The USS Alabama is a BIG boat! It’s a bazillion levels tall (I looked it up) with lots of stairs. No, really – LOTS. OF. STAIRS. And narrow hallways and little cramped rooms.

There are three levels below deck, and at least eight levels above deck. I started with the bottom levels and then went to the upper levels, looking in each of the many little rooms. Normally, I can withstand small spaces and large crowds for short periods of time without any effects whatsoever, but I stopped after the fifth upper level because I was starting to get too claustrophobic and agoraphobic – I can only stay so long in small spaces and crowded places before my skin starts crawling and my anxiety level goes through the roof.

And people lived in these cramped quarters for years. I would’ve jumped ship.

The USS Alabama – too big to fit in the picture frame.

DUCK! (This guy photo-bombed my shot, again.)

I can’t even begin to imagine how LOUD those must sound when firing. (Note the excellent placement of my fat finger.)

For all you history buffs and statisticians…

The USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota-class battleship, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy named after the US state of Alabama. Commissioned in 1942, the Alabama and served in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters and was decommissioned in January, 1947.

From the USS Alabama website: Home to a crew of 2,500 courageous Americans, this 45,000 ton gentle giant’s WWII adventure culminated with BB-60 leading the American Fleet into Tokyo Bay on September 5, 1945. The “Mighty A” received Nine Battle Stars for meritorious service during her brief three-year tenure as the “Heroine of the Pacific”.

Displacement: 35,000 to 44,500 tons
Length: 680 ft
Beam: 108 ft. 2 in.
Height of truck light above keel: 194 ft.
Speed: 28 knots
Range: 15,000 Nautical miles at 15 knots

Power Plants:
Horsepower: 130,000 hp
4 engine rooms, each carrying 2 boilers and 2 turbines.
Four propellers, 2 five bladed and 2 four bladed, each weighing 18.2 tons.

Arnmanet:
9 – 16″/45 cal. Guns (3 turrets)
20 – 5″/38 cal. Guns (10 mounts)
48 – 40mm Guns (12 mounts)
52- 20mm Guns

Armor:
Turret faces: 18 inches
20 – 5″/38 cal. Guns (10 mounts)
Conning tower: 16 inches
Side armor: 12.2 inches, tapering to 1 inch at bottom

Another ship in the distance. No, I don’t know which one this is.

In the same memorial park is the USS Drum, the oldest American submarine on public display. By the time I toured it, I had just been through the USS Alabama but the claustrophobia and agoraphobia had subsided enough for me to agree to enter the bowels of the submarine for fear of missing out. Did you catch that? My FOMO momentarily overrode my claustrophobia and agoraphobia. Nevertheless, I went through the submarine like lightning – or as fast as the crowd would let me push them out of my way.

You, too, can get your anxiety on at Battleship Memorial Park, 2703 Battleship Parkway, Mobile, Alabama. It’s well worth the trip, but I recommend taking a Xanax before you get there.