Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum on the western shore of

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...

in Mobile,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. 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 Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

s; 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

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 ...

to the men and women who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. ''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 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 An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

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

-era battleship . * The World War II era submarine . *

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s and fighter planes ranging from a B-52 from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, 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 The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

to an A-12 spyplane. * A PBR (River Patrol Boat) used in the

. * Military equipment ranging from items such as a Skysweeper M51 anti-aircraft gun to a

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

tank. * A Redstone MRBM (medium range ballistic missile). *

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

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