The first new US battleships completed since 1923, North Carolina and Washington broke with the slow, heavily armored ships of the previous generation to combine strong armor with genuine speed. USS Washington sank the Japanese battleship Kirishima in a night gun duel off Guadalcanal in November 1942, one of the only battleship-versus-battleship actions of the Pacific war.
North Carolina (BB-55) photographed from an altitude of 300 feet. Image developed by NAS NYNY Photographic Laboratory."USN [United States Navy] photo courtesy of David Buell. Caption is NYNY # 11306-6-46." · Public domain · source"The 16-inch gun mounts, known as turrets, occupied five levels of the ship. Three turrets were constructed on the North Carolina, two on the bow and one behind the superstructure, each with three big cannons. More than U.S. Navy · Public domain · sourceBofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns on a Mk 12 quadruple mount firing on board USS Hornet (CV-12), circa February 1945, probably during gunnery practice. The original picture caption identifies the photo as having been takenLt. Comdr. Charles Kerlee, USN · Public domain · source
