USS Alabama (BB-8)

Alabama off New York City in 1912
History
United States
Name:	Alabama
Namesake:	State of Alabama
Builder:	William Cramp & Sons
Laid down:	1 December 1896
Launched:	18 May 1898
Commissioned:	16 October 1900
Decommissioned:	7 May 1920
Struck:	Transferred to War Department, 15 September 1921
Fate:	Sunk as a target by Army Air Service, 27 September 1921 Sold for scrap, 19 March 1924
General characteristics
Class and type:	Illinois-class battleship
Displacement:	Full load: 12,250 long tons (12,450 t)
Length:	374 ft (114 m)
Beam:	72 ft 3 in (22.02 m)
Draft:	23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Installed power:	8 fire-tube boilers 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shaft vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Crew:	536
Armament:	4 × 13 in (330 mm)/35 caliber guns 14 × 6 in (152 mm)/40 caliber guns 16 × 6-pounder guns (57 mm (2.2 in)) 6 × 1-pounder guns (37 mm (1.5 in)) 4 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 4 to 16.5 in (102 to 419 mm) Turrets: 14 in (356 mm) Barbettes: 15 in (381 mm) Casemates: 6 in (152 mm) Conning tower: 10 in (254 mm)

USS Alabama (BB-8) was an Illinois-class pre-dreadnought battleship built for the United States Navy. She was the second ship of her class, and the second to carry her name. Her keel was laid in December 1896 at the William Cramp and Sons shipyard, and she was launched in May 1898. She was commissioned into the fleet in October 1900. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 13-inch (330 mm) guns and she had a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).

Alabama spent the first seven years of her career in the North Atlantic Fleet conducting peacetime training. In 1904, she made a visit to Europe and toured the Mediterranean. She took part in the cruise of the Great White Fleet until damage to her machinery forced her to leave the cruise in San Francisco. She instead completed a shorter circumnavigation in company with the battleship Maine. The ship received an extensive modernization from 1909 to 1912, after which she was used as a training ship in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She continued in this role during World War I. After the war, Alabama was stricken from the naval register and allocated to bombing tests that were conducted in September 1921. She was sunk in the tests by US Army Air Service bombers and later sold for scrap in March 1924.

Alabama was 374 feet (114 m) long overall and had a beam of 72 ft 3 in (22.02 m) and a draft of 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m). She displaced 11,565 long tons (11,751 t) as designed and up to 12,250 long tons (12,450 t) at full load. The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at 16,000 indicated horsepower (12,000 kW) and eight coal-fired fire-tube boilers, generating a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). As built, she was fitted with heavy military masts, but these were replaced by cage masts in 1909. She had a crew of 536 officers and enlisted men, which increased to 690–713.