It’s Personal On The Battleship North Carolina In Wilmington, NC

The Battleship North Carolina is the 5th of 6 with the name. Just like when families have a Sr., Jr., I, II, III, etc. to carry on a legacy, the navy does something similar for vessels with an important or illustrious military history.

The first USS North Carolina was a “ship of the line (of battle)” or a “line of battle” ship shortened later to “battleship.” That first one was a 74-gun wooden ship that was commissioned in the 1820s. The 6th and current North Carolina is a submarine that was commissioned in 2008 and is still active today.

The Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, NC is from World War II, was active as part of the Pacific Fleet and participated in the battle at Iwo Jima.

There’s a small free museum you can look around which shares about the 6 different North Carolinas and their history.

Then you get your ticket and head out onto the Battleship North Carolina herself. You’ll see a map like this and you may be tempted (like we were) to be like, “aw man – so much of the ship is off limits with this ticket (you get to go to the yellowish-green colored areas).” You’ll be wrong! Yes, a large portion of the ship is used for special tours and events, but you’ll have more than enough to occupy your time. We spent 4.5 hours there and still had to rush towards the end.

I can’t give you a full tour of the Battleship North Carolina because I’d be writing for days, but I can give you some of our highlights. One thing that we both agreed was really cool was the amount of personal quotes and stories from the sailors onboard during WWII. We loved hearing about the good, the bad and the shenanigans that happened with the 2,300 member crew.

Note: Please note that some of the stories and images shared by the crew include language that is no longer used/racist in nature, but may show up in a historical context from the exhibits at the museum.  

A few highlights of the Battleship North Carolina

The Catapult Planes

A battleship isn’t an aircraft carrier, so why is there a plane on it you may ask. These are sea planes that provided extra support in various roles to the sailors on the USS North Carolina. The plane would be catapulted off the deck and, in addition to some personal stories of pilots not being fully conscious on take-off (from the G-force of the catapult), there’s a story about the first (and second) Americans rescued off the coast of the Japanese mainland.

The Third Gun Turret

It was really fun to go up into one of the gun turrets. One of the best features of the Battleship North Carolina is how many spaces you get to go into to see how things worked and what it felt like to be on the ship.

The Bread Room

The Bread Room is one of the first areas on the self-guided tour when you head below decks. One of the interesting things we learned from a personal story is that there were bugs in the flour and they were cooked into the bread. Sailors had to hold the bread up to the light to pick the bugs out before eating the bread.

The Water Fountain

This seems like a weird thing to find interesting but who doesn’t love to say the word “butt”?! Well, my students loved it! The water fountains are called “scuttlebutts” on the ship (scuttle for drill and butt for cask) and when sailors would wait in line for the scuttlebutt they’d get all the ship’s rumors and gossip. So now, the water fountains AND gossip in the navy are both called “the scuttlebutt.”

The Laundry Room

There were ways to wash laundry that didn’t include the official ship’s laundry. There were also other ways to wash your body. And yet they came together here in the laundry room on the USS North Carolina. One of the best personal stories can be found below – look above the blue section and find out about hot baths in the laundry.

The Head

Speaking of pranks and tricks… The head (bathroom) was also a location for shenanigans. Some were more innocuous like towel snaps, while others made those sitting on the toilet “troughs” hop up thanks to pieces of tissue on fire floating down the troughs under the seats. The troughs are no longer on the ship, but you can imagine them below the toilet seats shown here. Read the personal story below.

Shells and the Gun Powder Room

The primary reason we have all these fun, interesting and sad personal stories is because the men on the USS North Carolina were there to do battle during WWII. You can see how large some of the shells are onboard. You can also see how many bags of gun powder were needed for different sized munitions.

The Bridge and The Anchor

Once you come back up to the top of the ship (at the other end), you can see the Bridge where the Captain works and controls the ship. You can also see chart rooms, another gun turret and the area of the ship that was damaged during the war.

Even touring the top deck of the ship you’ll find interesting things. A huge ship needs a huge anchor. You can get an idea of the size of the anchor and the chain that holds it.

We had a great time at the Battleship North Carolina. We spent almost 5 hours there and could’ve spent more time but they were closing. We didn’t know we needed so much time available, but we’re really glad we went. It was one of our top activities in North Carolina and, I think, may even make the list of top 10 of things we’ve done in the 6 years we’ve been on the road.

At the time of writing the cost for the Battleship North Carolina is:

• Adults (12+): $14.00*
• Seniors (65+): $10.00*
• Military (Active or retired, military spouses & dependents, with ID cards): $10.00*
• Children (6-11): $6.00*
• Children: (5 & under): Free