Scuttlebutt Spring 2015

Spring 2015 [email protected] Vol. 1

50th AnnuAl MeMoriAl DAy observAnce MAy 25, 2015 tiMe: 5:45 pM Free

On Memorial Day, May 25, 2015, at 5:45 pm, people of all generations from across the State will gather together on the deck of the Battleship to pay their respects. This moving and meaningful ceremony includes Duke Ladd Music performing military and patriotic arrangements. The Battleship is honored this year to have guest speakers Major General Gregory A. Lusk, Adjutant General, North Carolina National Guard, and Senator Richard Burr. The Executive Director of the Battleship, Captain Terry A. Bragg and members of the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission invite the public to this free event.

big MAc®s For the bAttleship

50¢ from every Big Mac® sandwich sold during Memorial Day Weekend at participating locations will be donated to the Restoration Fund of the Battleship North Carolina. You can help save our National Historic Landmark and salute the

service of the “greatest generation” by giving a donation. Contribute by visiting battleshipnc.com and clicking the donate link or text the word Battleship to 41444. List of participating location is on the website.

uss north cArolinA bAttleship AssociAtion AnnuAl crew reunion MAy 27th – 30th, 2015The crew of the Battleship North Carolina and their

families return for their annual reunion. Reunion activities open only to those registered for the events. However, the public is cordially invited to attend the Battleship crew’s annual memorial service on Saturday, May 30 at 10am on the Battleship’s fantail (back deck). For information, contact [email protected] or call 910-251-5797.

suMMer hours

Starting Friday before Memorial Day, May 22, 2015, going through Labor Day, September 7, 2015, the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA will be open 8:00 am until 8:00 pm with the last ticket sold one hour before closing.

Photos on this page of BB-55’s 1961 Arrival Courtesy of Hugh Morton

Spring 2015 scuttlebutt page 2continued on Page 3

a north Carolina homeComingreprinteD FroM the stAr news - copyrights Apply

October 1961 was a busy month for photographer Hugh Morton. UNC’s football Tar Heels played host to Clemson, the North Carolina Trade Fair opened in Charlotte, President John F. Kennedy came to Chapel Hill for University Day, and the UNC basketball Tar Heels began practice under new head coach Dean Smith. But it would be the events of October 2nd that would become a defining episode in the legacy of Hugh Morton.

On October 17th, 1945 the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) entered Boston harbor. The ship had spent forty months in the Pacific during World War II traveling 307,000 miles. On its arrival, freighters, tugs, transports, and work boats cut loose with whistles, sirens, and bells for the North Carolina’s first salute back home. During World War II, the ship had been credited with twenty-four enemy planes, one enemy cargo ship, and had participated in every major offensive engagement in the Pacific from Guadalcanal to Tokyo Bay, earning fifteen battle stars. In the summer of 1946, it twice visited the Naval Academy at Annapolis to embark midshipmen for training cruises in the Caribbean. Then in October the North Carolina returned to its birthplace, the New York Navy Yard, for inactivation. On June 27th, 1947 it was decommissioned and assigned to the 16th Fleet (inactive), Battleship Division 4, Atlantic, relegated to fourteen years of retirement at Bayonne, New Jersey.

In 1958 a brief news item appeared in the media saying the World War II battleship was going to be scrapped by the United States Navy…sold for junk. When James S. Craig, Jr. of Wilmington heard the news, he was outraged. Craig set out to save the old ship. He was able to get Governor Luther Hodges’ attention and support as well as that of incoming Governor Terry Sanford. Hodges sent a dispatch to Washington requesting that the Department of the Navy postpone its plans to destroy, pending an investigation by the state into the possibility of salvaging the ship. On June 1st, 1960 the North Carolina was stricken from the official Navy list.

A little over five months later, on November 11th, 1960, Governor Hodges appointed the USS North Carolina Battleship Advisory Committee to investigate the feasibility of establishing the warship as a state memorial. In the spring of 1961, a bill was introduced in the legislature creating the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission. Hugh Morton was installed as chairman. During the next five months Morton and his commission initiated an intensive “Let’s bring the USS North Carolina home” campaign that raised the needed funds.

