History with ‘Hud’: Wilmington’s deep connection to the US Navy
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It’s Navy Week in Wilmington, marking the important role the US Navy – which was formed in 1775 – still has to the area and the country.
The most famous Wilmington connection to the Navy is the Battleship North Carolina, which has been docked in the Port City since 1961. But Wilmington’s Navy connection extends back much further and deeper than that.
The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was constructed on a large, empty area of land in 1940 and began turning out vessels for World War Two in 1941 where the Port of Wilmington is located today. The site employed over 20,000 people at its peak who helped to build 243 ships over five years – 28 of which were lost during World War Two.
The first ship launched from the shipyard was the SS Zebulon B. Vance which was placed into the Cape Fear River on December 6, 1941 – just hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Following the end of the war four years later, the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company stopped making ships. But Wilmington’s Navy importance was far from over.
Beginning on August 12, 1946, a surplus of ships – many of which were built in Wilmington — were brought to the Port City for Atlantic Reserve Fleet storage on the Brunswick River. At its peak, hundreds of ships lined both sides of the river as far as the eye could see.
Although mostly just for storage, five ships were kept on a high level of readiness to set sail at a moment’s notice in the event of a national emergency. Some of the vessels were reactivated during the Vietnam and Korean Wars, but the remaining boats began to leave in droves in 1962, to be used as target practice, scrapped, or reassigned to other fleets, with the last ship heading out in 1970.
But the USS Battleship North Carolina still remains as a floating monument to the connection Wilmington has served and will continue serving to the United States Navy.
