USS North Carolina (BB-55)
North Carolina underway on 3 June 1946.
| |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | North Carolina |
Namesake | State of North Carolina |
Ordered | 1 August 1937 |
Builder | New York Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 27 October 1937 |
Launched | 13 June 1940 |
Commissioned | 9 April 1941 |
Decommissioned | 27 June 1947 |
Stricken | 1 June 1960 |
Nickname(s) | "Showboat"[1] |
Status | Museum ship since 29 April 1962 in Wilmington, North Carolina |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | North Carolina-class battleship |
Displacement |
|
Length | 728 ft 9 in (222.12 m) |
Beam | 108 ft 4 in (33.02 m) |
Draft | 32 ft 11.5 in (10.046 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
Range | 17,450 nmi (32,320 km; 20,080 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 1,800 |
Armament |
|
Armor |
|
Aircraft carried | 3 × Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes |
Aviation facilities | 2 × trainable fantail |
USS North Carolina (BB-55) is the lead ship of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vessel of the type built for the United States Navy. Built under the Washington Treaty system, North Carolina's design was limited in displacement and armament, though the United States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty to increase the main battery from the original armament of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in quadruple turrets to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns in triple turrets. The ship was laid down in 1937 and completed in April 1941, while the United States was still neutral during World War II.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, North Carolina mobilized for war and was initially sent to counter a possible sortie by the German battleship Tirpitz, though this did not materialize and North Carolina was promptly transferred to the Pacific to strengthen Allied forces during the Guadalcanal campaign. There, she screened aircraft carriers engaged in the campaign and took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August 1942, where she shot down several Japanese aircraft. The next month, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine but was not seriously damaged. After repairs, she returned to the campaign and continued to screen carriers during the campaigns across the central Pacific in 1943 and 1944, including the Gilberts and Marshall Islands and the Mariana and Palau Islands, where she saw action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The ship was undergoing a refit during the invasion of the Philippines but took part in the later stages of the Philippines campaign and was present when the fleet was damaged by Typhoon Cobra. She took part in offensive operations in support of the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945, including numerous attacks on Japan. Following the surrender of Japan in August, she carried American personnel home during Operation Magic Carpet. North Carolina operated briefly off the east coast of the United States in 1946 before being decommissioned the next year and placed in reserve. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1960, the ship was saved from the breaker's yard by a campaign to preserve the vessel as a museum ship in her namesake state. In 1962, the North Carolina museum was opened in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Design
The North Carolina class was the first new battleship design built under the Washington Naval Treaty system; her design was bound by the terms of the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936, which added a restriction on her main battery of guns that they be no larger than 14 inches (356 mm). The General Board evaluated a number of designs ranging from traditional 23-knot (43 km/h; 26 mph) battleships akin to the "standard" series or fast battleships, and ultimately a fast battleship armed with twelve 14-inch guns was selected. After the ships were authorized, however, the United States invoked the escalator clause in the treaty that permitted an increase to 16 in (406 mm) guns in the event that any member nation refused to sign the treaty, which Japan refused to do.[2]
North Carolina is 728 feet 9 inches (222.12 m)
The ship is armed with a main battery of nine
The main
Modifications
North Carolina received a number of upgrades over the course of her career, primarily consisting of radar and improved anti-aircraft batteries. By November 1942, the ship had received three Mark 3 fire-control radar sets for the main battery, four Mark 4 radars for the secondary guns, a CXAM air-search radar, and an SG surface-search radar. During her early 1944 refit, she received an SK air-search radar in place of the CXAM and a second SG radar; her Mark 3 radars were replaced with more advanced Mark 8 sets, though she retained one of the Mark 3s as a backup. In September, the SK radar was replaced with an SK-2 set, and her Mark 4 radars were replaced with a combination of Mark 12 and Mark 22 sets. After the war, she received a secondary SR air search radar and an SCR-720 search radar.[5]
During her refit in late 1942, North Carolina's anti-aircraft battery was replaced with forty
Service history
The
Her first operation came in April 1942, when she was deployed to
Guadalcanal campaign
North Carolina was sent to join the Guadalcanal campaign as part of
In this role, she participated in the