The United States Navy turned the battleship over to the state of North Carolina in a ceremony in Bayonne on September 6, 1961, with noted newsman Lowell Thomas as master of ceremonies. The ship’s towing to North Carolina was scheduled to begin on September 25th, but the remnants

of Hurricane Esther had other ideas. A one-day delay was in order. The weather on Tuesday, September 26th was better and a proud warship headed home. Instead of an infamous journey to the junkyard, the USS North Carolina’s final voyage would be to a memorial berth in Wilmington, North Carolina – and the stage was set for a true North Carolina homecoming.

Soon after 9:00 a.m. on September 26th, the 45,000 ton USS North Carolina was moved away from its dock at Bayonne. Five tugs alongside and two others at the bow eased the battleship out into New York Harbor. Several ships in the harbor gave the majestic North Carolina salutes with their deep-throated horns as it moved down the channel through the narrows to lower New York Bay and then the open sea. Captain Axel Jorgensen of the lead tug Diana Moran answered each salute. For the next four days, the Diana Moran and its sister tug the Margaret Moran guided the big ship down the east coast. On Saturday afternoon, September 30th, the ship circled slowly the lee of Frying Pan Shoals, awaiting an early Sunday morning tide to assist its trip up the Cape Fear River. The plan was to enter Southport Harbor about 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 1st. But once again, mother nature stepped in: an unexpected northeaster blew in over coastal Carolina, bringing rain and low visibility.

The battleship USS North Carolina spent its final night at sea just off Cape Hatteras – the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” – near the skeleton of the Laura E. Barnes, which wrecked off the Dare coast before the turn of the 20th century. Then at 8:00 a.m. on October 2nd, the ship began the last twenty-seven miles of its final journey. Thousands of spectators lined the river banks to watch. Scores of boats followed the big ship as it was pulled by the Coast Guard cutter Cherokee and guided up the winding channel by a fleet of eleven tug boats. As the North Carolina approached downtown Wilmington at 3:30 p.m., the crowds grew larger. Bleachers had been set up at the Customs House, and people could be seen hanging out of buildings trying to get a look at North Carolina’s newest tourist attraction. A band played “Anchors Aweigh” as the battlewagon cleared the Cape Fear River at 5:37 p.m.

“The berthing at Wilmington was one of the most tense moments in my lifetime,” said Morton in his 1996 book, Sixty Years With a Camera. “If it did not work, we knew we had a mighty big ship that would make a formidable dam on the Cape Fear River.” But it did work: at 5:40 p.m. on October 2nd, 1961, Rear Admiral William S. Maxwell, Jr. USN, Retired, superintendent of the Battleship Memorial, pronounced the USS North Carolina was home.

During World War II, the Japanese claimed six times to have sunk the North Carolina, but the gallant battleship survived every onslaught. And when it was doomed for the junkyard the people of the great state whose name it had

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Black and white (sepia) photograph of the Battleship North Carolina in the river and four children on the bank watching. Dated October 2, 1961.

6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches.

Children watching BB55 arrival 10/2/1961

Black and white (sepia) photograph of the bow of the Battleship North Carolina positioned across the Cape Fear River

(west) with Eagles Island on the left and bridge over the river straight ahead. Man in suit standing on top of the conning tower.

Dated October 3, 1961. 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches.

Bow of BB55 across the Cape Fear River 10/3/1961

Black and white (sepia) photograph of an aerial of the Battleship North Carolina in the river with tugs on both

sides. Dated October 2, 1961. 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches.

Aerial view of BB55 arriving in Wilmington10/2/1961

carried during the war, and led by planner and organizer Hugh Morton, saved it for future generations.

