Exploring Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington

UPDATED: 2/5/2023

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An Overview of Battleship North Carolina

The Battleship North Carolina is anchored on Cape Fear River, a short distance away and visible from Wilmington’s Riverwalk. For anyone who loves ships, military history, or has never had a chance to explore a military ship, this is an activity you may enjoy.

Below, you can read about a brief history of this battleship and how it ended up anchored near Wilmington, as well as learn about what to expect during your visit, what you’ll see inside the ship, and tips to keep in mind. Under the ‘tips’ section, we also cover information on accessibility for those with mobility considerations.

Hello, World!

A Brief History of Battleship North Carolina

In 1937, the keel of Battleship North Carolina was laid in place. Shortly after the ship was finished being built, the US entered World War II, and this state-of-the-art battleship entered the war, participating in every major naval offensive in the Pacific Ocean. A few years after World War II ended, North Carolina was decommissioned in 1947, and went into an inactive fleet for the next 14 years.

When notice went out that this battleship was bound for the scrapyard, the eventual home of most ships that had lived out their useful lifespan, citizens of the state of North Carolina decided to save their namesake battleship and embarked upon a campaign to save the ship and bring it to their state. By 1962, the battleship was installed and dedicated to the 11,000 North Carolinians who lost their lives in World War II and the state’s living veterans.

We wondered if there are real products inside these boxes… What would a 70 year old tootsie pop taste like?

But by saving the ship, its saviors did more than create a memorial; they also preserved an interesting piece of history so that future generations could see the complicated World War II technologies and engineering that kept this city-on-water afloat.

Because restoration is an endless need for such a huge ship, there is ongoing maintenance and work to keep the ship in good condition. As evidenced by placards throughout the ship, there are also continued efforts to gather period-appropriate supplies to bring the exhibits to life. For example, in the ship’s store, visitors can see 1940s candy and cigarette boxes that would have been there during the ship’s heyday.

For more details on the history of the ship, you can read this overview on the Battleship’s website.

What to Expect During Your Visit

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Sure, the Battleship looks large from afar and gets even larger as you get closer, but nothing will prepare you for how large it actually is when you explore its insides!

The Battleship is easily accessible from downtown Wilmington via a bridge that carries the road over Cape Fear River. There are well-marked signs on nearby interstates and a large sign at the entrance to the battleship itself.

There is a large parking lot that should accommodate the most crowded days. During our visit on Christmas Eve, there were a few dozen cars in the lot, but we didn’t even pass more than a few people once we were aboard given the size of the ship.

From the parking lot, there is a building situated in front of the ship and is where you purchase tickets. As of this writing (December 2019), tickets are $14 per adult with discounts for seniors, military, and children. Children under 5 years get in free.

Since the ship is a memorial, it is open every day of the year. Certain days or seasons may have shorter hours, so always check ahead before going.

Tips for Visiting Battleship North Carolina

While there are plenty of handrails, the steep and tight stairways might be difficult for some travelers.

Allow 2 hours at a minimum for your visit. Moving at a decently fast pace and not fully reading every placard (though reading or skimming most), we spent a full two hours here. If you listen to the audio guide, move more slowly, and read everything thoroughly, you could easily spend 3 hours or more.
Wear sturdy shoes. You will be climbing up and down endless steep ladder-like staircases as you explore the 9 levels of the ship. Remember that the ground is almost entirely metal so can be slippery as well.
Stay hydrated. By the time we returned above deck, we were ridiculously thirsty from all the climbing. Onboard are a number of deck-level vending machines where you can purchase water (relatively inexpensively at $1.25/bottle as of this writing). I don’t think you are allowed to bring your own beverages on board, though I’m not positive.
If you have limited mobility or difficulty with stairs, I would not recommend touring the ship. Larger sized travelers may have difficulty with the narrow sizes of many stairs. That said, there is a raised pier walkway around the outside of the ship, so you could explore it from outside.
If you have good mobility but are concerned about this being too strenuous, the ship’s tour route signage on board does a good job of indicating where parts of the tour peal off to go deeper below deck so that someone wishing to skip some stairs could opt to remain where they are. In some cases, the tour signs will say things like ‘You can wait here for those who wish to go down to the below sections. They should return in 15-20 minutes.’
There is an audio tour you can download on an app. While we didn’t opt to do this and found the placards to be very informational, others may enjoy the extra information.
For those sensitive to smells, below deck has a consistent smell of grease/oil from all the machinery which, for some reason, Dustin enjoyed. However, by the end of 90 minutes or so below deck, Lindsey had developed a slight headache. It wasn’t a big deal, but you may want to have some advil/tylenol/anti-headache medicine of choice with you in case you’re susceptible to headaches.

