The USS North
Carolina was a battleship for the United States Navy. This
was the third Navy ship named for the state of North
Carolina. The construction of the battleship began on October
27, 1937 by the New York Shipyard and launched on June 13,
1940. She was commissioned on April 9, 1941 with Captain Olaf
M. Hustvedt commanding. Being the first Navy modern
battleship that was commissioned, the USS North Carolina
received so much attention that it received its nickname
"Showboat".
The USS North
Carolina was in use for every major Pacific battle during
WWII. She received 15 battle stars during this time. Her
main role was to protect aircraft carriers. The ship
consisted of nine 16-inch guns, twenty 5-inch dual-purpose
guns, sixteen 28 mm machine guns; which were replaced with 20
mm and 40 mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft cannons.
The USS North
Carolina was decommissioned on June 27, 1947. In 1958, she
was placed in the Inactive Reserve Fleet in New Jersey.
In1961, citizens of North Carolina launched the Save Our Ship
Campaign to save the ship from being scrapped. This campaign
was a success. She is now located in Wilmington, NC. The
ship was dedicated as a memorial to North Carolinians of all
services killed in World War II on April 29, 1962.
I was
having alot of trouble finding information on hauntings for
the USS North Carolina. There were only 10 men that lost
their lives during battle. But Danny Bradshaw believes that
one or two may still be among the ship. Danny is a night
watchman for the ship. He has seen a face in his bedroom
window, had the TV cut off on him numerous times, saw a ghost
with white-flamed hair, and even felt a ghost put its hand on
his should in the Mess Hall. For more info on Danny Bradshaw
and the ghosts that are on the USS North Carolina go to: http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity/index.php?showtopic=10690 .
Also, Danny Bradshaw has written a book about his
experiences. If you want to hear more check out his book
titled Ghosts on the Battleship North Carolina.
You can
tour the actual battleship today. It is a self-guided tour
with plenty to see. They will tell you that the tour will
take about 2 hours but for history enthusiasts it will take
approximately 3 to 4 hours. For more information go to
http://www.battleshipnc.com/index.html
* The
Louisville Ghost Hunters Society Investigations are not always
public, we do confidential investigations of haunted residences which
will not be reported on our website.
If you have a haunted house, or a unexplained phenomenon that you
would like us to investigate - please do not hesitate to contact us,
and rest assured that your investigation will remain strictly
confidential (unless you wish to release our findings to the
public).
USS
North Carolina