Unfortunately, James S. ( Jimmy) Craig, Jr. did not get to see the mighty battleship slip majestically into its memorial shrine at the Port of Wilmington. He was in the Army Burn Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in critical condition from injuries suffered in an air show crash just eight days earlier. He died on October 14th, the day “The Showboat” first opened to the public.

continued from Page 2

All photos on this page belonged to Walter Atkinson Damtoft, journalist, and were generoouosly donated by his son,

Russell Damtoft.

Spring 2015 scuttlebutt page4continued on Page 5

The ship’s crew would remain at GQ until “stand down from General Quarters” or “All Clear” was sounded. In the war zone however, GQ could last for many hours and as often in a day as circumstances required. At these times, all non-essential activity came to a halt. The ship was often in blackout with air circulation, water supply and plumbing suspended. A few messmen would attempt to distribute coffee and sandwiches when possible. After an action, the “all clear” was sounded an inspection of battle damage was initiated, fires contained, the wounded attended to and all hands accounted for. Crewmen assigned to “damage control” would set about securing the ship and everything brought back to shipshape and made ready for any eventuality.

There are very few recollections of GQ in the oral histories of BB-55 crew or in naval history generally. Maybe the routineness of it didn’t warrant much notice unlike the mess or the tropical heat which were always fodder for bellyaching.

AerogrApher’s MAte on bb55

Perhaps the least known of all the enlisted ratings that served on BB55 in its fairly brief active service was the Aerographer’s Mate. The word itself in unfamiliar to most and conjures up vague images of something to do with aviation or possibly offset printing. In fact Aerographer’s Mates were the enlisted arm of naval meteorology and oceanography or snidely referred to as “Weather Guessers” by all hands on land or at sea.

Like so much that was technologically advanced and new on the North Carolina so too was the process of gathering weather data in the atmosphere, on the surface and beneath the sea. Some primitive instruments had existed since the mid nineteenth century for gathering and analyzing data from observation posts in remote places by the Navy and the U.S. Weather Service. The demands of global war in the twentieth century elevated weather study to an essential and critically important science. Radar and other applied technologies quickly followed.

In 1925, the U.S. Navy graduated its first seven man Aerographers (AG) class. These technicians’ duties were to make visual and instrument observations from land stations, small boats and the aircraft carriers including the Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3) then under construction. The most common means for meteorological data gathering was from weather balloons, barometers and anemometers. Results were

generAl QuArters

General Quarters (GQ), Battle Stations, Action Stations and Beat to Quarters are naval terms as old as there have been warships.

General Quarters shouldn’t been confused with the champion racehorse of the same name or the menswear store in Southern California, nor the popular board game. It is an alarm that instantly sends adrenalin pumping in all hands. It is the state of readiness that all have drilled for to meet a threat from presence of the enemy, foul weather, shipping hazards and others situations requiring many or all of a ships divisions: engineering, communications, navigation, gunnery, etc., to take immediate action to secure the ship and make ready to take it into harm’s way, if need be.

BB55’s crew experienced GQ at least twice every day, before daybreak and in the evening. At one point late in the war, nearly 2,300 sailors and officers had a place to be within minutes of the klaxon sound. Some had duties such as engineering and sickbay, where they worked daily and which was their battle station as well. Others, such as the Deck Force and Supply Division, would disperse to a fire fighting station, damage control, dressing stations or over two hundred other stations that bore no relations to their daily work or rating. To the extent that it was possible, battle station duties were arranged to be as near the site on board where a crewman was likely to be when GQ was sounded. This was intended to limit traffic and confusion and avoid crew members from being isolated by sealed compartments or other obstacles. It was important that all hands be accounted for, especially if their function was critical to the battle stations efficiency and effectiveness if the ship were under attack. All on board were trained, when moving about, to go forward on the port side and aft on the starboard side of the ship. Likewise on ladders. Get it wrong and you were likely to get a foot in your face or be trampled regardless of your rank. During GQ, the Marine Corp contingent on board manned 40mm anti-aircraft batteries and provided policing throughout the ship. In the sailing navy at “beat to quarters”, marines armed with muskets stood guard at the powder magazine and at ladders and hatches on the main deck to prevent shirkers from sneaking below in battle conditions. They also were sharpshooters on the “fighting tops” high on the masts. In recent times, Marines no longer serve aboard warships.

