USS Battleship North Carolina Celebrates 50 Years as a Showboat Museum

The USS Battleship North Carolina was docked in Wilmington fifty years ago in 1961 and many celebrations will occur throughout 2011 in honor of her arrival as an historic showboat museum at the port.

The battleship, which fought in every major US Navy offensive in World War II, was purchased from the government by NC school children in 1961 during the "Save Our Ship" campaign. Children saved their spare change and money to raise $330,000 to bring the ship to Wilmington as a memorial for all NC servicemen killed during the war.

Since then the battleship has been open as a museum war memorial and visited by scores of children and tourist. She was designated a National Historic landmark in 1986. I've taken several groups of students to the USS North Carolina myself and they have always been fascinated by it, marveling at what was the most decorated US battleship of World War II.

Celebrations throughout the year will include access to the few previous off-limits areas of the ship, a summer music festival, and tour on its docking anniversary (October 12) during which fees will revert back to what they were in 1961: 25 cents for kids and 50 cents for adults. The Fourth of July fireworks celebrations are always a highlight.

The USS North Carolina was launched on June 13, 1940 from the New York Naval Shipyard as the flagship of a new class of fast and heavily-armed battleships built under treaty specifications. She was first sent to the Atlantic as a deterrent to the German battleship Tirpitz which had been attacking Atlantic shipping. She was ordered to the Pacific in the summer of 1942 and passed through the Panama Canal arriving in Pearl Harbor shortly after The Battle of Midway.

The new ship reportedly dramatically increased the morale of the Pacific fleet and was immediately assigned to escort the carrier Enterprise. She assisted in the landing of the US marines on Guadalcanal and defended the Enterprise in the ensuing Battle of the Eastern Solomons. During this conflict she shot down an unknown number of Japanese planes attacking the Enterprise and helped the ship survive despite 3 direct hits on the carrier. During this action over 100 Japanese aircraft were destroyed and the US won control of the air in the Pacific.

Shortly afterward the North Carolina took over the protection of marines being shipped to Guadalcanal and also guarded the US carrier Saratoga. She was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine during these duties but stayed afloat.

After repairs in Pearl Harbor the battleship was sent back into battle and took part in the many island-hopping operations of the US navy and Marines as they advanced on the island of Japan. She participated in the assault and capture of the Marshall Islands and protected the US carriers in the massive airstrike on the Japanese super-fortress of Truk. The North Carolina was the Pacific flagship during many of these operations.

After returning again to Pearl Harbor for repairs the ship was sent back into operations bombarding the Japanese islands and guarding the US carriers. She was in the front lines of the Battle of the Philippine Sea during which planes from American carriers destroyed the bulk of Japan's air and naval armada.Enduring new attacks by Japanese kamikaze pilots and sailing through several typhoons the USS North Carolina participated in the attack on Iwo Jima and the Okinawa assault. She continued to come under heavy fire but remained afloat, destroying many enemy aircraft and eventually participating in the final bombardments on the Japanese home islands.

The USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial relies on its own revenues and patron donations and does not receive any tax money. The site is accessible by car or by water taxi in downtown Wilmington. Visitors can tour the main deck of the North Carolina as well as many interior rooms and some of the gun turrets, and there is also a gift shop and visitor center for the battleship.