‘The USS Alabama sits proudly in a dock on the Gulf Coast in Mobile and is surrounded by the Memorial Park and a whole lot more…’

History

The ship,  built in Norfolk, Virginia, was one of four South Dakota-class battleships constructed in the 1930s. The USS Alabama, along with the Massachusetts, are the only two ships that still remain. The South Dakota and the Indiana were eventually sold for scrap.  It’s hard to imagine how much scrap they produced, but I’m guessing it was a fair bit.

A beautiful tribute to fallen soldiers

Alabama residents raised money to have the ship preserved as a memorial to those who served in the Second World War. They raised $1m and, as a result, the battleship was moved to Mobile Bay in 1964. That’s quite an incredible achievement and the ship was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Don’t shoot!

Memorial Park

Not only is the Memorial Park home to an enormously fabulous battleship, but there’s also much more to see and do there. The park is huge and laid out to ensure the ship is the centre of attention. The memorials to fallen soldiers are thoughtful and well contracted, yet manage to be defiant at the same time. 

Apologies for the reflection

USS Drum

The USS Drum has a rather distinguished military career and it’s the oldest US submarine on display in the world.  The WORLD, people!  If that’s not a reason to visit, I don’t know what is. During her work, she sank 15 ships and also received 12 battle stars for service during WW2.  It’s a really fascinating attraction and it gives you a sense of what life must have been like sneaking around beneath the sea.

The Military Equipment portion of the park displays a selection of guns and tanks. These are bloody huge and the teeniest bit scary to stand in front of.  This is despite the fact that, you know, there’s no one in them and they’re not live. Probably…

I could absolutely use one of these some days
It’s amazing how it managed to land on that post….

Vietnam relics

Aside from the USS Drum and the USS Alabama, there’s a riverboat and B52 used in the Vietnam War, a Sherman tank, and a medium baltic range missile.

The USS Alabama is the main attraction and you’ll need a couple of hours to cover it.  Les needed this amount of time so he could pretend he was driving it.  I also needed to extra time because I have no sense of direction and got lost a few times.  If you’re in the vicinity of Mobile, it’s well worth swinging by to check out.

Have you visited The USS Alabama in Mobile?

  
Suzanne x