$11 for Two Adult Tickets to USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park ($24 Value)
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- Explore a WWII battleship
- Access to all decks
- Pavilion of vintage aircraft
The board game Battleship was inspired by the United States' successful World War II naval strategy of sticking pegs into plastic effigies of enemy vessels to defeat the Axis by voodoo. Stand in awe of military accomplishments with today's Groupon: for $11, you get two adult tickets to USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park (a $24 value) located on Battleship Parkway in Mobile, AL. Children ages 6–11 cost $6; active duty military members and children under 6 are free. Parking on the grounds costs $2 and is not included in the value of this Groupon.
The 680-foot-long USS Alabama invites visitors to walk its lengthy planks, reliving the naval heroics of World War II. Bristling with 29 loudmouth guns, the decorated battleship could reach enemy vessels up to 20 miles away with shells weighing as much as a small car. Scurry below decks to stow away in the brig, or connect with sailors' everyday lives by sitting in the bunks and giving yourself a tattoo of Rita Hayworth. In addition to the USS Alabama, history hounds can gander at a flock of vintage military planes in the aircraft pavilion and hop onboard the deep-sea-diving USS Drum to reenact scenes from the Beatles' World War II documentary, Yellow Submarine. Self-guided visits usually last about two hours, ensuring ample time left in the day to tour overgrown backyard Victory Gardens.
Need To Know Info
About USS Alabama Battleship
The USS Alabama spent 37 months in active duty during World War II. It earned nine battle stars and never suffered significant damage from enemy fire. Following this illustrious military career, the battleship was set to be scrapped because of the prohibitive cost of maintaining a wartime fleet. Efforts to save the battleship became the catalyst for corporations to help fund the balance and attain the goal of $1 million, which was used to preserve the battleship as a memorial to the men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. And so the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park was born.
Today, the ship rests safe and sound in the harbor—a 680-foot mammoth whose enormous mass displaces more than 44,500 tons of water.
Resting alongside the ship, the WWII submarine USS Drum welcomes visitors to explore inside its labyrinthine hull, inviting them to climb through hatches and imagine what life would be like if every doorway were round. The memorial park also houses a cavalcade of military equipment, vehicles, and aircraft on display, including a T-55 Iraqi tank, a Cold War–era Lockheed A-12 Blackbird, and a World War II–era Douglas C-47D Skytrain.