The question, directed at the 729-foot- long battleship North Carolina (BB-55), booms out from several loudspeakers in front of the grandstand and echoes across the Cape Fear River toward Wilmington. It heralds the start of another evening’s sound-and-light show. During the following 60 minutes, the question is answered in spectacular fashion. The forward 16-inch and port 5-inch guns and several 40-millimeter mounts once again blaze away at enemy targets. (The guns now use kerosene instead of powder bags.) Even the bow 20-millimeter mounts rattle out in desperate defiance at the imaginary aircraft that have come too close for comfort.
Although it is now the newer Iowa- class battleships that are once again in the public eye as part of the fleet, there was a time when photographs of the USS North Carolina could be found in just about every newspaper across the country. As the first U. S. battleship commissioned since the West Virginia (BB-48) in 1923, and the first of the fast battleships, the North Carolina and her sister ship Washington (BB-56) set the standard for America’s new battle fleet. From her keel
laying on 27 October 1937 at the New York Navy Yard, through her commissioning on 9 April 1941 and the builder’s trials that followed, the media coverage was almost nonstop. As a result, the North Carolina was nicknamed “The Showboat.” It was a name that would stick with her through her active service and long after.
Severe high-speed vibration problems encountered during trials delayed both ships from joining the fleet as soon as expected. For the most part, the problem was solved by changing the propellers on the inboard shafts from four-bladed to three-bladed, but similar problems plagued the remaining eight battleships that were to come down the ways before the end of the war.
By early fall of 1941 the North Carolina was ready for duty and served briefly in the Atlantic after America’s entry into World War II. On Wednesday, 10 June 1942, the North Carolina entered the Pacific Ocean, where she spent the remaining 38 months of the war. She earned 12 battle stars during that time while losing only ten of her crew in battle. During one of her nine shore bombardments, she sank a Japanese transport ship. Among her targets were Kwajalein, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Okinawa, and mainland Japan. She fired more than 2,200 16-inch projectiles and many thousand 5-inch shells.
Although the North Carolina never engaged any enemy surface warships, she was the only U. S. battleship to be torpedoed at sea. On 15 September 1942, while serving with Task Force 61 patrolling southeast of Guadalcanal, the carrier Wasp (CV-7), destroyer O’Brien (DD- 415), and the North Carolina fell victim to torpedoes fired by the Japanese submarine I-19. The 890-pound warhead hit below the armor belt abreast of turret one and tore a 32- by 18-foot hole. A credit to both the design of the ship and effective damage control, the North Carolina managed to correct a 5½ degree degree list and was back on station steaming at more than 20 knots within minutes after the explosion.
The North Carolina provided some of her most valuable service during the war as escort to the fleet carriers. Her ability to maintain station while providing effective antiaircraft fire earned praise from the carriers with which she operated. To her official credit are 24 enemy aircraft, although there were many more unofficial kills and assists. The pilots of her OS2U floatplanes were responsible for rescuing 12 downed U. S. aviators during the war.
In 1960, after more than 13 years in mothballs, the North Carolina was saved from the scrapyard by the people in the state for which she was named. More than $300,000 was raised in order to tow the ship to Wilmington and provide for her a permanent berth. She was dedicated as a memorial on 29 April 1962.
The ship is kept in excellent condition despite her nearly 50 years of age. The wardroom and part of the crew’s berthing off the main deck have been converted into museums, but the rest of the ship remains much as it was during her wartime career. The various displays throughout the ship use equipment that, if not part of her original outfit, is from the period of her service. The tour route is well laid out and includes most areas that can be reached without difficulty. Although visitors can go no higher than the wheelhouse level of the fire control tower, they can go down as far as the upper level of one of the engine rooms. Two of the main battery turret gunhouses and one of the secondary battery turrets are open for viewing. The two catapults have been removed, but a restored Kingfisher rests between the catapult bases. The aircraft was reconstructed in 1970 from the wreckage of an OS2U that crashed in Canada in 1942.
Some of her battle scars are visible, too: a crack in the belt armor from the torpedo hit and a welded patch just below the port Mark 37 director where a 5-inch shell from one of the screening destroyers struck the ship during an air attack in 1944.
The ship is maintained solely through funds provided from the admission fees and concessions. The magnitude of this can be imagined when one considers that her upkeep, which during service was the task of several hundred men of the deck divisions, is now being accomplished by fewer than 20. Her maintenance schedule now includes painting all the exterior surfaces about every 18 to 24 months and regular replacement of portions of the vast expanse of teak that comprises the main deck. Even though some of the ship’s original equipment is still being used in her upkeep, the North Carolina has managed to provide more than 120 tons of spare parts to the Navy, most of which are being used in the recommissioned battleships.
She is still “The Showboat” and is likely to remain so for many years.
The USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial is located at the intersection of U.S. Highways 17, 74 and 76 just west of Wilmington, North Carolina. It is open to the public every day of the year.
Hours: 8:00 A.M to sunset. Sound and light show plays from the first Friday in June until Labor Day and starts at 9:00 P.M. Admission is $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for children ages 6 to 11 (under age six are free).
A two-hour narrated tour on cassette can be rented for $1 and a 10-minute film about the history of the North Carolina can be viewed free of charge prior to boarding the ship. Access to the main deck is also provided for the handicapped.
For additional information:
USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial
Post Office Box 417, Wilmington, North Carolina 28402
(919)762-1829
A Nickname for the North Carolina
Back in June 1905, when they were still known as submarine torpedo boats, the Porpoise, left, and the Shark were only 107 tons each. Here they sit in cradles at the New York Navy Yard after being lifted from the water by a floating crane.
The North Carolina (BB-55) and the Washington (BB-56) began their shakedown cruise in company in September 1941. We joined up at Hampton Roads, the North Carolina coming from the New York Navy Yard and the Washington from Philadelphia Navy Yard. The North Carolina arrived at Hampton Roads first, and as the senior commanding officer, I chose to anchor upstream. When the Washington came in, she was 500 or so yards downstream.
The day before the two ships were to start for Guantanamo, I called a conference of the skippers and executive officers to settle some items of collaboration before we put to sea. As that meeting was breaking up, the exec of the Washington made reference, in a joking way, to something that was news to me and, I think, to my XO, Commander Andrew Shepard. He said that the men of the Washington had taken to calling the North Carolina “That Showboat.” The men in the Washington were well aware that the North Carolina was getting a great deal of attention throughout the country—in daily newspapers, on the radio networks, and in magazines. All this was understandable, because she was the nation’s first new battleship in 18 years.
Of course, the Washington was right on our heels, commissioned within a month or so of us. But I think the difference was that we were operating out of the New York Navy Yard, and were very close to the press. I guess the Washington was feeling a little left out.
The next morning I was discussing plans for getting under way with Commander Shepard. I told him that I wanted the crew at quarters for a formal inspection and that the usual honors would be exchanged when we passed the Washington. We were the senior ship, and she would follow us out of the harbor. On the spur of the moment I told the exec, “After we play the ‘Star Spangled Banner,' let’s have the band play, ‘Here Comes the Showboat.’”
My crew had been hearing the scuttlebutt from the Washington about our new name. So when the band burst forth with the showboat song, they thought that was just great. There’s no question that the men of the North Carolina took to the nickname like ducks to water, and the battleship was thereafter “The Showboat.”
From the Naval Institute oral history of Vice Admiral Olaf M. Hustvedt, U. S. Navy (Retired)