Somewhere amid the photos from a 1980s beach vacation I am sure there is still a photo of me and my brother on board the USS Alabama. I remember thinking… its a big boat! Cool.
Now the much older much wiser version of me is amazed at this MASSIVE ship. And the stories it could tell me if the walls could talk. I had come here as a kid, so of course I wanted to share the same adventure with our kids.
This gorgeous battleship has a long history. It was built in 1940, and in 1943 it cruised on over to the South Pacific Seas to begin her service in WWII. My son has studied WWII in American History this last year, so it was awesome to get to see such a huge piece of history.
The “Mighty A” was home to 2,500 brave sailors who were there during her 3 years helping her to be awarded 9 Battle Stars for meritorious service.
The dining area
In May of 1962 the “Heroine of the Pacific” was no longer needed and was destined to the scrap yard, but some dedicated folks instead had her moved to Mobile and in January 9, 1965 the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park was opened to the public.
USS Alabama is massive! To make your tour more manageable you can download an app. At the various stations on your self-led tour you can read more about an area. We did download the app, but honestly we were traveling with a 4 year old… we knew she would not have the patience to stand while we read through the app. BUT it might be a really cool way to check out the ship before you go (of if you have an interest but haven’t been able to visit). There are different colored “tours”. You can pick a color and follow the signs from spot to spot. It was a great way to keep from getting lost and still seeing as much of the ship as possible.
The ship has some spots that may be accessible… but there is a lot of climbing of ladders and some pretty narrow pathways at some points. You can come on the ship and see all that there is to offer on the top… but you will miss a lot of the tour of the battleship.
Life on the Battleship
It was quite interesting to see how tight the sleeping quarters were for the enlisted soldiers. Not that the officers had mansions, but they did have some privacy. I didn’t even see where an enlisted soldier would keep his toothbrush. Since we are planning to go full-time in our RV I am very in tune with tiny living… but this was an entirely different scare of tiny living.
sleeping area – cots
We saw where they slept and tried to imagine sleeping on the swinging cots on a ship that was moving through rough waters. I got seasick just thinking about it.
You can see where they made bread and the kitchen where they prepared the food. We were able to sit at the seat where they would eat. With one hand on their tray during rough waters so as not to lose their dinner to the floor.
The Captain’s control room
Seeing the captain’s quarters was quite interesting. There are MASSIVE doors that he can bolt closed and drive the ship. So if an enemy had gotten on the boat they would have a mighty tough time taking over the entire ship.
There was so much to see and learn about on the ship. Our kids are still young, so we had to move at a rather quick pace to keep up interest.
eww…
It was hard to imagine how much preparation went into getting this massive self-sustaining town ready to be on the sea for an extended period.
There is a small movie theatre that tells a lot of the history, which was a great spot to sit and rest my 4Year Old’s legs. I did also see another area that had some comfortable seats. Many of the sections are air-conditioned and perfectly comfortable. There is also a bathroom on board. (And all the Mamas said “amen”)
The USS Drum submarine
USS Drum
I think my kids were more excited to go and visit the submarine than anything. The Drum was also set up so that you can tour the inside. This is the oldest American submarine on public display. It was home to only 72 men during WWII. If I was surprised that the USS Alabama could house 2,500 men I was absolutely baffled at how 72 men fit in the submarine. It was so much smaller and the doorways between the various sections required you to step up. It is NOT accessible to anyone unless they can climb up and down ladders. There just is no way to make it accessible to everyone, unfortunately.
Static Displays
There are 28 aircraft on display near the parking area. There is a Marine One, that was used by Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George HW Bush. There is also a A-12 Black Bird. If this section of the park interests you, the app will be awesome. The app does have more information about each of the aircraft.
An onboard barber shop
Events
Before you go check to see if there are any events going on at the time. Occasionally they have a Living History Crew Drill. I would LOVE to go and see this!
When we visited there was a car show just wrapping up. It was neat to see the cool cars, but it did make parking with an RV a little more interesting.
As we were leaving a church group was coming in with their pillows and sleeping bags for an overnight stay. That would be incredible. You can have events on the boat or at the park.
USS Alabama Admission
FREE – Children 5 & under and active duty military (with ID)
$15 – Children ages 12 – adults
$13 – Senior Citizens age 55+
$13 – AAA Member & active duty dependent ages 12+ (with ID)
$6 – Children ages 6-11
$5 – Active Duty dependent ages 6-11 (with ID)
Our camper sitting with the jet fighters in the parking lot.
Parking
$4 general parking
$28 Large vehicle semis and 18-wheeler trucks… this includes admission for the driver
The parking is huge and would be fine for pulling a travel trailer (we were on our visit). We were there during a large event where everyone else was also pulling a trailer, so it was a little tight, but my husband made it work just fine.
USS Alabama is located at 2703 Battleship Parkway Mobile, Alabama 36602.
Our family really enjoyed our trip at the USS Alabama. It is such a great spot to visit on the way down to the beach or on your way back home.
If you are going make sure you wear comfortable shoes, wearing sunscreen is great for visiting the areas that aren’t air conditioned, and bringing a bottle of water would be a great idea. We were there on a warm day and that ship can certainly emit massive amounts of heat. If you take a stroller you will either have to leave it unattended for most of the tour or you will miss out on a large part of the tour. It is a lot of climbing up and down steep stairs that more closely resemble a ladder.
I hope you have a great trip!
