Information
Landmark: USS Alabama Battleship Memorial ParkCity: Mobile
Country: USA Alabama
Continent: North America
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, USA Alabama, North America
Overview
In Mobile, Alabama, the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park draws visitors with its towering gray warship, vintage aircraft, and exhibits that bring naval, air, and military history to life.
At its heart is the USS Alabama (BB-60), a World War II battleship where families, historians, and veterans can learn its history and enjoy a day exploring its steel decks.
The park sits along the Mobile–Tensaw River Delta, about eight miles west of downtown Mobile, where cypress trees rise from the slow, brown water.
Moored along the river, the battleship stays put year-round, offering sweeping water views and a short, pleasant walk for visitors.
The park stretches over 165 acres, blending open-air exhibits with rolling lawns, winding trails, and shady spots perfect for a picnic.
The USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota–class battleship, joined the fleet in 1942, its gray steel hull gleaming as it left the shipyard.
It served widely in the Pacific during World War II, fighting in fierce battles, guarding convoys, and hammering enemy shores with heavy gunfire.
Decommissioned in 1947, the battleship narrowly escaped the scrapyard after a public campaign, and by 1965 visitors were climbing its steel decks as part of a museum.
It’s now recognized as a National Historic Landmark, its bronze plaque gleaming in the afternoon sun.
Onboard exhibits let visitors wander through several decks, from the sunlit main deck to the shadowy gun turrets, down into humming engine rooms and the cramped crew quarters.
The displays bring to life daily routines aboard a battleship, the weight and power of naval guns, and Alabama’s role in the war.
Right next to the Alabama sits the USS Drum (SS-228), a World War II submarine with narrow steel corridors that still smell faintly of oil.
Visitors can squeeze through narrow corridors and peer into tiny bunks, getting a real feel for submarine warfare and the routines of life deep beneath the waves.
The park showcases more than 25 military aircraft-sleek jets, heavy bombers, agile helicopters, and WWII-era fighters-spanning the years from World War II to the Cold War.
Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy artillery-smelling faintly of oil and steel-offer a deeper look into the technology that drives modern ground warfare.
Interactive displays let you climb into a jeep or slide into an aircraft cockpit, giving you a real, hands-on feel for the machines.
War memorials across Alabama stand in quiet tribute, honoring veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and later battles-names etched in stone, catching the afternoon sun.
Through school and community programs, students join guided tours, watch costumed reenactments, and take part in hands-on events that bring military history, technology, and strategy to life.
Special events like Battleship Days and veterans’ ceremonies draw big crowds, filling the air with music and applause as they honor military service.
Visitors can get around the park with ease-there’s plenty of parking, benches to rest on, picnic tables under the trees, and cool, shaded paths that wind through the grounds.
Walking through the USS Alabama and the USS Drum lets you feel the cold steel under your hands, and the aircraft and vehicle displays round out the story beyond the sea.
The park draws in everyone from history buffs to weekend wanderers, with a battleship so massive you can hear your footsteps echo on its deck and exhibits that range from vintage maps to gleaming brass instruments.
The USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park keeps America’s military history within reach, with the steel decks and towering guns of its World War II battleship telling the story firsthand.
It honors the men and women who once served, and it also works as a museum and a place to learn-where you might spot a worn uniform behind glass.
In the park, you can wander past historic ships, peer into old fighter planes, and stand beside hulking tanks, each piece adding a vivid layer to the story of 20th‑century war.
The park serves as both a memorial and a living history site, where visitors can run their hands over the cool metal of restored tanks, learn about shifting military technology, and pause to honor the sacrifices made by service members across generations.
At its heart is the USS Alabama (BB-60), a World War II battleship where families, historians, and veterans can learn its history and enjoy a day exploring its steel decks.
The park sits along the Mobile–Tensaw River Delta, about eight miles west of downtown Mobile, where cypress trees rise from the slow, brown water.
Moored along the river, the battleship stays put year-round, offering sweeping water views and a short, pleasant walk for visitors.
The park stretches over 165 acres, blending open-air exhibits with rolling lawns, winding trails, and shady spots perfect for a picnic.
The USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota–class battleship, joined the fleet in 1942, its gray steel hull gleaming as it left the shipyard.
It served widely in the Pacific during World War II, fighting in fierce battles, guarding convoys, and hammering enemy shores with heavy gunfire.
Decommissioned in 1947, the battleship narrowly escaped the scrapyard after a public campaign, and by 1965 visitors were climbing its steel decks as part of a museum.
It’s now recognized as a National Historic Landmark, its bronze plaque gleaming in the afternoon sun.
Onboard exhibits let visitors wander through several decks, from the sunlit main deck to the shadowy gun turrets, down into humming engine rooms and the cramped crew quarters.
The displays bring to life daily routines aboard a battleship, the weight and power of naval guns, and Alabama’s role in the war.
Right next to the Alabama sits the USS Drum (SS-228), a World War II submarine with narrow steel corridors that still smell faintly of oil.
Visitors can squeeze through narrow corridors and peer into tiny bunks, getting a real feel for submarine warfare and the routines of life deep beneath the waves.
The park showcases more than 25 military aircraft-sleek jets, heavy bombers, agile helicopters, and WWII-era fighters-spanning the years from World War II to the Cold War.
Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy artillery-smelling faintly of oil and steel-offer a deeper look into the technology that drives modern ground warfare.
Interactive displays let you climb into a jeep or slide into an aircraft cockpit, giving you a real, hands-on feel for the machines.
War memorials across Alabama stand in quiet tribute, honoring veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and later battles-names etched in stone, catching the afternoon sun.
Through school and community programs, students join guided tours, watch costumed reenactments, and take part in hands-on events that bring military history, technology, and strategy to life.
Special events like Battleship Days and veterans’ ceremonies draw big crowds, filling the air with music and applause as they honor military service.
Visitors can get around the park with ease-there’s plenty of parking, benches to rest on, picnic tables under the trees, and cool, shaded paths that wind through the grounds.
Walking through the USS Alabama and the USS Drum lets you feel the cold steel under your hands, and the aircraft and vehicle displays round out the story beyond the sea.
The park draws in everyone from history buffs to weekend wanderers, with a battleship so massive you can hear your footsteps echo on its deck and exhibits that range from vintage maps to gleaming brass instruments.
The USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park keeps America’s military history within reach, with the steel decks and towering guns of its World War II battleship telling the story firsthand.
It honors the men and women who once served, and it also works as a museum and a place to learn-where you might spot a worn uniform behind glass.
In the park, you can wander past historic ships, peer into old fighter planes, and stand beside hulking tanks, each piece adding a vivid layer to the story of 20th‑century war.
The park serves as both a memorial and a living history site, where visitors can run their hands over the cool metal of restored tanks, learn about shifting military technology, and pause to honor the sacrifices made by service members across generations.
