Adventures in the Dream: A Trip to the Battleship -- North Carolina

Wednesday we decided to see the Battleship North Carolina. It's a WWII ship that was commissioned in 1941 and went to the South Pacific to wage war. The ship carried out nine shore bombardments, shot down at least 24 enemy aircraft with its anti-aircraft guns and sank an enemy troop ship. She was torpedoed once by a Japanese submarine and had to return home to get patched up. She also took some accidental friendly fire that did substantial damage. Yet by the end of WWII she had lost only 10 men and 67 wounded.

Well, as wars go, that's probably not so bad. Walking around this ship gave us a feeling of history - the technology on this boat is 70+ years old. Gigantic turbines that drive the 40,800 ton ship. Armored cable bundles carrying power everywhere throughout the ship. Monstrous guns spread out over her 729 foot length and ducts that draw outside air into the lower decks to provide a modicum of comfort for the sailors and marines.

Today the ship serves as a memorial to all North Carolinians who fought in WWII.

20mm anti-aircraft guns. Just point and shoot. It was all up to humans in those days before radar-controlled fire systems.

Here's the "big daddy" gun, the 40mm anti-aircraft banger. A sailor sat in each seat and sighted the approaching aircraft through the little iron sight. Shooting by the seat of your pants. Foot pedals down below let you rotate the entire gun left and right. The crank controlled azimuth. I wonder if they issued ear protection in those days?

An air search radar antenna rotates at the top of this tower. Just below is the 16-inch gun director, a lookout point for
aligning the big guns with their targets.

The main deck. The ship is 108-feet wide and 729-feet long. It topped out at 28 knots and carried 141 officers, 2,115 enlisted sailors and 85 Marines. It carried a lot of food to feed all those troops: 7,800 eggs, 16,800 pounds of butter, 94,200 of sugar, 214,000 of fresh meat, 466,000 of fresh veggies and 135,000 pounds of fresh fruit. Well, it's good to know that they focused on the fruits and veggies! Sounds like a lot, but start dividing those numbers by 2,341 men times three meals each day. Hmmm, doesn't seem so much now, does it? The eggs would be gone in three days.

Here's a view from the top deck where the Captain gave orders and the crew carried them out. Those are six of the nine 16-inch cannons -- some big guns!

Just two of the 20 five-inch guns that bristle from every corner of the ship. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of these.

Compartments are all lockable to prevent flooding from one area of the ship to another.

The ship carried two Kingfisher planes that were launched on a catapault assisted with a black powder rocket engine. The planes were use to scout for enemy ships, submarines and planes, and to rescue fallen airmen from the sea, deliver mail and drop messages onto other ships. On returning the plane would land in the water then be lifted by a crane back onto the deck -- ready for another flight.