Warships of the US Navy: Battleships, North Carolina-class: USS North Carolina (BB-55), and USS Washington (BB-56)

North Carolina-class battleships USS North Carolina (BB-55), and USS Washington (BB-56)

The North Carolina class were a pair of fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, built for the United StatesNavy in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

In planning a new battleship class in the 1930s, the US Navy was heavilyconstrained by international treaty limitations, which included a requirementthat all new capital ships have a standard displacement of under 35,000 LT(35,600 t). This restriction meant that the navy could not construct a shipwith the firepower, armor, and speed that they desired, and the balancinguncertainty that resulted meant that the navy considered fifty widely varyingdesigns.

Eventually, the General Board of the United States Navy declared its preferencefor a battleship with a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), faster than any inUS service, with a main battery of nine 14-inch (356 mm)/50 caliber Mark Bguns. The board believed that these ships would be balanced enough toeffectively take on a multitude of roles. However, the acting Secretary of theNavy authorized a modified version of a different design, which in its originalform had been rejected by the General Board. This called for a 27-knot (50km/h; 31 mph) ship with twelve 14-inch guns in quadruple turrets and protectionagainst guns of the same caliber. In a major departure from traditionalAmerican design practices, this design prioritized firepower at the cost ofspeed and protection. After construction had begun, the United States invoked aso-called "escalator clause" in the international treaty to increasethe class' main armament to nine 16-inch (406 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns.

Both North Carolina and Washington saw extensive service during the SecondWorld War in a variety of roles, primarily in the Pacific Theater where theyescorted fast carrier task forces, such as during the Battle of the PhilippineSea, and conducted shore bombardments. Washington also participated in asurface engagement, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where its radar-directedmain batteries fatally damaged the Japanese battleship Kirishima. Bothbattleships were damaged during the war, with North Carolina taking a torpedohit in 1942 and Washington colliding with Indiana in 1944. After the end of thewar, both ships remained in commission for a brief time before being laid up inreserve. In the early 1960s, North Carolina was sold to the state of NorthCarolina as a museum ship, and Washington was broken up for scrap. (Wikipedia)

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USS North Carolina (BB-55) photographed from an altitude of 300 feet, 3 June 1946.

USS North Carolina (BB-55) is the lead ship of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vessel of the typebuilt for the United States Navy. Built under the Washington Treaty system,North Carolina's design was limited in displacement and armament, though theUnited States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty to increase themain battery from the original armament of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns inquadruple turrets to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns in triple turrets. The ship waslaid down in 1937 and completed in April 1941, while the United States wasstill neutral during the Second World War.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, North Carolinamobilized for war and was initially sent to counter a possible sortie by theGerman battleship Tirpitz, though this did not materialize and North Carolinawas promptly transferred to the Pacific to strengthen Allied forces during theGuadalcanal campaign. There, she screened aircraft carriers engaged in the campaign and took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August1942, where she shot down several Japanese aircraft. The next month, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine but was not seriously damaged. After repairs,she returned to the campaign and continued to screen carriers during thecampaigns across the central Pacific in 1943 and 1944, including the Gilberts and Marshall Islands and the Mariana and Palau Islands, where she saw actionduring the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

The ship was undergoing a refit during the invasion of the Philippines but tookpart in the later stages of the Philippines campaign and was present when thefleet was damaged by Typhoon Cobra. She took part in offensive operations insupport of the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945, including numerousattacks on Japan. Following the surrender of Japan in August, she carried Americanpersonnel home during Operation Magic Carpet. North Carolina operated brieflyoff the east coast of the United States in 1946 before being decommissioned thenext year and placed in reserve. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in1960, the ship was saved from the breaker's yard by a campaign to preserve thevessel as a museum ship in her namesake state. In 1962, the North Carolinamuseum was opened in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Wikipedia)

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USS North Carolina (BB-55). Anchored off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington, 24 September 1944. She is painted in what may be a variant of Camouflage Measure 32, Design 18D.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) at sea off New York City, 3 June 1946.

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USS North Carolina (BB-55) during Marshall islands campaign, 25 January 1944.

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USS Washington (BB-56) in Puget Sound, 10 September 1945.

USS Washington (BB-56) was the second andfinal member of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vesselof the type built for the United States Navy. Built under the Washington Treatysystem, North Carolina's design was limited in displacement and armament,though the United States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty toincrease the main battery from the original armament of nine 14 in (356 mm)guns to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns. The ship was laid down in 1938 and completedin May 1941, while the United States was still neutral during World War II. Herinitial career was spent training along the East Coast of the United Statesuntil Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, bringing the UnitedStates into the war.

Washington was initially deployed to Britain to reinforce the Home Fleet, whichwas tasked with protecting convoys carrying supplies to the Soviet Union. Shesaw no action during this period, as the German fleet remained in port, andWashington was recalled to the US in July 1942 to be refitted and transferredto the Pacific. Immediately sent to the south Pacific to reinforce Allied unitsfighting the Guadalcanal campaign, the ship became the flagship of Rear AdmiralWillis Lee. She saw action at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of14–15 November in company with the battleship USS South Dakota and fourdestroyers. After South Dakota inadvertently drew heavy Japanese fire bysailing too closely to Admiral Nobutake Kondō's squadron, Washington took advantageof the Japanese preoccupation with South Dakota to inflict fatal damage on theJapanese battleship Kirishima and the destroyer Ayanami, while avoiding damageherself. Washington's attack disrupted Kondō's planned bombardment of U.S.Marine positions on Guadalcanal and forced the remaining Japanese ships towithdraw.

From 1943 onward, she was primarily occupied with screening the fast carriertask force, though she also occasionally shelled Japanese positions in supportof the various amphibious assaults. During this period, Washington participated in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in late 1943 and early 1944, theMariana and Palau Islands campaign in mid-1944, and the Philippines campaign inlate 1944 and early 1945. Operations to capture Iwo Jima and Okinawa followedin 1945, and during the later stages of the Battle of Okinawa, Washington was detached to undergo an overhaul, though by the time it was completed, Japan had surrendered, ending the war. Washington then moved to the east coast of the US, where she was refitted to serve as a troop transport as part of Operation Magic Carpet, carrying a group of over 1,600 soldiers home from Britain. She was thereafter decommissioned in 1947 and assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 1960 when she was stricken from the naval register and sold for scrap the next year. (Wikipedia)

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USS Washington (BB-56) off New York City, New York, 21 August 1942. Note barge alongside amidships and OS2U floatplane afloat off her stern.

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U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless of bombing squadron VB-16 flies an antisubmarine patrol low over the battleship USS Washington (BB-56) en route to the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, 12 November 1943. The ship in the background is USS Lexington (CV-16), the aircraft's home carrier. Note the depth charge below the SBD.

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USS Washington off Port Angeles, Washington, 29 April 1944.

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U.S. Navy battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) underway off New York City (USA) during the Naval Review before President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 31 May 1934. Pennsylvania was then serving as flagship of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, Admiral David F. Sellers, USN.

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