The USS North Carolina and the USS South Dakota are monolithic examples of American naval engineering and combat prowess during World War II. Once two battleships were constrained by international treaties, they developed into effective war machines that played a good position in the Pacific Theater.
The first restriction on the USS North Carolina was through the Washington Naval Treaty, which restricted armament and displacement. The Second London Naval Treaty would prove to be a different matter, as it would allow American engineers to strengthen the main armament of twelve 14-inch guns to nine 16-inch guns, which gave a better foundation when upgrading from 35,000 tons to up to 45,000 tons.
Commissioned in 1941, North Carolina was the first of her class, sporting all innovations in armor, firepower, and speed.
Although torpedoed in 1942, the North Carolina earned 12 battle stars in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Measuring about 729 feet in length, with a beam length of 108 feet, and a standard displacement of 35,000 long tons, increasing to nearly 46,000 long tons at full combat load; four General Electric steam turbines power the ship, producing a top speed of 28 knots.
North Carolina was equipped with 16-inch/.45-caliber Mark 6 guns and a secondary battery of 5-inch/.38 caliber dual-purpose guns. She was upgraded several times during her career and received three Mark 4 fire-control radar sets and a CXAM air-search radar.
Decommissioned in 1947 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1960, North Carolina became a museum and memorial in 1962 and is exquisitely preserved to this day.
The USS South Dakota (BB-57) was commissioned in 1942 and became a symbol of the pinnacle of American battleship design and firepower. This was the direct fallout of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930, aimed at avoiding a naval arms race by capping the displacement and armament of new battleships.
These treaty restrictions led to the South Dakota class being conceptualized as a more compact yet very heavily armed and armored vessel. The USS South Dakota measured 680 feet in length with a beam of 108 feet and had a standard displacement of some 35,000 tons that grew over 44,000 tons when fully loaded.
The armor is one of the critical design features of the ship, and at its thickest, the armor plating stretches from 12.2 inches down on the belt and as high as 18 inches on the turret.
It was powered by eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers and received steam propulsion geared by General Electric. It was designed to reach speeds of about 27 knots. The main battery consisted of nine 16-inch guns, which could fire shells weighing as much as 2,700 pounds over a range of about 20 to 23 miles. There were twenty 5-inch guns in ten twin turrets for its secondary battery. These could be employed against both surface targets and aircraft.
The technological power of the USS South Dakota was further reflected in advanced radar and fire control methods, where it could detect enemy ships and aircraft long before they came within the vessel’s sights. The design of the ship also included advanced damage control systems in case of enemy attacks.
The first significant action that the USS South Dakota experienced was in the Pacific Theater in October 1942, as part of the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands. In protection of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, it was providing anti-aircraft protection and engaging Japanese vessels with its main guns when it sustained damage but assisted in preventing a major Japanese victory.
The role is very significant played by South Dakota against the Japanese battleship Kirishima and several cruisers and destroyers in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. It has contributed to the sinking of the Japanese Kirishima, though already seriously damaged.
During World War II, it was practically a matter of default that the USS South Dakota would go on to face continuous upgrading in terms of armament and technological systems. It was a part of most operations during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the invasion of the Philippines, and other crucial engagements. The battleship earned 13 battle stars due to this service in World War II.
After the war, USS South Dakota was put in inactive reserve in January 1947, finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in the 1960s. The battleship was scrapped in 1962, but its memory lives on as memorialized through several memorials and exhibits, including the USS South Dakota Battleship Memorial here in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.