USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial
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USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial is an attraction in North Carolina, at a modelled elevation of 1 m. Sand Hill stands 17 m to the west-southwest, 12 miles off. The nearest named place is One Tree Hill Rivercourt, a attraction 0.1 miles away. Cape Fear Historic Byway runs past it. 2 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
USS North Carolina, hull number BB-55, is the lead ship of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vessel of the type built for the United States Navy. Built under the Washington Treaty system, North Carolina's design was limited in displacement and armament, though the United States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty to increase the main battery from the original armament of twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns in quadruple turrets to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns in triple turrets. The ship was laid down in 1937 and completed in April 1941, while the United States was still neutral during World War II. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, North Carolina mobilized for war and was initially sent to counter a possible sortie by the German battleship Tirpitz, though this did not materialize and North Carolina was promptly transferred to the Pacific to strengthen Allied forces during the Guadalcanal campaign. There, she screened aircraft carriers engaged in the campaign and took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August 1942, 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 the campaigns across the central Pacific in 1943 and 1944, including the Gilberts and Marshall Islands and the Mariana and Palau Islands, where she saw action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The ship was undergoing a refit during the invasion of the Philippines but took part in the later stages of the Philippines campaign and was present when the fleet was damaged by Typhoon Cobra. She took part in offensive operations in support of the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945, including numerous attacks on Japan. Following the surrender of Japan in August, she carried American personnel home during Operation Magic Carpet. North Carolina operated briefly off the east coast of the United States in 1946 before being decommissioned the next year and placed in reserve. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1960, the ship was saved from the breaker's yard by a campaign to preserve the vessel as a museum ship in her namesake state. In 1962, the North Carolina museum was opened in Wilmington, North Carolina.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1941.
Wikidata Q727245, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Built
- 1940
What to expect
How to reach it
- On the Cape Fear Historic Byway
- 10.9 mi off the Brunswick Town Road
- 22.0 mi off the Green Swamp Byway
Named places within 25 miles
- Water Street Park: 0.2 mi
- Bijou Park: 0.3 mi
- Claude Howell Park: 0.4 mi
- Story Park: 0.4 mi
- Dram Tree Park: 0.7 mi
- Orange Street Landing: 0.4 mi
- To the Soldiers of the Confederacy: 0.5 mi
- Monument to Cornelius Harnett: 0.6 mi
- Kenan Memorial Fountain: 0.6 mi
- New Hanover County War Memorial: 4.4 mi
- One Tree Hill Rivercourt: 0.1 mi
- One Tree Hill Nathan and Haley Place: 0.3 mi
- One Tree Hill Institute: 0.4 mi
- One Tree Hill Lucas Home: 1.7 mi
- Brunswick Nature Park: 6.7 mi
- Wilmington Railroad Museum: 0.4 mi
- Burgwin - Wright House: 0.5 mi
- Latimer House Museum: 0.5 mi
- Bellamy Mansion Museum of History & Design Arts: 0.6 mi
- Burnett-Eaton Museum Foundation 3.8 (9): 0.8 mi
- Palm Tree Island: 8.4 mi
- Masonboro Island Reserve: 9.8 mi
- Freeman Park: 12.4 mi
- Kure Beach: 17.5 mi
- Bay Beach: 23.0 mi
- The Transplanted Garden: 1.5 mi
- Devon Park Community Garden: 3.2 mi
- Pollinator Garden: 7.3 mi
- Harbor Way Gardens: 8.5 mi
- Yahweh Garden: 8.7 mi
- Kings Bluff: 22.3 mi
- Barnes Bluff: 22.6 mi
- Big Bluff: 23.7 mi
- Sand Hill: 11.6 mi
- Sand Ball Hill: 13.4 mi
- Bottle Chapel: 7.3 mi
- Wynn Plaza Pavilion: 9.2 mi
- Oak Island Lighthouse: 24.2 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sand Hill | WSW 241° | 17 m | 11.6 mi |
| Sand Ball Hill | NNW 343° | 10 m | 13.4 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:16 | 18:51 | 19:24 |
| June solstice | 06:01 | 19:51 | 20:28 |
| September equinox | 07:01 | 18:37 | 19:10 |
| December solstice | 07:15 | 16:28 | 17:07 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Mar–Jun, Aug–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 47 | 49 | 55 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 75 | 66 | 56 | 50 |
| Precip in | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Wilmington Intl AP, 4 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
National Register of Historic Places, reference 82004893OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOfficial site- National Register of Historic Places — USS NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55) National Historic Landmark, reference 82004893, listed 11/10/82.
OpenStreetMap element way/45666397
Day trips start here
- Wilmington · 3 mi
- Carolina Beach · 14 mi
- Kure Beach · 17 mi
- Southport · 22 mi
- Oak Island · 24 mi
Take the scenic way to USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial.
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