South Dakota-Class WWII Battleship at Mobile Bay
2703 Battleship Parkway, Mobile, AL 36603
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Adult admission approximately $18; children $10; check current pricing
Access
Limited Access
Twelve ship decks accessed via steep ladders and narrow hatchways; main deck partially accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1942 · South Dakota-Class Battleship · Pacific Theater Service · Nine Battle Stars · Saved by Citizen Fundraising 1962-64 · National Historic Landmark
USS Alabama (BB-60) is a South Dakota-class fast battleship, the third of the class, commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Yard on August 16, 1942. The ship measures 680 feet overall, displaces approximately 35,000 tons standard, and carries a main battery of nine 16-inch guns in three triple turrets. The Alabama served 37 months in combat operations across both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II, escorting convoys to the Soviet Union early in her career and participating in the major Pacific campaigns of 1943 through 1945, including the Marshall and Mariana Islands operations and the carrier raids on Japan.
The Alabama earned nine battle stars during her wartime service and suffered no combat fatalities. The ship's casualty record was unusual for a battleship of her size and tenure in combat — the only deaths during her wartime career resulted from a 1943 friendly-fire incident in which a malfunctioning safety device caused one of the secondary battery turrets to fire on another turret, killing eight crewmen. The earlier construction phase at Norfolk had also seen two workers killed.
Following the war, the Alabama was placed in the reserve fleet in 1947 and remained inactive through the 1950s. In 1962, the Navy ordered the South Dakota-class battleships scrapped — Alabama, South Dakota, Indiana, and Massachusetts. A grassroots fundraising campaign organized by Alabama citizens, particularly schoolchildren who contributed thousands of dimes and quarters, raised the funds necessary to save the ship and tow her to Mobile Bay. The Alabama was donated to the State of Alabama in 1964 and moored in a specially constructed berth at the western shore of Mobile Bay. Battleship Memorial Park opened to the public in January 1965.
The ship was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The park has expanded over the decades to include the Gato-class submarine USS Drum (SS-228) — the oldest American World War II submarine in existence — and an aircraft collection of more than 30 fixed-wing and rotary-wing military aircraft spanning from World War II to the post-Vietnam era. The park's 175-acre footprint also includes military vehicle displays and several smaller memorials.
Battleship Memorial Park is operated by the USS Alabama Battleship Commission, a public entity established by the State of Alabama, with funding from admissions, gift-shop revenue, and private donations.
Sources
The USS Alabama presents an unusual case in American paranormal-tourism literature. The Battleship Commission, the ship's operating authority, has consistently maintained the official position that the Mighty A is not haunted, with no staff reports of unusual phenomena. This stance contrasts with a substantial body of visitor accounts collected over the six decades the ship has been open to the public.
Visitor reports center on several specific locations. The cooks' galley has been the subject of repeated reports of figures in dungaree work uniforms observed briefly before disappearing. The officers' quarters and wardroom have generated similar reports, including the apparition of a figure in officer's khakis seated at the wardroom table. The crew sleeping compartments — long narrow spaces with stacked racks running the length of the ship — have been the subject of reports of phantom voices and the sound of conversation in empty spaces.
Phantom footsteps along the steel decks are perhaps the most-frequently cited specific phenomenon. Visitors describe the distinctive sound of boots on steel grating approaching their position and continuing past, without any other person being visible. The phenomenon is most-frequently reported below the main armored deck, in the lower-deck spaces where ambient noise is reduced.
Hatches and watertight doors closing on their own have been the subject of multiple visitor reports. The ship's heavy steel doors require substantial force to operate and are not subject to drafts in the conventional sense, making the reports particularly difficult to dismiss through conventional explanation.
A frequently-cited visitor account describes a woman walking past the crew sleeping quarters who reported having an earring snatched from her ear by an unseen force. The account is anonymous but has been repeated in multiple regional paranormal compilations.
The paranormal reports are usually associated with the documented combat history of the ship — particularly the eight crewmen killed in the 1943 friendly-fire incident and the two workers killed during the ship's Norfolk construction. The Battleship Commission's official refusal to endorse the paranormal narrative is unusual among major American haunted-tourism museum sites; many comparable museum ships actively cultivate paranormal-investigation programming.
The USS Alabama has appeared in regional paranormal television features. Visitors arriving for the military history will find one of the most accessible major World War II warship preservations in the United States; visitors arriving with paranormal interest will find substantial visitor-account material but no institutional accommodation.
Media Appearances
Tour the 680-foot battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) across twelve decks — gun turrets, the brig, sleeping quarters, the bridge, and the engine spaces. The adjacent USS Drum submarine and the park's military aviation collection of more than 30 aircraft round out the experience. Plan three to four hours for full exploration.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Mobile, AL
The USS Alabama (BB-60) is a South Dakota-class battleship launched in 1942 and commissioned in 1942 for service in World War II. The ship was moved to Mobile in 1964 and opened as Battleship Memorial Park in January 1965. The vessel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
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