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HISTORY
USS North Carolina (BB-55) is the lead ship of the North
Carolina-class battleships and the fourth warship in the U.S. Navy
to be named for the State of North Carolina. She was the first newly
constructed American battleship to enter service during World War
II, and took part in every major naval offensive in the Pacific
Theater of Operations; her 15 battle stars made her the most
decorated American battleship of World War II.
In the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942, the
battleship's anti-aircraft barrage helped save the carrier USS
Enterprise, thereby establishing the role of fast battleships as
protectors of aircraft carriers. In all, North Carolina steamed over
300,000 miles, carried out nine shore bombardments, sank an enemy
troopship, destroyed at least 24 enemy aircraft, and assisted in
shooting down many more. Her anti-aircraft guns helped halt or
frustrate scores of attacks on aircraft carriers. Although Japanese
radio announcements claimed six times that she had been sunk, she
survived many close calls and near misses with one hit when a
Japanese torpedo hit her port side on 15 September 1942. A quick
response allowed the ship to keep up with the fleet. By war's end,
she had lost only ten men in action and had 67 wounded. She is now a
museum ship and memorial docked at the seaport of Wilmington, North
Carolina.
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