“May the NORTH CAROLINA be a symbol of progress through strength.”

NORTH CAROLINA was the first battleship to be constructed in sixteen years. She became the first of ten fast battleships to join the fleet in World War II. NORTH CAROLINA and her sister ship, WASHINGTON, comprised the NORTH CAROLINA class.

The keel was laid at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, on Navy Day. NORTH CAROLINA’s hull was so immense by the standards of her time that before construction began, the building ways had to be lengthened and strengthened.

“Its very power is fascinating. It commands our respect and will help us command the respect of the world. It speaks a language even a dictator can understand.” Clyde Hoey, Governor of North Carolina (1937-1941)

Isabel Hoey christened the Battleship and the NORTH CAROLINA slid down the ways at the New York Navy Yard into the East River.

On April 9, 1941, the “world’s fightingest ship” was commissioned at 11:30 a.m., in the New York Navy Yard. The event received tremendous media attention.

“The 35,000-ton battleship NORTH CAROLINA, solid, gleaming symbol of America’s awakening from a sleep naval holiday of 18 years…. 29 minutes of ceremony in dazzling sunshine formally placed in service the $70,000,000 battleship it had taken nearly four years to build.” The commissioning was four months ahead of schedule.

“As bugles blared and white-capped officers and bluejackets saluted, a pennant was run slowly up the flagstaff to show that the ship was in commission. Millions listened over the radio as the mightiest battleship afloat was put into service.”

— The Young Catholic Messenger, April 25, 1941

Nicknamed “The Showboat,” BB55 spent months testing her systems and undergoing sea trials. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked, and the United States declared war on Japan and Germany. BB55 was ordered to the Pacific Theater of operations, arriving in Pearl Harbor, on July 11, 1942. Firecontrolman 1/c Larry Resen recalled

“The crews cheered and cheered us. I couldn’t help saying to myself, ‘They’re cheering us for nothing.’ We hadn’t done anything. We had not fired a single shot yet. But to them, we were the symbol of help finally arriving in force.”

BB55 served in every major naval offensive across the Pacific, earning 15 battle stars. She is the highest decorated American battleship of World War II. This map illustrates her service. (Click the image to download a PDF of the service map)

After serving as a training vessel for midshipmen, NORTH CAROLINA was decommissioned and placed in the Inactive Reserve Fleet in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Destined for the scrapyard, the state’s citizens mounted a campaign to “Save our Ship.” Funds were raised to prepare a suitable berth and move the Battleship from Bayonne, NJ, to Wilmington. Admirals in the “North Carolina Navy” raised vital funds in each county and the state’s schoolchildren were asked to contribute dimes to the campaign. The campaign was a success, and the Showboat arrived at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, near Southport, NC, on October 1, 1961. The next day she was towed 30 miles up the river to her new berth. The state’s World War II Memorial was dedicated in April 1962.

Discover more about the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA, her history, and service in the book by Captain Ben W. Blee, USN (Ret).