Shades of Gray

USS North Carolina BB-55

"I don't see how anyone could do it," she said.
"What?" I asked.
"This," she said, making a large circular motion with her arm.
"Oh, the battleship," I responded and added, "I think someone or some group decided what they wanted in a battleship and then hired a company to design and build it."
We were looking at a diagram of the BB 55, the USS North Carolina, while standing on the second deck of the ship.

All thirty-six thousand tons of the battleship North Carolina sits in the mud at low tide in Wilmington, NC.  It was a crisp April morning when we bought our discount tickets and boarded the iron and steel behemoth.  As soon as my feet set foot on the wooden deck I found myself behind a machine gun pointed skyward. I was in the footsteps of a man who had stood there almost seventy years ago. I could imagine how his eyes searched for a Japanese torpedo plane determined to sink his ship.

Claudette awakened me from my daydream and we walked aft under the enormous 16 inch guns.  Yes, the projectile was 16 inches in diameter.  Near the fantail is a Kingfisher floatplane.  It is perched on its center float much like some giant winged insect.  The North Carolina had two Vought OS2U Kingfishers, which were used for scouting the enemy.  Only one Kingfisher remains on the North Carolina, and both catapults used to launch the aircraft are no longer aboard. I tapped on the aircraft's float and heard that nice hollow ping of emptiness.

I really like airplanes, but what I really wanted to see were the big guns. We were near the aft (rear) gun turret. It's almost  as big as  a two car garage, with three big guns. There was a steel ladder extending from an open hatch.  I had to climb in. It was poorly illuminated inside.  Metal worn bare

Inside the aft gun Turret.

from usage shined in the darkness.  It was like being inside a machine. The mechanisms that moved the barrels of guns were visible as was the machinery which placed the projectiles and black powder into the breech of the guns.  The area was crowded but clean and smelled of machinery oil, and maybe a hint of burnt powder. Each gun is shown is various stages of being loaded. Cardboard cut-outs of men perform the work.

I needed to go below and see where the powder and projectiles were stored.    I extricated myslf from the gun turret and felt my feet firmly planted on the deck. "Here is a way to get down below," she said, standing beside a door marked, "Enter to go below decks." 
We found ourselves in the dining area or mess deck in navy speak.  There is a sameness about the naval ships I've been on. Their passageways, hatches, doors, decks, and compartments are the same.  They are reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon, Enterprise, Serenity and many other spaceships, or perhaps it's the other way around. Following the signs we found ourselves in the Fire Control Department.  Before I  joined the Navy I thought that fire control meant firemen.  Not so! Fire control refers to control of gun fire from the ships' giant guns. The compartment had plexiglas walls. This allowed the visitors to see the giant analog targeting devices used to calculate the targeting position for each of the nine 16 inch guns. These computers were the size of steamer trunks and were truly amazing mechanical devices. However, my cell phone has more computing power. The signs in the passageways pointed the way to the magazines.

There were more ladders before getting to where the munitions were stored.  We entered a circular room where bullet shaped projectiles taller than the man in front of me lined the walls. The projectiles are painted pale blue. Interesting. Could this be because pale blue is the school color of the University

Punch bowl USS North Carolina

of North Carolina?  Through a watertight door we went, and we were standing on the catwalk around a caverous circular room of about thirty-five feet in diameter and at least that depth below us. In the center is the shaft upon which the  gun turret rotates and the elevator for carrying the powder to the gun. We descended via a spiral ladder to the deck to see the powder magazine off to the side. Powder is neatly packaged in one hundred pound bags.

We climbed back to the upper deck to see the dining area again and visited the kitchen a.k.a. galley, the hospital, sick bay, as well as dental office, post office, and ships store.

Claudette raised her head up from the brochure and said, "Did you know there were 144 officers and 2,195 enlisted men including 100 Marines assigned to this ship?"

"No, not exactly, but I know battle wagons like this one had as many men as aircraft carriers," I answered. 

We continued to tour the ship, steering clear as much as possible of marauding teenagers. The crew's berthing area brought back memories.  I remember my rack as being 61 inches long and 21 inches wide. A piece of grommeted canvas was laced to the aluminum frame with a mattress on top. These were before the advent of foam rubber and instead probably used the usual mattress material. I once had the top rack.  There were three men underneath me. It was kind of like sleeping on a shelf. You slid your body in and out.

Continuing our walk Claudette noted, "The officers sure had better quarters," as we looked through the plexiglass wall of a junior officers shared stateroom."Yes, they did, and the senior officers had private staterooms.  Wait 'til you see the wardroom where the officers had their meals!"

But we did not see the wardroom on the USS North Carolina.  It had been converted into a hospitality area to be used for social or business events.  However, the silver punchbowl, cups, and silver tea set were on display. Examples of the ship's china and silverware were there too.

As we ascended the superstructure we were inundated by middleschoolers.  Some were extremely rude and had to be counseled with. The bridge housing  the ship's steering wheel, the helm in navy speak, was fairly crowded with tourists.  I failed to find the telegraph which sent the messages to the engineroom regarding the ship's speed. While in the superstructure we saw the captain's at sea cabin, the chartroom, and CIC, the Combat Information Center.  We found the ladders full of students as we descended to the main deck.  I took a close look at a twenty-five foot motor whaleboat with its small diesel engine.  After some kids stopped playing on one of the anti-aircraft gun tubs I was able to seat myself behind the gunsights and raise and lower the gun with the handcrank.  I blasted every Zero out of the Wilmington sky!