general QuarterS / aerographer’S mate on BB55

by Mike hosick


continued from Page 4

wired and later radioed to naval air command centers at Pensacola, San Diego, Norfolk, Lakehurst and ultimately to the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. as well as the U.S. Weather Service. The value of accurate weather prediction to the Navy would seem obvious but many sailors had an instinct for weather prediction from cloud formations, their size and shape as well as the temperature and color of the waves or the flight of sea birds. Some old salts were reluctant to ignore their senses in favor of fragile and not wholly reliable instruments. The increasingly accurate prediction of tropical storms in the Western Pacific and the West Indies converted many while others had to admit that their weather instincts were of little value to airships and airplanes flying above the clouds or at night.

Small classes of Aerographer’s Mate trainees graduated each year through the 1930s and were invariably assigned to the increasing fleet of carriers and land stations at Panama, the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. When war came these classes were vastly expanded and a warrant officers specialty rank was created and the WAVES were included in the courses. Aerographer’s Mates were attached to the expanded fleet of aircraft carriers and some capital ships (such as battlewagons and heavy cruisers) to provide additional weather observations to Task Forces for flight operations and expeditionary forces in the island hoping campaign in the South and Western Pacific.

As the tides of war closed in on the Japanese Home Islands and the long range, high altitude strategic bombing campaign of them from captured atolls and volcanic islands began it was essential that there was an accurate prediction of weather originating on the Asian landmass that affected the Western Pacific. This was accomplished by Naval Weather Service meteorologist and Aerography Mates sent to isolated stations in Mongolia and elsewhere in the interior of China in collaboration with the Nationalist Chinese Weather Service. In the European Theater the Royal Navy Weather Service and the U.K. Met (Meteorology) Office as well as the U.S. Navy provided forecasting.

Onboard BB55 ten Aerographer’s Mates served briefly. In the 1945 Organization and Regulations, Chief Aerographer’s Mates were assigned to the Aviation Branch and the Navigation Department. In the prewar era they would have reported to a Quartermaster. What their battle stations might have been and where they bunked, where their gear was stowed or just where onboard they made their observations and launched their balloons is lost to history. What we know for sure is that all the Aerographer’s Mates were paid by the Supply Division like everyone else in an efficient and timely manner.

In the post war era the Aerographer’s Mate rating continued with even more intense training particularly with the advent of satellite technology and digital refinements that increasingly take the guesswork out for the “Weather Guessers.”

Sources: Proceeding of the U.S. Naval Institute 1914-17, 1941-44,

History Of The Aerographer’s Rating by CDR Don Cruise USN RET, Naval Weather Service Association, Blue Jackets Manual 1944, www.history.navy.mil.

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DiD You Know?• North Carolina (BB-55)• Ordered: Aug. 1, 1937 • Builder: New York Naval Shipyard • Cost: $76,885,750 • Laid down: Oct. 27, 1937 • Launched: June 13, 1940 • Sponsored by: Isabel Hoey, daughter of North Carolina

Gov. Clyde R. Hoey • Commissioned: April 9, 1941 • Decommissioned: June 27, 1947 • Struck from Navy register: June 1, 1960 • Class: North Carolina-class battleship along with the

USS Washington • Displacement: 38,086 tons • Length: 728.8 feet • Beam: 108.3 feet • Draft: 33 feet Speed: 30 mph • Complement: 2,339 (144 officers and 2,195 enlisted)

worth Mentioning • First newly designed American battleship constructed in

20 years • First new-construction U.S. battleship to enter service

during World War II • Participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific

theater • Become the most decorated U.S. battleship of the war • Struck by Japanese torpedo on Sept. 15, 1942, killing five

crewmen. • Purchased from the Navy by the State of North Carolina

for $330,000 in 1961. • Moored in Wilmington on Oct. 2, 1961 • Dedicated April 29, 1962 as a memorial to North

Carolinians of all services killed in World War II. • Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986


riCharD JohnSon’S Blog

JAnuAry 2015

Mighty cold on the ship the first week of January. The lower decks were warmer.

