Airplane on a Stick - Mobile, Alabama

Travel I-10 through Alabama and you are bound to notice the signs for Battleship Memorial Park on the east side of Mobile.  Stop in, it is worth an afternoon.

The highlight of the park is the Battleship Alabama.  But there is much more.  This McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom greets the visitors at the entrance.


The F-4 is a memorial itself.  The names Barry K Henderson and Stephan G Schramm can be found below the cockpit window.  They were local Alabamans killed in action during the Gulf War.  Even military training exercises carry plenty of risk.  Note the flag flying at half-staff for Coast Guard personnel lost recently along our part of the Gulf.

If you visit the park, plan to devote several hours to touring the Alabama.  It is a big ship with a lot to display.  There is a good exhibit on the role of a Chief Petty Officer.  You will see the  bunk of one of the more famous CPOs, Bob Feller.


But the park is more than just a spot to see the Alabama.  There is a good collection of aircraft including another B-52 and A-12 as at our nearby Eglin's Armament Museum.




And the army is well represented with a collection of tanks and other armored vehicles.  There is a Korean War Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial too.

And even some enemy hardware can be found including this Soviet T-55 tank and Mig-15.