| North Carolina was laid down 21 March 1905
by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia; launched
6 October 1906; sponsored by Miss Rebekah Glenn, daughter of the Governor
of North Carolina; and commissioned at Norfolk 7 May 1908, Captain William
A. Marshall in command. |
| Following shakedown along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean,
North Carolina carried President-elect William Howard Taft on an
inspection tour to the Panama Canal in January and February 1909. Between
23 April and 3 August the new battleship cruised the Mediterranean. Sailing
with
Montana (ACR-13)
to protect Americans threatened by conflict in the Turkish Empire. North
Carolina sent a medical relief party ashore 17 May to Adana, Turkey,
to treat both wounded and desperately ill Armenians, victims of massacre.
North Carolina provided food, shelter, disinfectants, distilled water,
dressings and medicines, and assisted other relief agencies already on the
scene. For the remainder of her Mediterranean cruise, North Carolina
cruised the Levant succoring American citizens and refugees from
oppression. |
| In the years before World War I, North Carolina trained
and maneuvered in the western Atlantic and Caribbean and participated in
ceremonial and diplomatic activities. Highlights included attending centennial
celebrations of the independence of Argentina (March - June 1910) and Venezuela
(June - July 1911); bringing home from Cuba bodies of the crew of
Maine (ACR-1)
for their final interment in Arlington National Cemetery; and on 3 July 1914,
Hampton Roads, she received aviation gear from
Mississippi
(BB-23) as that ship was prepared for transfer to the Greek government. |
| As war began in Europe, North Carolina departed Boston
7 August 1915 to protect Americans in the Near East. After calling at ports
in England and France, she cruised constantly between Jaffa, Beirut, and
Alexandria, her presence a reminder of the might of the still neutral United
States. She returned to Boston 18 June 1815 for overhaul. |
| Reaching Pensacola, Florida, 9 September 1915, North Carolina
contributed to the development of naval aviation through service as station
ship. On 5 November 1915, she became the first ship ever to launch an aircraft
by catapult while under way. This experimental work led to the use of catapults
on battleships and cruisers through World War II, and to the steam catapults
on present-day aircraft carriers. |
| When the United States entered World War I, North Carolina
sailed north to escort troop transports plying between Norfolk and New York.
Between December 1918 and July 1919, she brought men of the AEF home from
Europe. Renamed Charlotte y June 1920 so that her original name might be
assigned to a new battleship, she decommissioned at Puget Sound Navy Yard,
Bremerton, Washington, 18 February 1921. Her name was struck for the Navy
List 15 July 1930, and she was sold for scrapping 29 September
1930. |
Displacement, 14,500; Length 500'4"; Beam, 72'11";
Speed, 22 knots; Complement, 859; Armament, four 10", sixteen 6", twenty-three
3", twelve 3pdrs., four 1-pdrs., two. 30 caliber machine guns, four 21" torpedo
tubes |
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