Visiting the USS Alabama

We are on vacation this week down on the Alabama Gulf Coast. We decided to stop on the way and check out the USS Alabama. A World War II era battleship now permanently docked at Mobile Bay as part of Museum honoring the ship, its crew and other ships and aircraft.

_DSC0058

My brother served on the a sister to the Alabama, the USS Missouri which was brought back to life and refitted during the Reagan years. The Missouri is now part of a museum and is anchored right next to the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. I got on the deck of the Missouri during its christening ceremony in San Francisco but of course they were not letting civilians below decks. So I was interested in what the ship was like. Brother Bob said that space was extremely tight.

_DSC0059

And he wasn’t kidding. The passageways are narrow, and the steps are steep. It was hot and muggy and although the ship is well ventilated and has some air conditioned places, most are not and so we cut the tour a little short. I would love to go back when the weather is milder and explore more.

_DSC0062

They have an Air museum in the same complex that was interesting. All sorts of displays of old airplanes. They also had a display on the lives of the Vietnam POWs. Those men are true heroes.

_DSC0070

They had some outside displays as well, an SR 71 Blackbird spy plane, a Boeing B52D Stratofortress Bomber along with tanks, and personnel carriers. And if you are into geocaching, there is a virtual geocache on site.

The museum is right off Interstate 10 just east of downtown Mobile, on the other side of the tunnel under the bay.

I am linking with Our World Tuesday

11 thoughts on “Visiting the USS Alabama

  1. DeniseinVA

    What a wonderful connection you have to the USS Missouri. I took a tour of that ship a few years ago in Pearl Harbor. A wonderful experience as I am sure this must have been looking around the USS Alabama. The aircraft are very interesting also. I will always honor our POW’s, hero’s every one of them. My own grandfather was a POW in WWI and I often think of what they all went through to eventually get home, and many sadly didn’t. Great post, thank you!

  2. Driller's Place

    Last year we went to Hawaii and the Missouri. I am always amazed at how large the ships are but how little space is available to the crew. One just has to remember they are living inside of a war machine not a cruise ship. At Charleston S.C. we toured the aircraft carrier Yorktown and aside from the hanger deck, everything else was very tight and close quarters. Enjoy your week on the coast.

  3. Angie

    Seeing people on the deck of the battleship gives you a sense of scale – ENORMOUS. Too bad none of that space could be used inside!

  4. Pingback: Tips for Vacationing in Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, Alabama | YogisDen.us

Comments are closed.