David Doyle Books Review - USS Alabama BB-60

Legends of Warfare
USS Alabama (BB-60)
by David Doyle

Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
August 2021

David Doyle Books has released a new title. This one covers the USS Alabama, (BB-60), a South Dakota-class battleship, which served during World War II, and is now a museum ship. This book is 128 pages long, and includes a history of the Alabama, from keel laying through her current service as a museum ship. There are more than 230 photos, including some in original color. There are also some color profiles showing Alabama in different camouflage measures, as well as line drawings.

This book is laid out with an introduction and three subsequent chapters:

- Chapter 1 - Construction
- Chapter 2 - Commissioning and Fleet Service
- Chapter 3 - Memorial

While the book is broken into three chapters, the page count is almost evenly divided between her service with the fleet and her service as a memorial. The book is full of great photographs, including many pictures that I have not seen before. While there are lots of photos showing her during her wartime service, almost 2/3 of the photos in this book are of Alabama as a museum ship. These latter photos provide lots of details of the ship and her equipment.

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Conclusions:

This is another really nice, high quality, hardcover book from David Doyle. It has good info and tons of fine pictures, including some original World War II color photos, most of these showing the "Mighty A" in her colorful Measure 12 modified scheme. I think both naval history buffs and modelers will really like this book. For modelers, there are lots and lots of detail shots for those wishing to build a model of Alabama. Highly recommended.

This is USS Alabama, BB-60 - Legends of Warfare, by David Doyle. Published by Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7643-6235-4. The book retails for $19.99, and is available to order directly from David's website. Thanks to David Doyle Books for the review sample.