Battleship Memorial Park

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USS ALABAMA (battleship)
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
USS Alabama (BB-60) in December 1942.
Location:	2703 Battleship Parkway Mobile, Alabama, USA
Coordinates:	30.68°′″, -88.01°′″
Built/Founded:	Museum opened in 1965.
Designated as NHL:	January 14, 1986^[1]
Added to NRHP:	January 14, 1986^[2]
NRHP Reference#:	86000083
Battleship Memorial Park USS Alabama anchored in Mobile Bay

Battleship Memorial Park is a military park located along the shores of Mobile Bay, on the Battleship Parkway in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the South Dakota-class battleship USS Alabama and Gato-class submarine USS Drum.

1 History
2 Features
3 Administration
4 Gallery
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

In May 1962, the USS Alabama (BB-60) had been ordered scrapped along with her South Dakota-class sister ships, USS South Dakota (BB-57), USS Indiana (BB-58), and USS Massachusetts (BB-59).^[3] 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.^[3] 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 the Alabama until it was damaged in Hurricane Georges in 1998, resulting in its move to an onshore display.

Hurricane Katrina caused more than $7 million in damages to Battleship Memorial Park on 29 August 2005 when it came ashore.^[3] It almost completely destroyed the aircraft pavilion and gave the USS Alabama an eight-degree list to port^[4] and shifting at her permanent anchorage. This forced the park to temporarily close. The park reopened 9 January 2006, with the ship still having a three-degree list which has since been corrected. Most of the damage to other exhibits has also been repaired.

[edit] Features

The World War II era battleship USS Alabama (BB-60).
The World War II era submarine USS Drum (SS-228).
Bombers and fighter planes ranging from a P-51 Mustang flown by the Tuskegee Airmen to a A-12 Blackbird 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

[edit] 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 governor, it has oversight of all operations at the park.