Sure, the USS Alabama saw combat in World War II. Engaged in both the Atlantic and Pacific, it brought down 22 enemy airplanes and never lost a man to enemy action. It survived two typhoons that saw other ships lost forever. The sailors and marines of the USS Alabama were some of the first Americans onshore in Japan after the war was over.
It sounds exciting, but can anyone doubt the ship's best moments occurred when one Steven Seagal occupied her for the filming of his classic motion picture Under Siege? The ship itself is deadly, but I am firmly of the belief that the war could have been over much quicker if the Alabama had a man like Seagal on board during WWII. Could he have snuck into mainland Japan and aikidoed the Emperor into submission before the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Alas...
The USS Alabama has been put out to pasture in Mobile, Alabama. It's an interesting monument to a simpler time and a great opportunity to see how sailors lived at sea and just how big a 9X16 inch gun is (hint: big). There's so much to see on the Gulf Coast and if you have an hour to kill when you're passing through, there are worse ways to spend it than touring the Alabama.
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