Went to Alabama for spring break - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 04-04-2010, 11:13 AM

We have been to Florida so many times that we needed a new place to go. The smokies just didn't seem right anymore without any kids to take to the go Kart track and hike in the Mountains.

So I decided I wanted to go to Mobile since there was some Civil war stuff there and it would probably be fairly warm. The lovely Mrs. W only stipulated it must be a place we can drive to in one day.

We want all the way down to the Gulf and camped in Gulf shore state park. A lot of the trees were missing branches and bark above 20'....left over from Katrina. The low scrubbish evergreen trees were intact and looked like they might be 2000 years old. They are still rebuilding their buildings at the park. The entry structure is a double wide trailer.

The weather was wonderfully warm and sunny on Sunday our first day there and then it was cooler after that but very very nice.

We poked around the Gulf area venturing to Florida and up to Mobile.

The first order of business was seeing the Alabama, a retired WW2 Battleship. There was also a small air museum there and a WW2 Sub (US). I wandered through the sub for an hour or so and looked at the airplanes. You are allowed to wander freely in the sub and can touch most everything. (cool!). I was able to squeeze down between the diesel engines and the hull (well actually I got stuck because it was built for small young men).

The diesel engines have two crankshafts, one above and one below a cylinder which has two pistons coming together with a common combustion chamber. I am not sure what the benefit is of such an unusual design....perhaps it is a packaging thing...fitting two engines in the space one takes up in plan.

Then I went onto the Alabama. The sixteen inch guns are totally awesome! They throw a 1,900# projectile eight miles (I thought they had a longer range than that!). Loading them and firing them is a totally staggering thing. The projectiles are moved around mechanically with chutes, lifts and elevators. They have films of them firing....the cloud of smoke and fire is huge! The turrets are surrounded with about 18" of armor.

I climbed up seven levels and was able to walk into the bridge and the areas where the men stood who controlled the guns. The control areas are armored with 18" of armor too and have doors like bank safes to protect the men who fire the guns.

Every level on the bridge no matter how small has at least two ladders out I suppose in case of fire or damage, they want the men to be able to get out. It's like exiting on a building but more compressed. Some places the two ladders are eight feet apart.

Down below deck the kitchn is huge. The dining areas are not though so I guess they must have eaten in shifts. There is an area just for serving ice cream too. The crew was 2500 men at a time.

I went all the way down into the engine room. The ship has at least six high pressure steam boilers (600 PSI) which run turbines which turn the props and also generate electricity.

It was all fueled by diesel fuel, I believe and there are at least twelve places to attach hoses to refuel the ship.

The engines and the powder magazine are the most protected areas of the ship right in the center of gravity, too.

The Alabama too was wonderfully accessible, you could climb and poke around in nearly every part of it. the only areas forbidden were areas where they had exhibits with manniquens and so forth.

A wonderful exhibit.

We ate in a wonderful Jazz restaurant next to the Alabama park which has a great collection of old Pictures on the walls.

The next day we went over to Pensacola to the Naval air museum. It is a modern building with a great collection of war birds. It has everything from Wright Brothers era planes to space aircraft. it also has a very nice collection of walk through diaramas with streets mocked up with small walk in shops showing what was for sale in the WW2 era.

There was also a mock up of a base in the Pacific with thatched roof huts and so forth with planes there with mannequins working on them. Varous places there were TV screens set up showing films about various subjects related to naval flying.

Included was a small biplane which had flown with the Macon, a dirigible which flew between the wars and had a half dozen or so small fighter planes which launched from trapezes. All three of the us dirigibles broke up in bad weather and sank in the oceans.

There was a nice collection of models of Aircraft carriers which were about nine feet long in the main lobby.

Upstairs is a nice collection of Naval Air related art.

It also has a very nice sit down restaurant with cloth table cloths.

It is also the home of the Blue Angels. They fly nearly every day, I believe. I missed the show.

One could easily spend all day or three there. I spent three hours, limited by the patience of the lovely Mrs. W and my bum knee.

We also poked around the seaside areas looking for nice Antique shops and places to eat on the water.

I picked up about a dozen old books and a few "Mantiques" (this is a new word I have made up to cover any antique a man would be interested in).

I got a wooden tool...a carpenter's scribe, and a few other Mantiques.

We got home last night.

I got between twelve and thirteen mpg pulling our 30' Award trailer with the 03 Dodge cummins six manual. The only thing I did was put in a new air filter when I noticed the fuel mileage was trailing off a bit and noticed the air filter indicator indicated a new af was needed.

We had very little rain and beautiful weather and when we got back to Indiana we managed to bring it along. Its beautiful here today too.

kerry · #2 04-04-2010, 11:21 AM

Fair amount of discussion about opposed piston diesel engines on here in the past. Junkers had one on an airplane and the Deltic diesel was a British locomotive engine set up with six pistons in a triangle system on each bank. Very high power to weight ratio.

http://www.sdrm.org/roster/diesel/fm/index.html

Dee8go · #3 04-04-2010, 11:28 AM

I've been on the USS North Carolina many times. I believe those 16" guns have a range of twenty miles. Battle ships are very impressive vessels. Glad you had a good time. I've never been to Alabama, but hope to one day do a driving trip through the South and see some of those antebellum mansions and ruins.

