Hurricane Katrina
Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:03 pm
I was just watching a report about how hurricane Katrina ravaged Mobile,Al. My heart goes out to all the people affected. I wonder what if anything is left of the airplane collection at the USS Alabama. It certainly doesnt look good.
Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:53 am
Hey Pat
Is the USS Alabama's ship number BB-60? I saw a photo on TV of what appeared to be a battleship that was listing to port and may have suffered some damage. The number on it was "60".
Ted B.
Is the USS Alabama's ship number BB-60? I saw a photo on TV of what appeared to be a battleship that was listing to port and may have suffered some damage. The number on it was "60".
Ted B.
Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:59 am
Pat, see the aircraft in danger thread. Alabama is listing to port and is BB-60. She CANNOT sink. She is already sitting on the bottom.
Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:00 pm
Thats it. Go to ussalabama.com for the details of damage. The battleship is listing. Looks like the park will be closed a long time. 
Robbie
Robbie
Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:13 pm
From the Mobile Register
Battleship Park sees extensive damage
Everything on the Causeway is flooded,' says Spanish Fort police spokeswoman
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
By GEORGE WERNETH
Staff Reporter
Battleship Memorial Park on the Causeway sustained extensive damage Monday from the winds of Hurricane Katrina, which left the park's aircraft pavilion apparently battered into a "total loss" and its centerpiece USS Alabama listing, officials said.
The damage appears to be "between $1.5 and $2 million," said Bill Tunnell, the park's executive director, and he noted that this was just a preliminary estimate and was "conservative."
As for the rest of the Causeway, dotted with some of the area's best seafood restaurants, the news also was not good. "Everything on the Causeway is flooded," according to a spokeswoman for the Spanish Fort Police Department, which has jurisdiction over much of that strip across the northern end of Mobile Bay. The extent of the damage to these establishments was not immediately determined.
Meanwhile, Tunnell said the park could possibly be closed for weeks for repairs but said a further inspection of the damage would have to be made before he could know for sure. He said there was also about 2 feet of water in the park's gift shop.
"One of the leading tourist attractions in the state of Alabama has taken it on the chin," Tunnell said.
"From all reports, damage to the park was worse than damage (inflicted) by Frederic," Tunnell said, referring to Hurricane Frederic, a Category 3 hurricane that hammered the Alabama coast in 1979.
The park's director said about 18 members of the park staff and their families rode out Katrina's fury inside the battleship as members have done voluntarily dating back to Hurricane Camille, a Category 5 storm which made a direct hit on the Mississippi coast in 1969.
Tunnell said the 18 members on the vessel were not in any danger but said they could be stranded on the World War II battleship for several days as much of the park was under 4 feet of water Monday. He said their vehicles -- which they drove up a gangway onto the ship before Katrina struck -- also could not be removed right away.
He said the concrete gangway that was used to drive the vehicles onto the ship was badly damaged and could not be used to drive the vehicles off the vessel.
Tunnell has said in the past that the USS Alabama, which has been the centerpiece of the park since it opened during January 1965, is "the safest place in the area to be during a hurricane." He noted that the 680-foot-long battleship weighs 80 million pounds and is anchored in some 20 feet of Mobile Bay mud.
While the battleship was left listing toward the port side, Tunnell said, it is not believed to have incurred any serious damage. "The ship has shifted its position, and will have to be straightened back up." He said this also occurred during Camille.
While Tunnell reported that damage to the aircraft pavilion was severe, he said the dozen or so vintage warplanes inside apparently "are all repairable."
Bill Parsons, who has been an employee of the park since it opened more than 40 years ago, said the damage inflicted on the park by Katrina was the worse he had ever seen there in any hurricane, Tunnell said.
Battleship Park sees extensive damage
Everything on the Causeway is flooded,' says Spanish Fort police spokeswoman
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
By GEORGE WERNETH
Staff Reporter
Battleship Memorial Park on the Causeway sustained extensive damage Monday from the winds of Hurricane Katrina, which left the park's aircraft pavilion apparently battered into a "total loss" and its centerpiece USS Alabama listing, officials said.
The damage appears to be "between $1.5 and $2 million," said Bill Tunnell, the park's executive director, and he noted that this was just a preliminary estimate and was "conservative."
As for the rest of the Causeway, dotted with some of the area's best seafood restaurants, the news also was not good. "Everything on the Causeway is flooded," according to a spokeswoman for the Spanish Fort Police Department, which has jurisdiction over much of that strip across the northern end of Mobile Bay. The extent of the damage to these establishments was not immediately determined.