North Carolina's anti-aircraft claimed to have shot down between 7 and 14 aircraft,[7] though evaluation of the gunners' effectiveness is mixed. The historian Richard B. Frank noted that the Japanese lost a total of eighteen D3As and credited Enterprise's Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters with half of them, with the rest shot down by the ships, "with the lion's share to gunners aboard Enterprise.[17] The naval analyst Norman Friedman highlighted the effectiveness of the 5-inch guns aboard Enterprise and North Carolina, but noted that the ship had difficulty tracking targets with her fire control radar, owing to a combination of rapid maneuvering to avoid attacks, excessive vibration from steaming at high speed, and the number of friendly and hostile aircraft aloft. Contemporary observers took an optimistic view of the ship's performance; her captain credited her with shooting down five to seven aircraft, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, noted that her 5-inch fire was particularly effective in dissuading Japanese attacks.[18]
While Enterprise withdrew for repairs, North Carolina was transferred to TF 17 to cover Saratoga, along with Atlanta and a pair of destroyers.[19] The ships operated off Guadalcanal for the next several weeks, during which time Japanese submarines attempted to torpedo North Carolina twice. The first, on 6 September, passed some 300 yd (270 m) off her port side, but the second, from the submarine I-19 on 15 September, damaged the ship. I-19 had fired a spread of six torpedoes at Wasp in TF 18, two or three of which hit. Two of the Type 95 torpedoes continued on to the ships of TF 17, some 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) away. One hit the destroyer O'Brien, and a fourth hit North Carolina. The hit on North Carolina struck the ship 20 ft (6.1 m) below the waterline on her port side and tore a 32-by-18-foot (9.8 by 5.5 m) hole in the plating. Five men were killed in the attack, but the torpedo inflicted little serious damage, apart from the shock of the blast that disabled the forward turret. Flooding occurred and North Carolina took on a list of 5.5 degrees to port, but this was quickly corrected with counter-flooding and she was able to remain on station with Saratoga, cruising at a speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). The other two ships were not so lucky, with Wasp being scuttled that evening and O'Brien eventually foundering a month later when her hull finally buckled from the damage.[20][21][22] After withdrawing from the area, North Carolina was detached to Pearl Harbor to make repairs, which lasted from 30 September to 17 November.[23]
After returning to the South Pacific, North Carolina resumed screening Saratoga and Enterprise, which had also completed repairs by this time. The American fleet had been strengthened by North Carolina's
North Carolina returned to Pearl Harbor in March for a refit that lasted for more than a month and included the installation of radars and improved fire control equipment.[7] On returning to the South Pacific, she joined the battleship group of TF 36, now commanded by Rear Admiral Glenn B. Davis and consisting of Indiana and Massachusetts. The battleship and carrier groups covered amphibious assault forces during Operation Cartwheel, the campaign to isolate the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, in late June and early July. They did not see action during the campaign, as fighting was limited to both sides' light forces.[28] In September, she made another trip to Pearl Harbor to make preparations for the attack on the Gilbert Islands.[7]
Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
For the assault on the Gilberts, the fleet was organized into TF 50, which was divided into several task groups (TG). The ship sortied on 10 November, once again in company with Enterprise as part of TG 50.2 to support the
On 6 January 1944, TF 58, the
With the Marshalls and Gilberts secured, the fast carrier task force embarked on a series of raids in the central Pacific to prepare for the upcoming attack on the
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
After completing repairs, North Carolina rejoined the fleet at Majuro while it was preparing for the attack on the Marianas. On arriving, she returned to TG 58.7, which was distributed between the four carrier task groups. She and the rest of TF 58 sortied on 6 June to launch the first assault in the campaign, targeting the island of
As the Japanese fleet approached, North Carolina and the rest of TF 58 steamed to meet it on 18 June, leading to the
Later operations
Repairs lasted through October, keeping North Carolina from participating in much of the Philippines campaign, and she rejoined the fleet at its new forward base at Ulithi on 7 November. There, she joined TG 38.3, the fast carrier task force having passed from Fifth Fleet to Third Fleet command and accordingly being renumbered from 50-series to 30-series designations. The carriers then embarked on a series of strikes on Japanese positions on Leyte, Luzon, and the Visayas to support Army operations ashore. During these operations, North Carolina shot down a kamikaze suicide aircraft. The attacks continued into mid-December and intensified during the invasion of Mindoro on 15 December. Three days later, the fleet was cruising off the Philippines when it was hit by Typhoon Cobra. North Carolina was not seriously damaged, but three destroyers were sunk in the storm.[7][34]
After returning to Ulithi, the fast carrier task force began a series of strikes on targets on
In February, she escorted carriers during attacks on the Japanese island of Honshu to disrupt Japanese air forces that might interfere with the planned invasion of Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands. Fifth Fleet had re-assumed command of the fast carrier task force by this point, and North Carolina was now part of TG 58.4. The fleet sortied from Ulithi on 10 February, and after conducting training exercises off Tinian on the 12th, refueled at sea on 14 February and continued on north to launch strikes on the Tokyo area two days later. The raids continued through 17 February and the next day, the fleet withdrew to refuel and TG 58.4 was sent to hit other islands in the Bonin chain to further isolate Iwo Jima. During the preparatory bombardment for that attack, North Carolina, Washington, and the heavy cruiser Indianapolis were detached from the task group to reinforce TF 54, the assault force for the invasion; she remained on station during the marine assault and provided fire support as they fought their way across the island through 22 February. The next day, the carrier groups reassembled and refueled on 24 February for further operations against the Japanese mainland.[7][36]