If I make it to Mississippi, maybe we can see the famed Powerpig Plantation in Diamondhead . . . .

t walgamuth · #4 04-04-2010, 11:35 AM

20 miles sounds more like it. I remember them talking about firing on the Bismark before they could see it due to the curvature of the earth. (now that does not seem possible either).

dynalow · #5 04-04-2010, 11:37 AM

Happy Easter Tom. Here's a salute to you and the USS Alabama.

Go Navy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIcDV3umMjI

t walgamuth · #6 04-04-2010, 11:53 AM

Thanks! that was good.

In looking at the iron sights the anti aircraft had it is amazing that they every were able to hit any planes at all!

Jim B. · #7 04-04-2010, 12:17 PM

Isn't there a rocket center in Huntsville or somewhere in Alabama where Wehrner von Braun, of V1, V2 Nazi rocket fame, and later of the Redstone and moon rocket fame worked?

I would have loved to have seen that.

I have met a few folks from the"Heart of Dixie" and seldom found nicer, engaging and polite people, I would love to go there one day.

Glad you had such a great time. It sounds like a good place to retire, too.

dynalow · #8 04-04-2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Thanks! that was good.

In looking at the iron sights the anti aircraft had it is amazing that they every were able to hit any planes at all!

Here's some history of the South Dakota class battleships, which were all under construction before Pearl Harbor. The Alabama was launched just two months after, in Feb. 42. She had a short service career, being laid up in 47 and never being recalled to active service.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/usnshtp/bb/bb57cl.htm

An architect may find this discussion of the South Dakota class armor belt design interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota_class_battleship_(1939)
[url]

t walgamuth · #9 04-04-2010, 12:44 PM

That had some great info.

Thanks!

okyoureabeast · #10 04-04-2010, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

I've been on the USS North Carolina many times. I believe those 16" guns have a range of twenty miles. Battle ships are very impressive vessels. Glad you had a good time. I've never been to Alabama, but hope to one day do a driving trip through the South and see some of those antebellum mansions and ruins.

Ahh! I've been on that battle ship before a ton of times with my dad when I was younger. Wilmington is such a fun town to be in.

Not to mention all of the crazy beaches around there.

Walrus · #11 04-04-2010, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

Isn't there a rocket center in Huntsville or somewhere in Alabama where Wehrner von Braun, of V1, V2 Nazi rocket fame, and later of the Redstone and moon rocket fame worked?...

Huntsville, North Central Alabama, just a few miles south of the Tennessee line, Huntsville Space and Rocket Center..

Not to spoil for you, but... INCREDIBLE, if you are a space buff. There is a Saturn V STANDING as if ready to launch (not to mention one lyig down with each stage separated, housed in a museum. It was declared a national landmark in the 90's If I recall correctly). In "rocket park", there are also numerous earlier rockets Standing at attention, including the Saturn 1B and other military "birds". museum is chock full of hardware that takes the observer through the advancements made during the early years of the space program. A full-size shuttle is on display at the entrance, and my favorite, a SR71 balckbird! sits outside the museum.

I practically lived there in the 70's, and have been back numerous times thru the years. Still remains as one of my favorite places to visit.

#12 04-04-2010, 08:46 PM

I should check out Huntsville sometime, I've been working in chattanooga for a few weeks; it's only a couple of hours away.

gatorblue92 · #13 04-04-2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

If I make it to Mississippi, maybe we can see the famed Powerpig Plantation in Diamondhead . . . .

he has a plantation

t walgamuth · #14 04-04-2010, 09:44 PM

There is also a sr70 blackbird at the Alabama site as well in the little air museum. It is the second I have seen so far. The one at Dayton was seen last summer. The one at the alabama site is better lighted so you can see each panel and where it is rivited or however it is fastened. Not as dramatically displayed as at Dayton but a good counterpoint and I seem to think you can get quite a bit closer and also from the balcony can see it from above somewhat.

What an awesome plane! they also have a rivergun boat from the vietnam era.

Angel · #15 04-04-2010, 10:03 PM

TW et al.
I spent a few mo in Biloxi with teh AF and motorcycled over the the USS Alabama more than a few times. Awesome machine. Somewhere I have a picture of my sportbike in front of the SR71 - machines built for a purpose...

It kills me that most the restoration/staffing of the 'old military iron' museums is by volunteers and free labor. Most of those guys were ex-navy, ex-battleship or otherwise ex-military - I wish I had that kinda time to just hang out on a submarine (I was on a boat) and give tours, talk about the times, tell sea stories...I'm jealous of those guys sometimes. The rest of the time I wish that more businesses/outside money could help fund these places (no tax money thank you =) so that these guys arent worrying about 5$ tools when the ship needs some work.

There is a mobile children's museum also - small but neat. And that is part of the country where kids get a day off of school for Mardi Gras, with accompanying festivities.

I could live down there if I had to =)

-John