Meanwhile, Tunnell said the park could possibly be closed for weeks for repairs but said a further inspection of the damage would have to be made before he could know for sure. He said there was also about 2 feet of water in the park's gift shop.
"One of the leading tourist attractions in the state of Alabama has taken it on the chin," Tunnell said.
"From all reports, damage to the park was worse than damage (inflicted) by Frederic," Tunnell said, referring to Hurricane Frederic, a Category 3 hurricane that hammered the Alabama coast in 1979.
The park's director said about 18 members of the park staff and their families rode out Katrina's fury inside the battleship as members have done voluntarily dating back to Hurricane Camille, a Category 5 storm which made a direct hit on the Mississippi coast in 1969.
Tunnell said the 18 members on the vessel were not in any danger but said they could be stranded on the World War II battleship for several days as much of the park was under 4 feet of water Monday. He said their vehicles -- which they drove up a gangway onto the ship before Katrina struck -- also could not be removed right away.
He said the concrete gangway that was used to drive the vehicles onto the ship was badly damaged and could not be used to drive the vehicles off the vessel.
Tunnell has said in the past that the USS Alabama, which has been the centerpiece of the park since it opened during January 1965, is "the safest place in the area to be during a hurricane." He noted that the 680-foot-long battleship weighs 80 million pounds and is anchored in some 20 feet of Mobile Bay mud.
While the battleship was left listing toward the port side, Tunnell said, it is not believed to have incurred any serious damage. "The ship has shifted its position, and will have to be straightened back up." He said this also occurred during Camille.
While Tunnell reported that damage to the aircraft pavilion was severe, he said the dozen or so vintage warplanes inside apparently "are all repairable."
Bill Parsons, who has been an employee of the park since it opened more than 40 years ago, said the damage inflicted on the park by Katrina was the worse he had ever seen there in any hurricane, Tunnell said.
Wed Aug 31, 2005 8:51 pm
Didn't they have a Mustang on display outside??
Thanks,
Lynn
Thanks,
Lynn
Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:15 pm
OS2U?
Thu Sep 01, 2005 3:52 am
The Kingfisher was (the last time I saw it -2002) displayed inside the museum. So was the P-51 and other aircraft.
The Kingfisher was brought back from Mexico, where it had served with their naval air arm.
If the hangar is a "total loss" this very well means that the displays inside are also destroyed.
Luckily, no mention is made of any of the staffers to have been either injured or killed.
I believe that the magnitude of the disaster is so huge, that many people still fail to grasp the severity of this tragedy.
Tulio
The Kingfisher was brought back from Mexico, where it had served with their naval air arm.
If the hangar is a "total loss" this very well means that the displays inside are also destroyed.
Luckily, no mention is made of any of the staffers to have been either injured or killed.
I believe that the magnitude of the disaster is so huge, that many people still fail to grasp the severity of this tragedy.
Tulio
Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:04 am
Col. Rohr wrote:Lynn Allen wrote:Didn't they have a Mustang on display outside??
Thanks,
Lynn
Yes
Nope - not anymore - it had moved inside some time ago and was displayed in a 332nd FG (Tuskeege Airmen) scheme.
Martin
Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:24 am
hey tulio, did that kingfisher ever operate with pontoons in mexico?? if i recall when it came to the u.s. it had it's fixed landing gear attached. also did this bird have a u.s. ww 2 history?? or was it purchased by mexico during the war?? regards, tom
Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:13 am
Don't forget the AU-1 there as well.
I was there last month and the SR-71 and B-25 were outside, that cannot be good.
I was there last month and the SR-71 and B-25 were outside, that cannot be good.
HYPE!!!!
Thu Sep 01, 2005 2:19 pm
I think that most of us were not aware of the depth of this at first. We suffer from the media coverage of hurrricanes and and the overblown reporters who hype them. Lets say the "CRY WOLF" syndrome that has developed about these storms. The pictures told us the true story.
The Networks have taken the news department from a separate entity and merged them with the entertainment units. I guess more hype, more profits!
I think the networks should look at the responsibility they hold and way they broadcast the weather.
On another front, we in other parts of the country are not that familiar with the geography of the Crescent city and would have no way of knowing how the levee system works or protects. We are concerned with how it may affect us, with little regard to the broad picture which as it turns out will affect us all.
The Networks have taken the news department from a separate entity and merged them with the entertainment units. I guess more hype, more profits!
I think the networks should look at the responsibility they hold and way they broadcast the weather.
On another front, we in other parts of the country are not that familiar with the geography of the Crescent city and would have no way of knowing how the levee system works or protects. We are concerned with how it may affect us, with little regard to the broad picture which as it turns out will affect us all.