After leaving Iwo Jima, the fleet resumed air attacks on the
Carrier raids on the Home Islands and the Ryukyus continued after the landing on Okinawa on 1 April. When North Carolina returned to the fleet, she was assigned to TG 58.2. Five days later, North Carolina shot down three kamikazes. In the furious anti-aircraft barrage, another ship accidentally hit North Carolina with a 5-inch shell, killing three and wounding forty-four. On 7 April, the Japanese launched a major air–naval counterattack on the landing centered on the battleship Yamato, which was largely defeated by the carriers, though North Carolina shot down one Japanese bomber. Another major kamikaze attack struck the fleet on 11 April. She shot down two more on 17 April, and two days later she was sent to support infantry attacks on Okinawa before departing for another overhaul at Pearl Harbor.[7][39]
North Carolina returned to the fleet in
She transited the Panama Canal on 8 October and arrived in
Decommissioning
The ship was decommissioned on 27 June 1947 in New York and placed in reserve.[7] While she was out of service, the Navy considered several plans to modernize or convert the ship for other purposes. The first series of studies in 1954 revolved around improving the ship's speed to 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph), which would require a significant reduction in displacement and a much more powerful propulsion system. The displacement issue could be solved by the removal of the rear turret, but there was not enough room in the hull to place a power plant necessary to reach the desired speed. The Navy also evaluated a proposal to convert North Carolina into a helicopter carrier; the plan would have involved removing all of her main and secondary guns (though the forward turret would be retained to keep the ship balanced properly) in exchange for a flight deck and facilities for twenty-eight helicopters and a battery of sixteen 3-inch (76 mm) guns. The Navy ultimately decided that a new, purpose-built helicopter carrier would be cheaper and so the project was abandoned.[43]
She remained in the Navy's inventory until she was stricken from the
Memorial and museum
USS North Carolina (Battleship) | |
Location | Wilmington, North Carolina |
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Coordinates | 34°14′11″N 77°57′15″W / 34.23639°N 77.95417°W |
Built | 1941 |
Architect | Brooklyn Navy Yard |
NRHP reference No. | 82004893 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 10 November 1982 |
Designated NHL | 14 January 1986[45] |
On 6 September 1961, North Carolina was transferred to the state.
In 1964, a Kingfisher that had crashed in British Columbia, Canada, during the war and then subsequently been salvaged was donated to the museum.
In the early 1980s, when the Navy reactivated the four Iowa-class battleships, parts were cannibalized from North Carolina and the other preserved battleships, including Alabama and Massachusetts, to restore the Iowas to service. Engine room components that were no longer available in the Navy's inventory accounted for most of the material removed from the ships.[49] The battleship was declared a National Historic Landmark on 10 November 1982; the application noted that the ship was in almost excellent condition and remained in its wartime configuration.[50][51][52]
Work to maintain the ship and improve the facility is an on-going effort. In 1998, the museum's operators ran Operation Ship Shape, a donation drive to secure funds to make repairs to the vessel, including the ship's teak deck, which was replaced with teak from Myanmar. Funds from the campaign were also allocated to repair the ship's hull, which by the early 2000s had deteriorated significantly; in some places, corrosion had reduced the thickness of the hull plating from its original 0.625-to-0.75-inch (15.9 to 19.1 mm) thickness to as thin as 0.15 inches (3.8 mm). After considering moving the ship to a drydock for the work, which would have been prohibitively expensive, the ship's caretakers decided to use the same method used to refurbish the battleship Alabama: erect a cofferdam around the hull and pump it dry. In addition to replacing damaged hull plates, the hull also received a new coat of paint to better protect it from the elements. In 2018, a walkway was erected around the ship to allow visitors to view the ship from all sides, with funding provided by the SECU Foundation. The walkway sits atop the cofferdam necessary for the ship's repairs.[51][53][54] Repairs to the ship's hull were completed in 2021.[55]
As of the beginning of 2024, the memorial and museum is one of North Carolina's most-visited tourist sites.[48] In 2022, the museum had nearly 250,000 visitors and enjoyed the most financially successful year in its history.[48]
During the early 21st century, flooding due to a
To increase drainage, improve both water quality, and enhance safety of visitors, the museum's leaders decided to embark on a
With sea level rise at the site expected to increase by about 1 foot (0.3 m) between 2024 and 2050, the 2024 construction project is expected to address drainage problems until sometime between 2039 and 2044, when additional measures may become necessary to address flooding. The 2024 project is designed to accommodate additional changes that probably will be required in the mid-21st century.[48]
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
- ^ Burr, p. 11.