We had not known about the plane winches installed on early battleships. This allowed a float plane to scout as needed and then be retrieved to the deck after landing on the water.

What You’ll See Aboard Battleship North Carolina

The tour begins on the deck, where you can see anti-aircraft guns as well as an example of the type of planes carried onboard. While this ship was not an aircraft carrier and predates their invention, it had a mechanism for essentially catapulting a small number of planes into the air for reconnaissance.

From there, you can follow the signs below deck to begin your tour of the interior of the ship. We received a large map of the ship when we purchased our tickets, and that map was helpful in providing an overview of the ship and ensuring we didn’t miss any areas. The tour itself does not go deck-by-deck but more so meanders up, down, and around to hit all the areas open to the public. After exploring the back part of the ship (the stern), the tour heads up to the front of the ship (the bow) and similarly meanders through levels there.

One of the most striking parts of the tour is seeing how complex it was to manage what was essentially an entire floating city. The ship had the obvious - like a cafeteria (which was a new concept when the ship was built; previously ships had sit-down dining), infirmary, and laundry - but it also had a whole host of other services and tangential activities that I hadn’t contemplated.

For example, to support the cafeteria, there were ice rooms, produce rooms, an ice cream maker, a butcher room, and a bakery. There were also multiple dark rooms for the processing of photographs, a dentistry (complete with several dentist chairs), and a post office.

This machine was so huge I think I could sit in the mixing bowel!

Imagine making bread for several thousand of your coworkers every day.

Sleeping below deck was a hot and smelly affair.

The barber shop aboard the North Caroline kept everyone looking dapper, including this cardboard cut-out of a man.

What was also evident is that living aboard this ship was no easy or fun task. Placards explained how in the engine room, it sometimes got as hot as 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The bunk beds housed throughout the ship looked uncomfortable and were a sweaty affair with woolen blankets. The bathrooms permitted zero privacy for any activity, and apparently as a way to spur others to use the toilets quickly instead of staking out there with reading material, other sailors would put flaming toilet paper through the pipes to singe backsides!

Towards the end of the tour, the route covers the officer’s quarters, which look far more appealing - like small college dorm rooms essentially. But even so, other than the fridge and freezers for the food and one electrical room, nowhere on the ship was air conditioned, so being enclosed in the officer’s rooms was probably not the most comfortable either!

Even pipe identification looks difficult! This clear labeling of pipes allowed sailors to respond safely in a disaster.

Warheads for the main cannons lined the walls below the main turret.

Battleships often carried several types of warheads.

This room stored much of the gunpowder for the main guns which would be passed along the rollers and hoisted up a conveyor to the main cannon. While I understand that explosive powder is packed carefully, working in this room would terrify me!

Up about 3 floors from the main deck, the control room looks out onto the deck of the ship.

Nope, these blueprints are totally not confusing! /endsarcasm

Just a few of the massive walls of dials and gauges that help keep tabs on the ship’s systems.

The North Carolina had a full workshop in which nearly any part of the ship could be replicated and repaired while at sea.

Just a small section of the massive engine room on Battleship North Carolina.

Battleship North Carolina: In Summary

We very much enjoyed touring this battleship. It brought to life all the history we have read about the World War II era and allowed us to better understand the lives of those on the ships as well as to understand the perils they faced. Not only did most of them perform difficult work, they lived in constant fear of being trapped below deck in the case of a bombing or accident. In several spots throughout the ship, placards explained that many men preferred to sleep up on deck because of the very real fear and risk of a nighttime bombing leaving them trapped.