The ship was undergoing a refit during the invasion of the Philippines but took part in the later stages of the Philippines campaign and was present when the fleet was damaged by Typhoon Cobra. After repairs, she returned to the campaign and continued to screen carriers during the campaigns across the central Pacific in 19, including the Gilberts and Marshall Islands and the Mariana and Palau Islands, where she saw action during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The next month, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine but was not seriously damaged. There, she screened aircraft carriers engaged in the campaign and took part in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24–25 August, where she shot down several Japanese aircraft. The ship was laid down in 1937 and completed in April 1941, while the United States was still neutral during World War II.įollowing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, North Carolina mobilized for war and was initially sent to counter a possible sortie by the German battleship Tirpitz, though this did not materialize and North Carolina was promptly transferred to the Pacific to strengthen Allied forces during the Guadalcanal Campaign. Built under the Washington Treaty system, North Carolina 's design was limited in displacement and armament, though the United States used a clause in the Second London Naval Treaty to increase the main battery from the original armament of nine 14-inch (356 mm) guns to nine 16 in (406 mm) guns. USS North Carolina (BB-55) is the lead ship of the North Carolina class of fast battleships, the first vessel of the type built for the United States Navy.
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