a few pics of a trip to USS North Carolina

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We went on vacation to North Carolina a couple of weeks ago. We were South of Wilmington. My son who is 10 loves anything to do with WW2. We did a day trip to see the USS North Carolina.

The first picture is from the deck.
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The rest are of the machine shop located on board.

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When I saw this chuck I thought of all you turners. I stuck my hand in the shot for scale.
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No A/C and 2000+ men in the Pacific gives you a new respect for what they did. Most of the pictures of action shots from below deck had all the men in their tee shirt and underpants.

Bunks are stuck in every nook and cranny.

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Strange... I wouldn't have thought of a machine shop on a ship. But I guess it does make sense.

And those bunks on chains... wow, if one guy tosses and turns the whole group would start swinging!!! :eek: I toured the USS Midway in San Diego a number of years ago, and they at least had bunk rooms! But then they also had a few decks where I couldn't stand upright at all, which would have driven me bonkers.
 
a few pics of the USS North Carolina

John, those are some good shots of the battleship for sure. I have been there many times since I was a child. Every time I go back there, it reminds me of the very first time my dad took me there on a trip to Topsail Island. The ship had only been moored in it's permanent berth only a few weeks when we first got to see her and none of the buildings, and other attractions had been built.

As a child growing up in the late '50s all the school children in NC took up collections of money and donated it the battleship preservation /collection fund to keep the ship from being sent to the scrapyard.

My wife and I went aboard together, a few years back to see, and look and pay our respects to family members whose names were on the permanent plaque outside the officers mess entrance. She found the name of her uncle that that had died in a submarine in the pacific at the end of WW2 on that list and it was very tearful memories for her for sure!

Just a few added facts that this ship and all her glory mean to some survivors
of another generation and to our vets! Eezlock
 
Great photos, John. Ships are amazing to me, both mechanically and structurally.

One of my long-time Internet buddies is a WWII vet who served in the Navy in the South Pacific, and he tells some pretty wild stories about the conditions on those ships during the war.
 
I was there several years ago. Quite a ship, isn't she? I particularly liked the gun rooms, as well as the machine shop.

The whole ship is restored/maintained in really amazing condition.

BTW, did you see the alligators in the lagoon she's moored in? :D
 
John, those are some good shots of the battleship for sure. I have been there many times since I was a child. Every time I go back there, it reminds me of the very first time my dad took me there on a trip to Topsail Island. The ship had only been moored in it's permanent berth only a few weeks when we first got to see her and none of the buildings, and other attractions had been built.

As a child growing up in the late '50s all the school children in NC took up collections of money and donated it the battleship preservation /collection fund to keep the ship from being sent to the scrapyard.

My wife and I went aboard together, a few years back to see, and look and pay our respects to family members whose names were on the permanent plaque outside the officers mess entrance. She found the name of her uncle that that had died in a submarine in the pacific at the end of WW2 on that list and it was very tearful memories for her for sure!

Just a few added facts that this ship and all her glory mean to some survivors
of another generation and to our vets! Eezlock


This is my 4th time to the North Carolina. It's always impressive to see and I always find something different. My Father in Law's family is from Wilmington and we usually go over every couple of years and stay on Long Island. His uncle was killed on D-Day and is on the plaque also. My FIL said he remembers giving pennies when he was in elementary school to save her.

The ship is under constant maintenance. This year they are redoing the bridge. The first year I went they had just replaced the teak decking. It's a really neat story. It goes to show that woodworkers are great people. http://www.deanwood.com/battleship.html

Vaughn, I could only imagine some of the things these guys went through. After seeing this it really makes you appreciate all the sacrifices the WW2 vets endued for us.
 
Here's a few more pictures showing the location of the shells for the big guns. The different colors indicate what the shell was designed the destroy.
 

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Just so you old ground pounders don't get jealous here's a few shots of a local WW2 reenactment that they have near the house. I would of taken more shots but it came a huge thunderstorm and we left.
 

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Thank you very much for sharing that visit John. Quiet an amazing trip kudos to the people who ensured she was saved for others to see.
Dean hardwoods is my kinda company with that story and its fantastic to see the generous donation of wood to restore the deck.
What great acknowledgement and recognition of contribution on the part of those sailors and vets of ww2.
I will write my dad and let him know the story pretty sure he will appreciate it.

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