North Carolina-class battleship

North Carolina underway on 3 June 1946. By this time, many of the light anti-aircraft weapons (Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm) mounted during the war had been removed, while more modern radars had been mounted on its fore and main masts.[1]
Class overview
Name	North Carolina-class battleship
Builders	New York Naval Shipyard (North Carolina)[4][2] Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Washington)[4][3]
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	South Dakota class (planned) Colorado class (actual)
Succeeded by	South Dakota class
Built	1937–1941
In service	1941–1947[2][3]
Completed	2
Retired	2
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Class and type	Fast battleship
Displacement	36,600 long tons (37,187 t) (standard) 44,800 long tons (45,519 t) (full load)
Length	728 ft 8.625 in (222.113 m) overall
Beam	108 ft 3.875 in (33.017 m) maximum
Draft	35 ft 6 in (10.820 m) maximum
Installed power	8 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 121,000 shp (90,000 kW)
Propulsion	four sets of General Electric geared turbines 4 × screws
Speed	1941: 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)[7]
Endurance	17,450 nmi (20,080 mi; 32,320 km) at 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h)[7]
Crew	108 officers 1,772 men[8]
Sensors and processing systems	See the "Electronics" section[9]
Armament	9 × 16 in (406 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns (3 × 3)[10] 20 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 12 guns (10 × 2)[10] Smaller weapons, like Bofors 40 mm or Oerlikon 20 mm, varied greatly; see the "Smaller weaponry" section[10]
Armor	Belt: 12 in (305 mm)[6] Barbettes: 16 in (406 mm)[6] Turrets: 16 in (406 mm)[6] Decks: 1.45 in (37 mm), 5 in (127 mm), 0.62 in (16 mm) Conning tower: 12 in (305 mm)[6]
Aircraft carried	Vought OS2U Kingfisher[5] Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk[5][A]

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

In planning a new battleship class in the 1930s, the US Navy was heavily constrained by international treaty limitations, which included a requirement that 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 ship with the firepower, armor, and speed that they desired, and the balancing uncertainty that resulted meant that the navy considered fifty widely varying designs.

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

Both North Carolina and Washington saw extensive service during the Second World War in a variety of roles, primarily in the Pacific Theater where they escorted fast carrier task forces, such as during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and conducted shore bombardments. Washington also participated in a surface engagement, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where its radar-directed main batteries fatally damaged the Japanese battleship Kirishima. Both battleships were damaged during the war, with North Carolina taking a torpedo hit in 1942 and Washington colliding with Indiana in 1944. After the end of the war, both ships remained in commission for a brief time before being laid up in reserve. In the early 1960s, North Carolina was sold to the state of North Carolina as a museum ship, and Washington was broken up for scrap.

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