Generally, five of the ships weer kept at a high level of readiness and the rest were mothballed, which means coated with red-oxide paint, oil and varnish as preservatives to prevent rust.
The operation employed 296 workers with a $600,000 payroll. Most of them were employed as armed guards to prevent theft of copper and brass fittings. Others worked routine maintenance.
The ships were lashed and anchored in groups of five with each fifth one moored to pilings driven deep into the river bottom. Despite precautions, however, two freighters broke loose during Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and drifted into the channel, threatening to collide with the U.S.-74 bridge until a tugboat pushed them away.
On December 8, 1958, the SS Edgecomb, a Victory Ship, became the last vessel to be tied up in the Brunswick River. Beginning in 1958, the government began selling the older and less-fit ships for scrap with others being moved to the James River Reserve Fleet.
By 1964, there were only 152 left and just 15 by 1968. Many of the ones scrapped had it happen at Horton Industries in Wilmington, who could finish off two in ninety days (almost as fast as they could be built back in the war).
The last ship, the SS Dwight W. Morrow, was towed for scrapping Feb. 27, 1970.
After the War. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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