USS North Carolina (BB-55)

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 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns in ten quadruple mounts, forty-six 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon autocannon in single mounts. By June 1943, her anti-aircraft armament had been increased with four more 40 mm quadruple mounts, and in November, a fifteenth mount was added atop the rear main battery turret. Two more 20 mm cannon were added by late 1944, and another eight were installed in April 1945. By the end of the war in August, her 20 mm battery had been reduced to eight twin mounts and twenty single mounts.[6]

North Carolina was sent to join the Guadalcanal campaign as part of TF 16, which also included the aircraft carrier Enterprise, the heavy cruiser Portland, the light cruiser Atlanta, and six destroyers.[10] The unit was part of TF 61, commanded by Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher, and sent to cover the landing of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal to seize the airfield being constructed there by the Japanese. TF 61 also included the carriers Saratoga and Wasp. North Carolina covered Enterprise on the first day of the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi on 7 August, and thereafter remained in company with Enterprise to protect the carrier from Japanese air attacks. Fear of Japanese land-based torpedo bombers prompted Fletcher to withdraw the carrier groups the next day. The initial landing met little resistance, but a Japanese cruiser squadron attacked the invasion fleet on the night of 9 August, inflicting a major defeat on Allied naval forces in the Battle of Savo Island.[7][11] The Navy briefly considered forming a surface combat force to counter the Japanese cruisers that would have been centered on North Carolina, with five heavy and one light cruiser and four destroyers, but it was determined that the need to protect the carrier task forces was too great to strip away their heavy units.[12]

In this role, she participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August. American forces had detected a group of Japanese carriers on the 24th and immediately launched attacks from Saratoga that sank the light carrier Ryūjō. A Japanese counterattack struck the American fleet, and North Carolina was the first to detect it, shortly after 16:00, using her air-search radar.[13] The Japanese initially concentrated on Enterprise, and North Carolina contributed her anti-aircraft fire to her defense. Enterprise increased speed to 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), causing North Carolina to drop back, ultimately falling to around 4,000 yards (3,700 m) astern. A group of seven Aichi D3A dive bombers attacked North Carolina at 16:43 but they all missed. North Carolina emerged from the battle unscathed, though one man was killed by a strafing aircraft. Enterprise was hit by three bombs but aircraft from Saratoga severely damaged the seaplane tender Chitose in return.[14][15][16]

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]

North Carolina in Pearl Harbor in November 1942 for repairs

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 sister ship Washington, which served as the flagship of Rear Admiral Willis Lee.[24] The two battleships were grouped together as TF 64 under Lee's command.[25] The ships covered convoys carrying soldiers and supplies to the Solomon Islands for the rest of 1942 and into 1943 as the Guadalcanal campaign ground on.[7] These operations included covering a group of seven transports carrying elements of the 25th Infantry Division to Guadalcanal from 1 to 4 January 1943. During another of these convoy operations later that month, the battleships, which by this time had been reinforced by the battleship Indiana, were too far south to be able to reach the American cruiser force during the Battle of Rennell Island at the end of the month.[26][27]

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]

North Carolina underway during the Gilberts 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 Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, which began with assaults on Makin, Tarawa, and Abemama. The group also included Massachusetts and Indiana and a pair of light carriers and six destroyers. North Carolina covered the carriers while they raided the islands beginning on 19 November. On 8 December, North Carolina was detached to form TG 50.8 with the other battleships of the fleet—Massachusetts, Indiana, South Dakota, and Washington—again under Lee's command. The ships bombarded the island of Nauru while the fleet prepared for the next operation in the campaign in the Marshalls. North Carolina then escorted the carrier Bunker Hill during a series of strikes on Kavieng on the island of New Ireland in late December.[7][29]

On 6 January 1944, TF 58, the fast carrier task force, was created under the command of Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher; North Carolina continued in her role as an escort for the fleet's carriers with the unit as part of TG 58.2. During the Battle of Kwajalein, North Carolina initially remained with the carriers during the pre-invasion bombardment, but was then detached to close with the island and join the bombardment group targeting Roi-Namur, which also included Washington, Indiana, and Massachusetts. During the attack, she sank a cargo ship in the harbor. After the islands were conquered in four days of heavy fighting, TF 58 departed to raid Truk, which had been Japan's primary staging area in the central Pacific. By this time, North Carolina had been transferred to TG 58.3. The attack, codenamed Operation Hailstone, inflicted serious damage, sinking or destroying 39 ships, destroying 211 aircraft and damaging another 104 planes.[7][30]

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 Islands. The fleet sortied from Majuro, its new base in the Marshalls, in late March to begin the first attack on Palau and Woleai, conducted from 31 March to 1 April. During these operations, North Carolina shot down a Japanese aircraft. The fleet then sailed south to support the US Army's landing at Hollandia during the New Guinea campaign from 13 to 24 April. Another attack on Truk followed on 29–30 April; North Carolina shot down another Japanese aircraft during the attack. Two of her Kingfisher floatplanes were sent to rescue a downed pilot who had crashed off the reef; one of them capsized on landing and the second was unable to take off with the additional weight from the first plane's crew and the pilot they had gone to pick up, so the submarine Tang picked up the men instead. On 1 May, North Carolina and six other battleships organized as TG 58.7 bombarded Pohnpei, destroying Japanese artillery batteries, anti-aircraft guns, and damaging the airfield on the island. TF 58 then returned to its bases in Majuro and Eniwetok on 4 May; from there, North Carolina departed to Pearl Harbor for repairs to her rudder.[7][31]