Chuck Gore and I were discussing some of the more intricate details of the Ventilation system of the ship. The deeper you look into the operation and design of the ship, the more amazing it becomes.

The Hidden Battleship tour went well. We had some very interested participants. I was surprised to see so many females on the tour.

A couple from Canada was complaining about the cold weather in Wilmington. I suggested they head further south.

There are two 18 inch round hatches on the main deck near the big capstan that has the WWI armored cruiser’s bell. One visitor had a hard time accepting the fact that they are personnel hatches to access the aft diesel room and aft steering. Yeah, guys were skinnier back then.

When leaving the ship around noon, two Blackhawk helicopters were coming from the west toward the ship. They were flying less than 2000 feet. Just as they came over the parking lot, they turned north. Just another buzz of the battleship from our military. Or maybe they needed to follow the Cape Fear River back to Fort Bragg.

I was showing the computer/ barbette loop to two ladies when they mentioned the museum they worked at. They were checking out the battleship for comparison to The Airborne and Special Operations museum in Fayetteville. I made sure to take them to the CPO quarters to meet Kim and Mary Ames. Lots of time was then taken up with administrative, management and organizational talk, followed closely with archival viewing.

A man from New York was touring the ship and wanted me to point him to the fire control system. As we walked along, he mentioned that he designed the guidance system for the Atlas Missile System back in the sixties. Of course the Atlas is most famous for getting the Mercury and Gemini space capsules in orbit also. Amazing, the people you run into on the ship.

A man from Turkey stopped me in the parking lot for directions to the entrance. He had to be in Atlanta in the evening. I hope he had enough time to tour the ship.

Sunday, a young truck driver from Pennsylvania could not deliver his load until Monday, so he was touring the ship. He was very excited to be on the ship and had some very good questions. Of particular interest were the Fire Control Systems.

FebruAry - MArch 2015

Two battleship geeks from Ottawa Canada were touring ships down the east coast. They started talking about the 10 to 60 millisecond delay between firing the barrels on the 16 inch gun turrets so the shock wave from one gun would not disturb the trajectory of the one next to it. Gee, where is Cecil Ard when you need him?

While cleaning the Boiler Maker’s Workshop down on the third deck, we found a handwritten tag with “USS Great Sitkin AE-17” written on it. This is not real unusual, since the large capital ships (like ours) had workshops to fix things for smaller ships. The USS Great Sitkin was an ammunition ship.

The interesting thing is: it was one of the 250 or so ships built and launched from the Wilmington, NC Shipyard in during WWII. Crazy coincidence, huh?

More folks from Canada and a family from China came through on the day after we were chipping ice off the gangway. So still chilly this February. We are all looking forward to Azalea Festival and the warmth of Spring.

Three young men speaking Japanese were on their way down to the machine shop. I asked them where they were from. Assuming that “Japan” would be their response, I was surprised when they responded: “Duke”. Quickly thinking, I asked what they were studying. When they said “computer science”, I said “Great, the next stair way will take you to the computer room.”

March came and brought some welcome warm weather. Some interesting folks toured the ship. A Coast Guard helicopter landed at Battleship Park.

Several of our volunteers helped the maintenance department with some painting and starting the renovations in the Officers Ward Room.

It was fun to watch Air Force Special Ops climb up the mooring cable to the ship. They also rappelled down and up the fire control tower and trained down lower in the ship with re-breathers and night vision goggles. On the same day, Army Veteran John Woodlock was presented a jersey from Harlem Globetrotter Zeus McClurkin for the “Home Town Heroes” Project. Zeus and John were on a short tour of the ship, when one of the AF Special Ops guys was heard to say to his buddy “See, I told you I saw a Harlem Globetrotter”. We all have our heroes.

