleship New Jersey from mothball to museum. I was able to go through that ship from top to bottom, spotting towers to engine room, even the powder magazines.The engine rooms are truly works of art with the multitude of valves and handwheels, and all of the piping in between. Amazing. We climbed into turret 1 and the log book was there from the last time that the big guns were fired. The barrels were named “Pete”, “Repeat”, and “Ditto”. The range and accuracy was amazing, especially when you consider that this is essentially 1930’s technology. No other ship in the fleet has the beautiful lines of these Battleships.