Battleship Memorial Park
Encyclopedia
Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum located on the western shore of Mobile Bay
in Mobile, Alabama
. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ship
s including the South Dakota-class
battleship
USS Alabama
and Gato-class
submarine
USS Drum
. The USS Alabama and USS Drum are both National Historic Landmark
s, and the park as a whole is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
.
sister ships, USS South Dakota (BB-57)
, USS Indiana (BB-58)
, and USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
. Citizens of the state of Alabama
had formed the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" to raise funds for the preservation of Alabama as a memorial
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 16 June 1964, and was formally turned over on 7 July 1964 in ceremonies at Seattle, Washington. Alabama was then towed to her permanent berth at Mobile, Alabama, arriving in Mobile Bay on 14 September 1964 and opening as a museum ship on 9 January 1965. She was joined in 1969 by the submarine
USS Drum which was moored behind USS Alabama until 2001, when it was moved onto land for permanent display.
Hurricane Katrina
caused more than $7 million in damages to Battleship Memorial Park on 29 August 2005 when it came ashore. It almost completely destroyed the aircraft
pavilion and gave the USS 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 9 January 2006.
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an 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 Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
s including the South Dakota-class
South Dakota class battleship (1939)
The South Dakota-class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th State; the first class was designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The class comprised four...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
USS Alabama
USS Alabama (BB-60)
USS Alabama , a South Dakota-class battleship, was the sixth completed ship of the United States Navy named for the U.S. state of Alabama, however she was only the third commissioned ship with that name. Alabama was commissioned in 1942 and served in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific...
and Gato-class
Gato class submarine
The United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
USS Drum
USS Drum (SS-228)
USS Drum is a Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named after the drum, any of various types of fish capable of making a drumming sound. Drum is presently on display as a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.Drum was laid down on 11 September...
. The USS Alabama and USS Drum are both National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
s, and the park as a whole is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These properties, which may be of national, state, and local...
.
History
In May 1962, the USS Alabama (BB-60) had been ordered scrapped along with her South Dakota-classSouth Dakota class battleship (1939)
The South Dakota-class was a group of four fast battleships built by the United States Navy. They were the second class of battleships to be named after the 40th State; the first class was designed in the 1920s and canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The class comprised four...
sister ships, USS South Dakota (BB-57)
USS South Dakota (BB-57)
USS South Dakota was a battleship in the United States Navy from 1942 until 1947. The lead ship of her class, South Dakota was the third ship of the US Navy to be named in honor of the 40th state. During World War II, she first served in a fifteen-month tour in the Pacific theater, where she saw...
, USS Indiana (BB-58)
USS Indiana (BB-58)
USS Indiana , a South Dakota-class battleship, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 19th state. Her keel was laid down on 20 November 1939 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 21 November 1941 sponsored by...
, and USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
USS Massachusetts (BB-59)
USS Massachusetts , known as "Big Mamie" to her crewmembers during World War II, was a battleship of the second South Dakota-class. She was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the sixth state, and one of two ships of her class to be donated for use as a museum ship...
. Citizens of the state of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
had formed the "USS Alabama Battleship Commission" to raise funds for the preservation of Alabama as a memorial
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
to the men and women who served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Alabama’s school children raised approximately $100,000 in nickels
Nickel (United States coin)
The nickel is a five-cent coin, representing a unit of currency equaling five hundredths of one United States dollar. A later-produced Canadian nickel five-cent coin was also called by the same name....
and dimes
Dime (United States coin)
The dime is a coin 10 cents, one tenth of a United States dollar, labeled formally as "one dime". The denomination was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The dime is the smallest in diameter and is the thinnest of all U.S...
from lunch money and allowances to help the cause. The ship was awarded to the state on 16 June 1964, and was formally turned over on 7 July 1964 in ceremonies at Seattle, Washington. Alabama was then towed to her permanent berth at Mobile, Alabama, arriving in Mobile Bay on 14 September 1964 and opening as a museum ship on 9 January 1965. She was joined in 1969 by the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
USS Drum which was moored behind USS Alabama until 2001, when it was moved onto land for permanent display.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
caused more than $7 million in damages to Battleship Memorial Park on 29 August 2005 when it came ashore. It almost completely destroyed the aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
pavilion and gave the USS Alabama
USS Alabama (BB-60)
USS Alabama , a South Dakota-class battleship, was the sixth completed ship of the United States Navy named for the U.S. state of Alabama, however she was only the third commissioned ship with that name. Alabama was commissioned in 1942 and served in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific...
an eight-degree list to port and shifting at her permanent anchorage. This forced the park to temporarily close for repairs. It reopened on 9 January 2006.
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 from over the entire state appointed by the Alabama governor, it has oversight of all operations at the park.Features
- The World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era battleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
USS Alabama (BB-60)USS Alabama (BB-60)USS Alabama , a South Dakota-class battleship, was the sixth completed ship of the United States Navy named for the U.S. state of Alabama, however she was only the third commissioned ship with that name. Alabama was commissioned in 1942 and served in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific...
. - The World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era submarineSubmarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
USS Drum (SS-228)USS Drum (SS-228)USS Drum is a Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named after the drum, any of various types of fish capable of making a drumming sound. Drum is presently on display as a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.Drum was laid down on 11 September...
. - Bombers and fighter planes ranging from a P-51 MustangP-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
flown by the Tuskegee AirmenTuskegee AirmenThe Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
to an A-12 Blackbird spyplane. - A PBR (River Patrol Boat)Patrol Boat, RiverPatrol Boat, River , or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid-hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until the end of 1971...
used in the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. - Military equipment ranging from items such as a Skysweeper M51 anti-aircraft gunSkysweeperSkysweeper was an anti-aircraft gun deployed in the early 1950s by both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force...
to a M4 ShermanM4 ShermanThe M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. Thousands were also distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and Soviet armies, via lend-lease...
tank. - A Redstone MRBM (medium range ballistic missile)Redstone (rocket)The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range surface-to-surface rocket, it was in active service with the U.S. Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe...
. - Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
Memorial - Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
Memorial
See also
- U.S. Navy museums (and other battleship museums)
- List of maritime museums in the United States
- List of battleships of the United States Navy
External links
- Battleship Memorial Park official website
- USS Drum (SS-228)