USS North Carolina
When the keel of NORTH CAROLINA was laid in October of 1937, she was the first battleship to be constructed in sixteen years. She became the first of ten fast battleships to join American fleet in World War II. NORTH CAROLINA (BB 55) and her sister ship, WASHINGTON (BB 56), comprised the NORTH CAROLINA Class. Following them were the SOUTH DAKOTA Class – SOUTH DAKOTA (BB 57), INDIANA (BB 58), MASSACHUSETTS (BB 59), and ALABAMA (BB 60) – and the IOWA Class - IOWA (BB 61), NEW JERSEY (BB 62), MISSOURI (BB 63), and WISCONSIN (BB 64).
At the time of her commissioning on 9 April 1941, she was considered the world’s greatest sea weapon. Armed with nine 16-inch/45 caliber guns in three turrets and twenty 5-inch/38 caliber guns in ten twin mounts, NORTH CAROLINA proved a formidable weapons platform. Her wartime complement consisted of 144 commissioned officers and 2,195 enlisted men, including about 100 Marines.
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 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 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 with one hit when a Japanese torpedo 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 only ten men in action and had 67 wounded.
After serving as a training vessel for midshipmen, NORTH CAROLINA was decommissioned 27 June 1947 and placed in the Inactive Reserve Fleet in Bayonne, New Jersey, for the next 14 years. In 1958 the announcement of her impending scrapping led to a statewide campaign by citizens of North Carolina to save the ship from the scrappers torches and bring her back to her home state. The Save Our Ship (SOS) campaign was successful and the Battleship arrived in her current berth on 2 October 1961. She was dedicated on 29 April 1962 as the State's memorial to its World War II veterans and the 10,000 North Carolinians who died during the war...
From the website www.battleshipnc.com
At the time of her commissioning on 9 April 1941, she was considered the world’s greatest sea weapon. Armed with nine 16-inch/45 caliber guns in three turrets and twenty 5-inch/38 caliber guns in ten twin mounts, NORTH CAROLINA proved a formidable weapons platform. Her wartime complement consisted of 144 commissioned officers and 2,195 enlisted men, including about 100 Marines.
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 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 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 with one hit when a Japanese torpedo 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 only ten men in action and had 67 wounded.
After serving as a training vessel for midshipmen, NORTH CAROLINA was decommissioned 27 June 1947 and placed in the Inactive Reserve Fleet in Bayonne, New Jersey, for the next 14 years. In 1958 the announcement of her impending scrapping led to a statewide campaign by citizens of North Carolina to save the ship from the scrappers torches and bring her back to her home state. The Save Our Ship (SOS) campaign was successful and the Battleship arrived in her current berth on 2 October 1961. She was dedicated on 29 April 1962 as the State's memorial to its World War II veterans and the 10,000 North Carolinians who died during the war...
From the website www.battleshipnc.com
Cape Fear Museum
CFM HISTORYCape Fear Museum of History and Science is the oldest history museum in North Carolina.
In March of 1898, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) first opened the Museum in one room on the second floor of the Wilmington Light Infantry’s (WLI) building. Since its founding, the Museum has moved around the city. It was housed in two rooms in the County courthouse annex in the late 1920s, and then on the third floor of the Police Station building in the 1960s. Since 1970, it has been located at 814 Market Street, in what was a National Guard Armory building. In the late 1980s, local residents supported a bond issue for Museum improvements. In 1992, the Museum opened with new exhibits in a renovated and expanded space.
The Museum has also been run by four different organizations over the course of its history. After the UDC steered the Museum through its first two decades, they lost their room at the WLI during World War I. The Museum’s artifact collection went to Raleigh at that time. After the war, it took a decade for Wilmington – through the work of the New Hanover County Historical Commission and the UDC – to reclaim the items. When the collection returned and the Museum reopened, a different women’s organization, North Carolina Sorosis, took over operations. They ran the Museum from 1930 until the early 1960s. Then, the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County jointly administered the Museum until the county took sole administrative control in 1977.
Just as the building and management has changed over time, so too has the scope of the Museum’s collection and its mission. Originally, the institution was founded to preserve Confederate objects and Confederate memories of the Civil War. After the reopening in the 1930s, many new objects were collected, broadening the Museum’s holdings to include a wider range of historical items. Over the decades, the collection grew to represent regional, national, and international art, history, and science artifacts. In the late 1970s, Cape Fear Museum’s mission re-focused on the region’s history, science and cultures. Today, the Museum draws on a collection of more than 52,000 items to help us explore a wide range of topics and to tell balanced and inclusive local stories.
Cape Fear Museum is a department of New Hanover County and receives legislative funds through the N.C. Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative.
CFM MissionCape Fear Museum collects, preserves and interprets objects relating to the history, science, and cultures of the Lower Cape Fear. The Museum makes those objects and their interpretation available to the public through educational exhibitions and programs.
- See more at: http://www.capefearmuseum.com/cfm-history/#sthash.zYPd0EHK.dpuf
In March of 1898, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) first opened the Museum in one room on the second floor of the Wilmington Light Infantry’s (WLI) building. Since its founding, the Museum has moved around the city. It was housed in two rooms in the County courthouse annex in the late 1920s, and then on the third floor of the Police Station building in the 1960s. Since 1970, it has been located at 814 Market Street, in what was a National Guard Armory building. In the late 1980s, local residents supported a bond issue for Museum improvements. In 1992, the Museum opened with new exhibits in a renovated and expanded space.
The Museum has also been run by four different organizations over the course of its history. After the UDC steered the Museum through its first two decades, they lost their room at the WLI during World War I. The Museum’s artifact collection went to Raleigh at that time. After the war, it took a decade for Wilmington – through the work of the New Hanover County Historical Commission and the UDC – to reclaim the items. When the collection returned and the Museum reopened, a different women’s organization, North Carolina Sorosis, took over operations. They ran the Museum from 1930 until the early 1960s. Then, the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County jointly administered the Museum until the county took sole administrative control in 1977.
Just as the building and management has changed over time, so too has the scope of the Museum’s collection and its mission. Originally, the institution was founded to preserve Confederate objects and Confederate memories of the Civil War. After the reopening in the 1930s, many new objects were collected, broadening the Museum’s holdings to include a wider range of historical items. Over the decades, the collection grew to represent regional, national, and international art, history, and science artifacts. In the late 1970s, Cape Fear Museum’s mission re-focused on the region’s history, science and cultures. Today, the Museum draws on a collection of more than 52,000 items to help us explore a wide range of topics and to tell balanced and inclusive local stories.
Cape Fear Museum is a department of New Hanover County and receives legislative funds through the N.C. Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative.
CFM MissionCape Fear Museum collects, preserves and interprets objects relating to the history, science, and cultures of the Lower Cape Fear. The Museum makes those objects and their interpretation available to the public through educational exhibitions and programs.
- See more at: http://www.capefearmuseum.com/cfm-history/#sthash.zYPd0EHK.dpuf