North Carolina firing a broadside, c. 1944

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 Saipan. In addition to screening the carriers, North Carolina also bombarded the island to cover the minesweepers as they cleared paths to the invasion beach. She shelled Tanapag Harbor, sank several small vessels, and destroyed several supply dumps. On 15 June, the marines went ashore and a Japanese counterattack struck the fleet, though all but two of the aircraft were shot down by the carriers' combat air patrol; of those two, North Carolina shot one down. The landing was a breach of Japan's inner defensive perimeter that triggered the Japanese fleet to launch a major counter-thrust with the 1st Mobile Fleet, the main carrier strike force.[7][32]

As the Japanese fleet approached, North Carolina and the rest of TF 58 steamed to meet it on 18 June, leading to the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19–20 June. North Carolina and the other battleships, with four cruisers and thirteen destroyers, were deployed some 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) west of the carrier groups to screen the likely path of approach. The Japanese launched their aircraft first, and as they probed the American fleet's defenses, North Carolina and Washington were the first battleships to open fire on the attacking Japanese aircraft. During the action, which was fought primarily by the carriers, the US fleet inflicted serious losses on the Japanese, destroying hundreds of their aircraft and sinking three carriers. In the course of the battle, North Carolina shot down two Japanese aircraft. North Carolina remained on station off the Marianas for the next two weeks before being detached for an overhaul at the Puget Sound Navy Yard.[7][33]

North Carolina in heavy seas in December 1944

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 Formosa, the coast of French Indochina, occupied China, and the Ryukyu Islands in January 1945. North Carolina remained in TG 38.3 for the operation, and her carrier group struck northern Formosa on 3–4 January, but poor weather hampered flight operations. Further attacks struck targets on Luzon on 6 and 7 January to destroy reserves of kamikazes there. On 10 January, the carrier groups entered the South China Sea to strike targets in French Indochina on the assumption that significant Japanese naval forces were present, but only merchant ships and a number of minor warships were caught and sunk there. During these raids, other elements of the Allied fleet invaded Lingayen Gulf on Luzon.[35]

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 Home Islands to prepare for the next amphibious assault on Okinawa in the Ryukyus. The first of these, on 25 and 26 February, hit targets in the Tokyo area, followed by another attack on Iwo Jima the next day. The fleet refueled on 28 February and on 1 March raided Okinawa, thereafter returning to Ulithi on 4 March.[37] While in Ulithi, the fleet was reorganized and North Carolina was transferred to TG 58.3. The fleet sortied on 14 March for additional attacks on Japan; the ships refueled on 16 March on the way and they launched their aircraft two days later to hit targets on Kyushu. The attacks continued into the next day, causing significant damage to Japanese facilities on the island and sinking or damaging numerous warships. The task groups withdrew to refuel and reorganize on 22 March, as several carriers had been damaged by kamikaze and air attacks. The carriers Wasp and Franklin were badly damaged by bombs, and North Carolina was assigned to the group of ships tasked with escorting them back to Ulithi for repairs.[38]

North Carolina off New York in June 1946

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 Leyte Gulf in late June before it embarked on another series of attacks on Japan on 1 July. By this time, the fast carrier task force had been transferred to Third Fleet, so the battleship joined TG 38.3. The air attacks began on 10 July, with over a thousand aircraft hitting airfields around Tokyo. The strikes continued for more than a week, until a typhoon approached and forced the fleet to withdraw to avoid it on 19 July. During these operations, one of her Kingfishers picked up a downed pilot in Tokyo Bay under heavy fire. Following the Japanese surrender on 15 August, North Carolina contributed men for the initial occupation force and entered Sagami Bay on 27 August with the rest of the fleet. She thereafter patrolled the coast until 5 September, when she steamed into Tokyo Bay to reembark the men. The next day, she was assigned to TF 11 along with the three New Mexico-class battleships, a pair of light carriers, and a squadron of destroyers to return to the United States. From there, she sailed south to Okinawa to take on men bound for home as part of Operation Magic Carpet.[7][40] The ship suffered a total of 10 crew dead and 67 wounded during her wartime service.[41] The ship received twelve battle stars during her wartime service.[7]

She transited the Panama Canal on 8 October and arrived in Boston on 17 October. There she underwent an overhaul in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and thereafter conducted training operations off the east coast, including a training cruise for midshipmen from the US Naval Academy in the Caribbean in mid-1946.[7] North Carolina was the only American treaty battleship to see any significant service after the end of the war.[3]

USS North Carolina (Battleship)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial
Location	Wilmington, North Carolina
Coordinates	34°14′11″N 77°57′15″W
Built	1941
Architect	Brooklyn Navy Yard
NRHP reference No.	82004893
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	10 November 1982
Designated NHL	14 January 1986[42]

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 Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960, slated to be broken up for scrap.[7] A North Carolina man, James Craig, founded a campaign to save the vessel modeled on the Battleship Texas Commission that had successfully acquired the old battleship Texas for preservation as a museum ship. He convinced Governor Luther H. Hodges to ask the Navy to delay the scrapping of the ship, and then led a campaign to raise the $250,000 necessary to prepare a site to host the vessel, to tow her there, and work to prepare her for visitors. With the help of the WRAL TV station—which broadcast a "Save Our Ship" advertisement campaign—and numerous state newspapers, Craig was able to secure more than $330,000 for the project. Next were considerations of the site to be used; three cities were considered: Southport, Morehead City, and Wilmington. The latter was selected, since it was further inland and thus more protected from hurricanes.[44]