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.
Showing posts with label Brooklyn Navy Yard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooklyn Navy Yard. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2020
USS North Carolina (BB-55)-- Part 3: Now a State Memorial to World War II and Veterans
APRIL 1945-- After surviving a typhoon off the Philippines and leaving Iwo Jima, the North Carolina shot down Japanese kamikaze planes but also was hit by friendly fire which killed four and wounded 44.
OCTOBER 1945-- The battleship reaches the Brooklyn Navy Yard (New York Navy Yard) where she was built for an overhaul. The ship is adjusted for training for the U.S. Naval Academy.
JUNE 27, 1947-- The USS North Carolina is decommissioned.
JUNE 1, 1960-- The ship is stricken from the U.S. Navy Vessel Register (which means the ship will be sold). But, a North Carolina man named James Craig, led a campaign to raise $250,000 necessary to prepare a site to host the ship, which was successful. Wilmington became the host. (A lot of the money came from student donations. I am happy to say, some of those nickels, dimes and quarters came from me in 4th grade.
OCTOBER 2, 1961-- The North Carolina is steered into her new home across from downtown Wilmington on the Cape Fear River.
APRIL 29, 1962-- The battleship is opened to visitors.
--GreGen
Friday, May 29, 2020
USS North Carolina (BB-55) Timeline-- Part 1: Commissioned August 1941
The USS North Carolina is my all-time favorite warship. I built at least three models of it over the years and even had a really small part in bringing the battleship to Wilmington back in the sixties.
But right now, here is a timeline of the ship's history.
From the May 17, 2020, New Bern (NC) Sun-Journal by Owen Hassell.
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OCTOBER 27, 1937-- Keel laid for the battleship at the New York Naval Yard in Brooklyn.
JUNE 13, 1940-- The USS North Carolina is launched.
AUGUST 9, 1941-- The USS North Carolina is commissioned.
AUGUST 1942-- In the Battle of the Easter Solomons, the ship's anti-aircraft barrage helped save the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
Talking About "The Showboat." --GreGen
Friday, February 5, 2016
Death of Pearl Harbor Survivor Robert Addobati-- Part 1
From the Jan. 31, 2016, Sacramento (Cal.) Bee "Robert Addobati, Pearl Harbor survivor, aided fellow sailors after bombing." A photo accompanies the article of him and two grand children at the USS Arizona Memorial on December 7, 1990. This really brings the story home for me.
He died Jan. 15, 2016.
Joining the Navy the day after high school graduation, he was assigned to the hospital ship USS Solace. The ship sailed from Brooklyn Navy Yard through the Panama Canal and arrived at Pearl Harbor about a month before the attack.
On the day of the attack he was nineteen and standing on quarterdeck watch. he was quickly ordered to man one of two motor launches bringing injured back to the Solace.
Mr. Addoboti ferried injured and dead from the USS Oklahoma.
--GreGen
He died Jan. 15, 2016.
Joining the Navy the day after high school graduation, he was assigned to the hospital ship USS Solace. The ship sailed from Brooklyn Navy Yard through the Panama Canal and arrived at Pearl Harbor about a month before the attack.
On the day of the attack he was nineteen and standing on quarterdeck watch. he was quickly ordered to man one of two motor launches bringing injured back to the Solace.
Mr. Addoboti ferried injured and dead from the USS Oklahoma.
--GreGen
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