USS North Carolina
| Country | United States |
| Ship Class | North Carolina-class Battleship |
| Builder | New York Navy Yard |
| Laid Down | 27 Oct 1937 |
| Launched | 13 Jun 1940 |
| Commissioned | 9 Apr 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 27 Jun 1947 |
| Displacement | 35000 tons standard |
| Length | 729 feet |
| Beam | 108 feet |
| Draft | 35 feet |
| Machinery | General Electric geared turbines with four screws |
| Power Output | 115000 SHP |
| Speed | 27 knots |
| Crew | 1880 |
| Armament | 9x16 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseLaunched in Jun 1940, the USS North Carolina was the first battleship of her class. She was sponsored by Isabel Hoey, daughter of Governor Clyde Hoey of North Carolina. As the first of the Navy's modern battleship program, she received a great deal of attention from the press and earned the nickname "Showboat". She was the first new battleship for the US Navy for nearly 20 years.
ww2dbaseDuring WW2, North Carolina provided naval gun support for the Marine landings as well as escorted carriers during the Solomons campaign. During the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, North Carolina shot down between 7 and 14 Japanese aircrafts during the 8-minute battle. On 15 Sep, she suffered damage from a torpedo attack either launched by Japanese submarine I-19 or I-15; records were not clear whether the torpedo was a stray from the same salvo from I-19 that sank the carrier Wasp or from I-15 that was also present in the area. The explosion struck 20 feet below the surface and killed five men. The result was a hole 32 feet long by 18 feet high that flooded the number one turret handling room. However, her skilled damage control team minimized the damage; the team even corrected the resulting 5.5 degree list within minutes by counterflooding. Very soon after the torpedo strike she was sailing at a speed of 25 knots for Pearl Harbor for repairs. She returned to Pearl Harbor once again in spring 1943 for fire control and radar upgrades. Subsequent to the upgrades, she supported numerous landings during the island hopping campaign across the Pacific, performing both carrier screening as well as bombarding Japanese positions. She received 15 battle stars for World War II service.
ww2dbaseAfter the war, she saw service in Japan and the Atlantic before being inactivated in 1946. She was decommissioned in 1947 and joined the mothball fleet until 1960. She was dedicated as a memorial at Wilmington, North Carolina, United States on 29 Apr 1962.
ww2dbaseSources: Naval Historical Center, the Struggle for Guadalcanal, Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Mar 2006
Battleship USS North Carolina Interactive Map
USS North Carolina Operational Timeline
| 6 Nov 1915 | Piloted by Lieutenant Commander Henry Mustin, a Curtiss AB-2 aircraft made the first US catapult launch from USS North Carolina whilst the vessel was underway. |
| 27 Oct 1937 | The keel of US battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) was laid down at New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States. |
| 13 Jun 1940 | The battleship USS North Carolina was launched at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States. |
| 9 Apr 1941 | North Carolina was commissioned into service. |
| 27 Jun 1947 | North Carolina was decommissioned from service. |
Photographs
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Visitor Submitted Comments
30 Sep 2014 03:11:47 AM
I just want to say thanks. I live in Newport, NC about 93 miles from the USS North Carolina in Wilmington, NC. I learned a lot of new information on the USS NC from this site.
8 Nov 2017 02:21:33 PM
MY Dad, Halbert D Boss, served on this great ship, an original member of the crew. Would love to know if anyone knew him.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945
21 Jan 2009 02:59:01 AM
i'm looking for my granddad jack paul welch, who served as military police volunteer during ww2. he, together with 2 other white officers john and leonard, met my grandmom in mindanao.they were on a raft all the way from cagayan de oro to mambajao, camiguin island(misamis oriental).grandmom is now 83. i hope you can help me. my father was born in 1946, he is now 62 and still searching. thank you. mann