Original Item: Only One Available. This is an interesting original U.S. Navy flat hat identified to the USS Alabama, hull number BB-8, an Illinois class pre dreadnought battleship that served with the Atlantic Fleet and later as a training vessel during WWI. The hat appears to be a custom made example and features decorative stitching, an attractive interior pattern, and ornamental details on the cap tally.

USS Alabama was the second vessel of the Illinois class and the second U.S. Navy ship to carry the name. Her keel was laid down in December 1896 at the William Cramp & Sons shipyard, and she was launched in May 1898. Commissioned in October 1900, Alabama was armed with a main battery of four 13 inch guns and was capable of a top speed of 16 knots.

During the first seven years of her career, Alabama served with the North Atlantic Fleet and participated primarily in peacetime training exercises. In 1904, she visited Europe and cruised in the Mediterranean. She later participated in the famous voyage of the Great White Fleet, although machinery damage forced her to leave the main formation at San Francisco. Alabama subsequently completed a shorter circumnavigation in company with the battleship USS Maine.

The ship underwent an extensive modernization between 1909 and 1912 and was later assigned as a training ship with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She continued in that role during WWI. Following the war, Alabama was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and allocated for aerial bombing tests conducted in September 1921. She was sunk during those tests by U.S. Army Air Service bombers and was later sold for scrap in March 1924.

The hat is missing its internal stiffener, although it is uncertain whether this custom made example was originally fitted with one. The cap tally displays substantial wear to the lettering, along with areas of fraying, as shown. Despite this wear, the decorative stitching, patterned interior, and USS Alabama identification give the hat considerable character and collector interest.

This is an appealing piece of early 20th century U.S. Navy headgear connected to a battleship with service spanning the pre-WWI Navy, the Great White Fleet era, WWI training operations, and the historic development of aerial bombing doctrine.