The cleaning crew had some extra volunteer help from one of the local schools. After passing out rags, spray bottles, brushes, and brooms, I figured I could take a break. Instead, I had to explain how to use these items. Its a different world we live in nowadays


Friends of the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

May 25 – Monday — Memorial Day ServiceFour (4) volunteers needed from 4:00pm - 6:00pm This is a ship’s events where we set up the Friends Booth in the Lobby and pass out brochures, solicit new members, and assist other Friends members in the booth. Could involve booth set up and take down. Volunteers could also be used to assist visitors on the ship.

May 27 – Wednesday — First day of Crew ReunionFour (4) volunteers needed from 8:00am - 12:00pm Assist other Friends members in the lobby to welcome aboard the BB-55 crew members. This event is easy and a lot of fun. You history buffs will love this one!! These guys are the original WWII crew members!!!!

May 30 – Saturday — Annual Crew Reunion Ceremony and LuncheonEight (8) volunteers needed from 9:30am - 1:30pm This is one of the Friends biggest events!!! Primary functions will be to assist other Friends members with directing crew members and families about the ship and assisting with luncheon duties on the mess deck. This is always a lot of fun!!!

The contact person to volunteer for these events is: Daryl Millard [email protected]

Anyone interested in volunteering for these events please contact Daryl at the above mentioned email address and he will fill you in on the details.

Your time will be greatly appreciated.

JULY 4, 2015Saturday, July 4th will be the annual Fireworks Display which Friends of the Battleship will once again be able to enjoy from the deck of the ship! As in the past, there will be food vendors on shore or you can bring your own picnic to enjoy on deck. More details to follow by email or on the website. Tell your friends and neighbors to join Friends so they can participate in this Friends-only event!


2015 CalenDar of eVentSJanuary 10 Hidden Battleship

February 21 Firepower!

March 14 Power Plant

Friday, April 3 Easter Egg Hunt Carnival (Good Friday)

May 16 Showboat — Systems & Design

Monday, May 25 50th Annual Memorial Day Observance

May 27-30 USS North Carolina Battleship Association Annual Crew Reunion

May 30 Battleship Alive!

June 13 Battleship 101

June 14 Celebrate Flag Day

June 19-20 Celebrate the Legacy — Celebrate the ships named North Carolina

Saturday, July 4 Fourth of July Fireworks Display

July 11 Battleship 101

August 8 Battleship 101

September 26 Battleship Alive!

October 10 Hidden Battleship

Tues., October 27 Batty Battleship’s Halloween Bash

November 7 Torpedo Headed for You: Damage Control Aboard North Carolina

December 5 Battleship Alive! A Very Merry Showboat

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All articles & photos printed with permission. Copyrights may apply.

Scuttlebutt is the newsletter of The Friends of the Battleship North Carolina, PO Box 480,Wilmington, NC 28402 • battleshipnc.com/friendsEditor-in-Chief/Layout & Design: Nancie Giacalone Managing Editor: Ronnie Rhodes Contributing Editors: Mike Hosick and Richard JohnsonPlease send article suggestions, photos, address changes, or comments to:

[email protected]

Through dedication, perseverance and funding by the Friends of the Battleship, the free online catalog gives the

Internet community an insider’s look at rare artifacts. http://www.battleshipnc.com/friends

BattleShip north Carolina life long programS 2015coMe leArn AnD explore with us

ALL PROGRAMS - Participants must be 16 or older and able to climb narrow ladders and over knee-high hatches. Wear comfortable, washable clothing, sturdy, rubber-soled shoes and bring a camera!

Registration and payment due the Thursday prior to the program. Call 910-251-5797 extension 3001 for reservations.All events take place on Saturday unless otherwise noted.

Be sure to check the Battleship website for complete details about all of these events.

Documents

Scuttlebutt Spring 2015