USS North Carolina (BB-55)

USS North Carolina (BB-55) at sea off New York City, 3 June 1946
History
United States
Name:	North Carolina
Namesake:	State of 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, daughter of Clyde R. Hoey, governor of North Carolina
Commissioned:	9 April 1941
Decommissioned:	27 June 1947
Struck:	1 June 1960
Identification:	Hull symbol:BB-55 Code letters:NIBK
Nickname(s):	Showboat
Honors and awards:	15 Battle Stars American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Navy Occupation Medal Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Philippine Liberation Medal Philippine Independence Medal
Status:	Museum ship since 29 April 1962 in Wilmington, North Carolina
General characteristics
Class and type:	North Carolina-class battleship
Displacement:	37,484 short tons (34,005 t) (standard) 44,377 short tons (40,258 t) (loaded)
Length:	728.8 ft (222.1 m)
Beam:	108.3 ft (33.0 m)
Draft:	33.0 ft (10.1 m)
Installed power:	8 × boilers 121,000 hp (90,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric steam turbines four propeller shafts
Speed:	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) in 1942 26.8 knots (49.6 km/h; 30.8 mph) in 1945
Range:	17,450 nmi (32,320 km; 20,080 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	about 2,339 (144 officers and 2,195 enlisted)
Sensors and processing systems:	CXAM-1 radar beginning in 1940
Armament:	9 × 16 in (410 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns 20 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose guns 16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 caliber anti-aircraft guns—replaced by 15 × quad Bofors 40 mm guns (15×4) and 48 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons (48×1)
Armor:	Side belt (over vital places): 12 in (30 cm) Gun turret: 16 in (41 cm) Main deck: 1.5 in (3.8 cm) Armored Deck: 5.5 in (14 cm) Third Deck: .75 in (1.9 cm) Conning Tower: 16 in (41 cm)
Aircraft carried:	3 × Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes
Aviation facilities:	2 × trainable catapults on her fantail
USS North Carolina (Battleship)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location	Wilmington, North Carolina
Coordinates	34°14′11.21″N 77°57′15.27″W / 34.2364472°N 77.9542417°W / 34.2364472; -77.9542417Coordinates: 34°14′11.21″N 77°57′15.27″W / 34.2364472°N 77.9542417°W / 34.2364472; -77.9542417
Built	1941
Architect	Brooklyn Navy Yard
NRHP Reference #	82004893
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	10 November 1982
Designated NHL	14 January 1986

28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) in 1942

USS North Carolina (BB-55) was the lead ship of 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. She is now a museum ship and memorial kept at the seaport of Wilmington, North Carolina.

North Carolina was laid down on 27 October 1937 at the New York Naval Shipyard and launched on 13 June 1940, sponsored by the daughter of Clyde R. Hoey, the Governor of North Carolina. She was commissioned in New York City on 9 April 1941, with Captain Olaf M. Hustvedt in command. The first of the U.S. Navy's fast battleships to be commissioned, she carried a powerful main battery of nine 16 in (410 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns. The ship received so much attention during her completion and sea trials that she won the lasting nickname "Showboat".