Family Trip to BB-55 North Carolina

[Seagoon]

Hi Guys,

A few family pics from our recent trip to the Battleship North Carolina, which is permanently moored just outside Wilmington. If you are in the area and have kids - GO! It's all hands-on self-guided stuff, you can climb through 16 inch and 5 inch turrets, go through the engine room, bridge, etc. twiddle nobs, turn the ships wheel, etc. Lots of fun.

Here are some views from our trip:


From the Stern looking forward (we have yet to be able to get all the kids to look directly at a camera at the same time)


My idea of the perfect duck hunting weapon...


Ever get the feeling that AH2 fleet AA defense is grossly undermodeled??? (note: I couldn't get all the 5 inch guns on one side in the picture)

 
Graham, aka Grambo, bags another AH Kazi in the 40mm mount.
(note the genuine UK issue yellow teeth on daddy, glad he didn't get them)


Vintage WW2 Kingfisher (this one was salvaged in the 60s from a 1942 crash site in Canada)


Shot this one through the actual main sight inside the turret of the aft 16inch guns.

Well, I've got lots more. but since there's nothing worse than being forced to view someone elses family trip slide show...

- SEAGOON

[DiabloTX]

Nice pics, thanks.  When I visited her back in '86 I was astonished at her condition.  I am used to the USS Texas (BB-35) which is in sad shape.  I swear, you could knock the dust off of the North Carolina, assign a crew to her and she'd be ready to go.  Amazing condition she's in.  And what a beautiful ship too!

[Seagoon]

Diablo,

Yeah, I was utterly amazed as well. I'm used to visiting poorly maintained hulks as well (for instance, someone, anyone drag the Panthers, etc. at the Aberdeen proving grounds inside and work on them, before they consist entirely of iron oxide in a field) but the North Carolina was in tip-top shape, especially for something that gets climbed over by toddlers etc. all year round. The radar is even still spinning. I was also amazed at how much of the ship is open, you can basically climb from the bilge to the directors with out many encumberances and because she was mothballed after WW2 its all vintage stuff.

- SEAGOON

[GtoRA2]

Was it the North Carolina that sunk the Jap Battleship or her sister?


I would love to see more pics!

[101ABN]

heck these are some good pictures.. i wouldnt mind seeing the rest of them.

[Sabre]

Nice, Seagoon.  I had the privilage of going aboard the USS Missouri ("The Mighty Mo") back in 1992, not long before she was decommissioned.  We took our Boy Scout troop to Long Beach where she was bearthed, as a day trip.  While we didn't get the complete run of the ship, we did get to go all around the deck, inside one of the 16" turrets, onto the bridge, and inside the citadel.  I'd really hoped to see the engine room and CIC, but they were off limits.  Primarily a question of liability, since she was a working ship of the line at that time.  Got a cool picture of me sitting in the Captain's chair on the bridge .  I'll have to get down to Wilmington some time.  And yes, I believe Alabama was present at the last clash of battleships in history.  The Japanese fleet was, to put it mildy, handled rather roughly as I recall.

[GtoRA2]

I thought it was the South dakota, the alabamas sister that got shot up in that fight?

[slimm50]

Speaking of Alabama and her sister ship, the USS Alabama in Mobile is another fine Big Boat tour you should take in if you're in that area.

[Skydancer]

If you are in London try this

http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/

[Seagoon]

Hi Guys,

Per your request some historical notes from the official site, and some more photos. From what I can find, the BB-55 never took part in a major ship to ship surface engagement. That would make sense though as she spent the war attached to CV BGs guarding the flat-tops.

Here is a summary of her war record:

"During World War II, NORTH CAROLINA participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific area of operations and earned 15 battle stars. In the Battle of the Eastern Solomon’s Islands in August of 1942, the Battleship’s anti-aircraft barrage helped save the carrier ENTERPRISE, thereby establishing the primary role of the fast battleship as protector of aircraft carriers. One of her Kingfisher pilots performed heroically during the strike on Truk when he rescued ten downed Navy aviators on 30 April 1944. In all, NORTH CAROLINA 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 to halt or frustrate scores of attacks on aircraft carriers. She steamed over 300,000 miles. Although Japanese radio announcements claimed six times that NORTH CAROLINA had been sunk, she survived many close calls and near misses - such as the Japanese torpedo which slammed into the Battleship’s hull on 15 September 1942. A quick response on the part of the crew allowed the mighty Ship to keep up with the fleet. By war’s end, the Ship lost ten men in action and had 67 wounded."

And here are her stats (note the AA defense Skuzzy - gimme gimme gimme!):

Vital Statistics
Hull Number:     BB 55
Keel Laid:    October 27, 1937
Launched:     June 13, 1940
Commissioned:    April 9, 1941
Decommissioned:     June 27, 1947
Length:    728 feet 5/8 inches long
Extreme Beam:    108 feet 3 7/8 inches wide
Mean Draught:     31 feet 7 inches normal, 35 feet 6 inches maximum
Displacement:    36,600 tons standard, 44,800 tons full load
Complement:     2,339 (144 officers and 2,195 enlisted)
Speed:      28 knots
Armament:     9 16-inch/45 caliber guns
20 5-inch/38 caliber guns
60 40mm/56 caliber guns
48 20mm/70 caliber guns


Controls for the Port Rudders


Victor adjusts our bearing from the bridge
 


Manual Gun Director for aft 16 inch turret (thought this was very cool)


40 MM Gunsight (I was amazed how much Mark 1 Eyeball dependent equipment there was...)


And of course the engine room for sabre... (couldn't believe how hot it was down there on a windy cold day, commented this place must have been fun with all the machinery working, steam all over the place, in the Pacific...)

[Sabre]

Hey, thanks, Seagoon!  Yeah, I've got to imagine that there weren't many overweight engineroom crewmembers serving in the south pacific theater.