#TBT: The world’s greatest sea weapon

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — With Veteran’s Day right around the corner, this week’s Throwback Thursday is the once mighty sea vessel, the USS North Carolina.

Commissioned on April 9, 1941, the USS North Carolina was considered the world’s greatest sea weapon. During wartime, the ship held 144 commissioned officers and 2,195 enlisted men, including about 100 Marines. In World War II, the USS North Carolina was a part of every naval offensive in the Pacific and received 15 battle stars. By the time the war had ended, the ship had only lost 10 men in action.

In September 1961, the USS North Carolina left dry dock in New Jersey, heading down to the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Its journey had really begun more than a year earlier when the Navy announced the ship would be scrapped. At that point, citizens of North Carolina banded together to save it and raised $330,000 to bring the ship to Wilmington.

The battleship arrived at the mouth of the river on October 1. Bad weather delayed the ship, and on October 2, the largest vessel ever to move up the Cape Fear River began to be pulled by tug boats towards the berth. People lined the river to see the ship. They saw more than they bargained for. The piloting challenges were huge-the boat was longer than the river was wide-and there was another obstacle, a floating restaurant, The Ark. The restaurant had not been moved out of the way as planned, and the North Carolina damaged it. Despite this mishap, the battleship was put into its final position at high tide on October 3, 1961.

** Special thanks to the Cape Fear Museum. **