Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

s including the and . USS ''Alabama'' and USS ''Drum'' are both National Historic Landmarks; the park as a whole was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage prior to that time, on October 28, 1977.

History

In May 1962, had been ordered scrapped along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s, , , and . Citizens of the state of Alabama had formed the "USS ''Alabama'' Battleship Commission" to raise funds for the preservation of ''Alabama'' as a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

to the men and women who served in World War II. Alabama's school children raised approximately $100,000 in nickels and dimes from lunch money and allowances to help the cause. The ship was awarded to the state on June 16, 1964, and was formally turned over on July 7, 1964 in ceremonies at Seattle, Washington. ''Alabama'' was then towed to her permanent berth at Mobile, Alabama, arriving in Mobile Bay on September 14, 1964 and opening as a museum ship on January 9, 1965. ''Alabama'' was joined in 1969 by , a World War II , which was moored behind her until 2001, when the submarine was moved onto land for preservation in a permanent display. In 2003 a replica of a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

submarine that was built in Mobile, CSS , was moved to the park.

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

caused more than $7 million in damages to Battleship Memorial Park on August 29, 2005 when it came ashore. It almost completely destroyed the aircraft pavilion and gave ''Alabama'' an eight-degree list to port and shifting at her permanent anchorage. This forced the park to temporarily close for repairs; it reopened on January 9, 2006.

Features

* The World War II-era battleship . * The World War II era submarine . * Bombers and fighter planes ranging from a B-52 from the Vietnam War, a

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

flown by the Tuskegee Airmen to an A-12 spyplane. * A PBR (River Patrol Boat) used in the Vietnam War. * Military equipment ranging from items such as a Skysweeper M51 anti-aircraft gun to a M4 Sherman tank. * A Redstone MRBM (medium range ballistic missile). * Korean War Memorial * Vietnam War Memorial

Events

The 2001 USA Cross Country Championships were held at a cross country running course in the park. Political events have not been allowed at the venue since 2012.

Administration

The park is owned by the state of Alabama and is run by an independent government agency, the USS ''Alabama'' Battleship Commission. The commission consists of eighteen members appointed by the Alabama governor. It has oversight of all operations at the park.

Gallery

References

External links

Battleship Memorial Park (Official website)USS ''Drum'' (SS-228)
{{authority control Maritime museums in Alabama Aerospace museums in Alabama Museums in Mobile, Alabama National Historic Landmarks in Alabama Military and war museums in Alabama Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Naval museums in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Mobile County, Alabama Cross country running in Alabama Battleship museums in the United States Museums established in 1965