The USS North Carolina is more than just a steel beast with an impressive record from a bygone war. It’s a time capsule: a living memory of sacrifice and ingenuity from an era whose veterans are all but gone.
Here’s a conundrum for the Friends of the Battleship North Carolina: how does one preserve an eighty-four-year-old “fast battleship” from the wear and tear of time? That’s the question dominating those who are caring for this iconic American warship, which earned an astonishing fifteen battle stars for its legendary service in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War.
Nicknamed “Showboat,” the USS North Carolina (BB-55) was the lead ship of her class during an age when the battleship was still a critical component of the United States Navy’s overall grand strategy of sea supremacy. Her keel was first laid down in 1937 at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned on April 9, 1941—nine months before the Imperial Japanese Navy launched their devastating raid on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor.
The USS North Carolina’s Specs
The North Carolina was America’s first “fast battleship”—and the only one in the Western world after the British lost their iconic fast battleship, the HMS Hood, in 1941. North Carolina clocked in at thirty-two miles per hour and was meant to keep pace and provide important cover for America’s essential aircraft carriers in the war. It displaced 35,000 tons (standard) and an additional 44,800 tons when fully loaded. North Carolina was powered by four General Electric steam turbines and eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers.
BB-55’s firepower was truly formidable. She possessed nine sixteen-inch guns in triple turrets, twenty five-inch secondary guns, and a bristling array of anti-aircraft weapons—up to forty-five by the war’s end. There were also two aircraft catapults to sustain scouting aircraft. The armor was thick, too—twelve inches at the belt and sixteen on the turrets.
Basically, the North Carolina was a floating fortress.
The Battleship Was a World War II Hero
The great ship generated much media buzz when it transited the Panama Canal during its cruise to the Pacific in June 1942. While in the Pacific, North Carolina fought in multiple historic battles against the Imperial Japanese Navy.
At the Battle of Guadalcanal, the steel behemoth defended the carriers that were essential for victory there. The battlewagon downed up to fourteen planes in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942. Two weeks later, it survived a Japanese torpedo strike, which killed five crewmen but failed to sink the ship.
North Carolina shelled Saipan, blasted Truk, and supported the Marine landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Following Japan’s surrender, it ferried troops home in Operation Magic Carpet, then trained midshipmen until its decommissioning on June 27, 1947.
BB-55 was finally stricken from the Naval Register in 1960.
Schoolchildren in North Carolina Saved BB-55 from the Scrapyard
Thanks to an impressive and impassioned grassroots campaign, North Carolina dodged the scrapyards. The grassroots campaign that saved the warship came from the state after which it was named, when schoolchildren there donated around $330,000 worth of dimes, leading to it being berthed in Wilmington, NC, as a museum.
Today, the iconic battlewagon is moored across from downtown Wilmington on the Cape Fear River. It is a National Historic Landmark and North Carolina’s official WWII memorial, honoring the more than 11,000 state residents who perished in that terrible twentieth century conflict. BB-55 draws about 250,000 visitors yearly, generating $250 million for the local and state economy over a decade.
The North Carolina’s Next Great Enemy: Corrosion
No matter how iconic she may be, it’s hard to preserve an 84-year-old battlewagon. By the early 2000s, the venerable battleship’s hull was corroding badly—with some spots thinning from 0.75 inches to 0.15 inches due to what’s known as galvanic corrosion from electrical currents in the water.
The U.S. Navy mandates drydock repairs every twenty years for donation ships, but North Carolina hadn’t seen one since 1953. The financial burden of towing the great ship to a shipyard for drydock repair was quoted at $35 million.
In 2018, an $8 million steel cofferdam, or watertight enclosure, was built around the historic warship. This allows crews to pump water out, to expose the hull, and finish repairs for $15 million—or half the towing cost.
The state government of North Carolina graciously chipped in $7 million, with the rest coming from private donors via the Generations Campaign. It is believed the repairs should keep the North Carolina afloat for another 40 years—after which another campaign will be needed.
Keeping the Battleship Ready for Showtime
There have been other attempts to keep the North Carolina seaworthy and operating as a money-making museum for the Tar Heel State. Back in 1998, Operation Ship Shape raised funds to replace the teak deck with Myanmar timber and to patch the ailing hull. In 2021, the forward mast was lifted off, repaired on land, and reinstalled—all funded by the National Park Service and private donations.
LED lighting, meanwhile, was installed to cut energy costs. An additional 16,000 gallons of WWII-era bunker fuel were offloaded to prevent spills. The SECU Walkway and a new marine trail dock to accommodate kayak launches enhanced visitor experience while protecting the historic site.
The USS North Carolina is more than just a steel beast with an impressive record from a bygone war. It’s a time capsule: a living memory of sacrifice and ingenuity from an era whose veterans are all but gone. Preservation efforts are key to its future. If the Friends of the North Carolina are successful in their yeoman’s efforts to preserve this icon, they can keep this battlewagon open to the public for generations.
Keeping the North Carolina afloat and open should not just be a private, charitable endeavor. The Trump administration, with its commitment to “Honoring American Greatness,” should intervene and keep this great ship—and other great historical vessels, like the USS Texas in Galveston, Texas—afloat and preserved for generations to come.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Frame Craft 8.