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 244–265.
- ^ a b c d Friedman 1980, p. 97.
- ^ a b Friedman 1985, p. 447.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 276.
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 276–277.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u DANFS.
- ^ Hill, Michael (2001). "Joseph Melville Broughton". NCPedia. North Carolina Government & Heritage Library. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 160, 172.
- ^ Frank, p. 173.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 183, 185–186.
- ^ Hornfischer, p. 123.
- ^ Hornfischer, p. 115.
- ^ Frank, pp. 174–184.
- ^ Friedman 2014, pp. 233–234.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 191.
- ^ Frank, p. 184.
- ^ Friedman 2014, pp. 233–245.
- ^ Hornfischer, p. 118.
- ^ Frank, pp. 248–250.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 194–195.
- ^ Hornfischer, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Friedman 1985, p. 277.
- ^ Frank, p. 503.
- ^ Hornfischer, p. 383.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 224.
- ^ Frank, p. 548.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 258.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 289, 292.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 303, 306.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 318–319, 321.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 335.
- ^ Y'Blood, pp. 68, 79.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 377.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 380, 383.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 393–394.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 393.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 399–400.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 407–408, 410.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 421–422, 428–429, 431.
- ^ Sneed, p. 85.
- ^ "Ship History:U.S. Naval Operations Pacific Theater of Service". battleshipnc.com.
- ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 397–401.
- ^ Sneed, pp. 84, 87–88.
- ^ "USS North Carolina (Battleship)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2007.
- ^ Sneed, p. 90.
- ^ "Fergus' Ark vs. USS North Carolina". ourstate.com. 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dennis, Brady (1 January 2024). "A flood-prone historic site decides to live with rising water rather than fight it". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Park Complete History". ussalabama.com. USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ Butowsky.
- ^ a b Robertson.
- ^ National Register Digital Assets.
- ^ Hotz.
- ^ Buckland.
- ^ "Work to repair the Battleship North Carolina's hull is now complete". WECT. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
References
- Buckland, Tim (24 April 2018). "Walkway to Offer New Views, Perspective of Battleship". Star-News. Wilmington. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- Burr, Lawrence (2010). US Fast Battleships 1936–47: The North Carolina and South Dakota Classes. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-510-4.
- Butowsky, Harry A. (May 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination: USS North Carolina". National Park Service. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- Frank, Richard B. (1990). Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. Marmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-016561-6.
- Friedman, Norman (2014). Naval Anti-Aircraft Guns and Gunnery. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-957-9.
- Friedman, Norman (1980). "United States of America". In Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 86–166. ISBN 978-0-87021-913-9.
- Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-715-9.
- Hornfischer, James D. (2011). Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-80670-0.
- Hotz, Amy (10 June 2010). "Battleship North Carolina Refurbishment to Take Place in Wilmington". Star-News. Wilmington. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- "National Register Digital Assets". npgallery.nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- "North Carolina III (BB-55)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- Robertson, Ian (18 December 2018). "Delve into the Past Aboard USS North Carolina". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
- Sartore, Richard R. (1988). "She's Still the Showboat". Warship International. XXV (2): 118–133. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Sneed, Brandon (December 2010). "Saving the Battleship". Our State. Vol. 78, no. 7. pp. 83–92.
- Wright, Christopher C. (2007). "Re: Fast Battleship Gunnery during World War II: A Gunnery Revolution, Part II". Warship International. XLIV (2): 127–135. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Y'Blood, William T. (2012). Red Sun Setting: The Battle of the Philippine Sea. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-197-9.
Further reading
- Grobmeier, Alvin H. & Paty, Charles M. Jr. (1989). "Question 22/88". Warship International. XXVI (3): 308. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Schlosser, Jim (18 September 1998). "Ship Issues Call for "All Hands": USS North Carolina Needs $5 Million to Remain Afloat". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
External links
- USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial official website
- USS North Carolina (BB-55) at Historic Naval Ships Association
- NAVSOURCE Photo Gallery: Numerous photos of USS North Carolina
- United States Navy photos of North Carolina