Chronicle Commentary: April 9, 1941
“We are foreshadowing with this ship the greatest navy the world has ever seen,” said Navy Secretary Frank Knox at the commissioning ceremony for the battleship USS North Carolina at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
As the front-page story states, this is the United States Navy’s first new battleship in 18 years. The 35,000-ton North Carolina (BB-55) features nine 16″/45-cal. Mk. VI and 20 5″/38-cal. guns and, after her shakedown, will be the only capital ship that can trade shots with modern Axis battleships. By comparison, USS West Virginia (BB-48), currently the “newest” U.S. battleship in service, carries eight 16″/45-cal. Mk. I and 16 5″/38-cal. guns.
In case you’re wondering why a 45-caliber gun is much bigger than a .45-caliber handgun, the difference is that the length of a 45-caliber barrel is 45 times that of its diameter (16 inches x 45 = 60 feet), while a .45 ACP bullet is .452 inches in diameter.
When firing a 2,240-lb. Mk. V armor-piercing shell, West Virginia‘s Mk. I guns had an effective range of 23,000 yards (13 miles) and a maximum range of 35,000 yards (19 miles). North Carolina‘s Mk. VI guns could send a 2,700-lb. armor-piercing shell 21 miles downrange. For anti-aircraft protection, she originally carried 1.1-in. and .50-cal guns (34 total), but North Carolina ended the war bristling with 100 40- and 20-mm. guns.
North Carolina‘s eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers produced hotter steam at higher temperatures than any ship afloat (according to Jane’s Fighting Ships), which meant she could steam at 27 knots, compared to West Virginia’s 21.
In just over a month, North Carolina‘s sister ship, USS Washington (BB-56), will be commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.