The North Carolina class were a pair of fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
North Carolina underway on 3 June 1946. By this time, many of the light anti-aircraft weapons (Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm) mounted during the war had been removed, while more modern radars had been mounted on its fore and main masts.
North Carolina seen from the air on 17 April 1942
North Carolina fires a three-gun salvo from its number one turret
The 32,250-long-ton (32,770 t) design "A" was one of the first proposals. Unlike "B" and "C", it was far below the treaty-mandated limit of 35,000–tons. It would have carried nine 14-inch guns in its main battery; although all of the turrets were forward of the superstructure, the guns could still fire forward provided that they were elevated to 4.5 degrees or more. The secondary battery planned was twelve 5-inch (127 mm) were unusually arranged in triple mounts.
The Colorado-class battleships were a group of four United States Navy super-dreadnoughts, the last of its pre-Treaty battleships. Designed during World War I, their construction overlapped the end of
North Carolina-class battleship
…mm. Mounted on both the North Carolina class and the follow-up South Dakota class, the nine 16 in/45 were improved versions of the guns mounted on the Colorado-class battleships, hence the designation of "Mark 6". A major alteration from the older guns was the Mark 6's ability to fire a new 2,700-pound (1,200-kilogram…
Colorado steaming off New York City, c. 1932
Hull of Maryland under construction c. 1917
USS Maryland in March 1944
USS West Virginia in her final configuration, June 1944. Note 5 in/38 twin turrets and number of AA guns