U.S.S. North Carolina (BB-55)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Career

Name: U.S.S. North Carolina (BB-55)
Namesake: North Carolina
Ordered: 1 August 1937
Builder: New York Naval Shipyard
Cost: $76,885,750
Laid down: 27 October 1937
Launched: 13 June 1940
Sponsored by: Isabel Hoey
Commissioned: 9 April 1941
Decommissioned: 27 June 1947
Struck: 1 June 1960
Nickname: Showboat
Honors and awards: 15 Battle Stars, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Independence Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Medal
Fate: Museum ship

General characteristics

Class and type: North Carolina class battleship
Displacement: 37,484 long tons (38,086 t) (standard)
44,377 long tons (45,089 t) (loaded)
Length: 728.8 feet (222.1 m)
Beam: 108.3 feet (33.0 m)
Draft: 33 feet (10.1 m)
Installed power: 121,000 hp (90,000 kW)
Propulsion: 4 General Electric steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts
Speed: 26 kn (30 mph; 48 km/h)
Range: 17,450 nmi (20,080 mi; 32,320 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement: 2,339 (144 officers and 2,195 enlisted)
Sensors and processing systems: CXAM-1 RADAR from 1940 on
Armament: 9 - 16Êinch (410 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns, 20 - 5Êinch (130 mm)/38 caliber dual purpose guns, 16 - 1.1Êin (28 mm) anti-aircraft autocannon replaced by 60 - 40 mm AA guns (15x4), 46 - 20 mm cannons (46x1)
Armor: Maximum: 16 inch (410 mm)
Aircraft carried: 3 Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes
Aviation facilities: 2 trainable catapults on the fantail

The U.S.S. North Carolina (BB-55) (Showboat) was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of this U.S. state. She was the first new construction U.S. battleship to enter service during World War II, participating in every major naval offensive in the Pacific theater to become the most decorated U.S. battleship of the war with 15 battle stars. She is now a museum ship at the port of Wilmington, North Carolina.

USS North Carolina (Battleship)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
The USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Built: 1941
Architect: Brooklyn Navy Yard
Governing body: State
NRHPÊReference#82004893
Significant dates Added to NRHP: 10 November 1982, DesignatedÊNHL:

North Carolina docked as a floating museum on the Cape Fear River

The U.S.S. North Carolina Battleship was decommissioned at New York on 27 June 1947. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960, North Carolina was transferred to the people of North Carolina on 6 September 1961. She was purchased from the U.S. Navy for $330,000 raised by the efforts of North Carolina school children who saved their spare change and lunch money for the ''Save Our Ship'' (SOS) campaign. In 1961, a fleet of tugboats was used to maneuver the 728 foot (222 m) ship through an area of the river 500 feet (150 m) wide. During this move the ship struck the restaurant ''Fergus' Ark'', near Princess Street. ''Fergus' Ark'' was formerly a U.S. Army troopship. The river based restaurant was damaged severely and ceased operation. On 29 April 1962, she was dedicated at Wilmington, North Carolina as a memorial to North Carolinians of all services killed in World War II and may be visited to this day. This battleship was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Visitors to the U.S.S. North Carolina Battleship Memorial can tour the main deck of the ship, many interior rooms, and some of the gun turrets. Visitors can also view one of the nine surviving OS2U Kingfisher aircraft in the world, located on the stern of the ship. Various events are held at the memorial including the annual Fourth of July fireworks display from the adjacent battleship park and spaces may be rented for special events. A Roll of Honor in the Wardroom lists the names of North Carolinians who gave their lives in service in all the branches of the military during World War II. The site is accessible by car or a short water taxi ride originating from downtown Wilmington and also features a gift shop, visitors center and picnic area.

The memorial is administered by North Carolina Battleship Commission which was established by statutes of the State of North Carolina in 1960. The memorial relies upon its own revenues as well as donations and does not receive any tax revenues.

Recent projects undertaken to maintain the battleship include the replacement of the teak deck. Following a visit by officials from Myanmar, she received the most generous donation in her history: the gift of two tractor trailer loads of the highest quality teak decking in the world, valued at approximately one quarter million dollars, and a very substantial discount on another eight tractor-trailer loads of the precious wood, valued at another quarter million dollars, to permit the entire re-decking of the ship's more than 1 acre (4,000 m2) of deck. Several near term restoration projects are planned which will not require closure of the memorial. The next major restoration project for North Carolina is a refit of her hull. Initially it was announced that this work would require the battleship to be towed to Norfolk or Charleston. However, on 31 May 2010, the Battleship Commission opted instead to have the repair work done in place, using the same cofferdam process recently used to repair the museum ship U.S.S. Alabama (BB-60). This approach is expected to save $16 million as well as keep the battleship open to the public during the repair process. This may also have been done as two bridges crossing the Cape Fear River have been constructed since the ship's arrival in Wilmington, and the battleship is too large to fit under either of these bridges.