USS North Carolina (ACR-12)

USS "North Carolina" (ACR-12) was a "Tennessee" class armored cruiser of the United States Navy and the second Navy ship so named. She was also known as "Armored Cruiser No. 12" and later renamed "Charlotte" (CA-12). The ship was laid down 21 March 1905 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, launched 6 October 1906, sponsored by Miss Rebekah Glenn, daughter of the Governor of North Carolina R. B. Glenn, and commissioned at Norfolk 7 May 1908, Captain William A. Marshall in command.

Service history

Pre-war

Following shakedown along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean, "North Carolina" carried President-elect William Howard Taft on an inspection tour to the Panama Canal in January and February 1909. Between 23 April and 3 August, the new cruiser cruised the Mediterranean. Sailing with USS|Montana|ACR-13 to protect Americans threatened by conflict in the Ottoman Empire. "North Carolina" sent a medical relief party ashore 17 May to Adana, Turkey, to treat both wounded and desperately ill Armenians, victims of massacre. "North Carolina" provided food, shelter, disinfectants, distilled water, dressings and medicines, and assisted other relief agencies already on the scene. For the remainder of her Mediterranean cruise, "North Carolina" cruised the Levant succoring both American citizens and refugees from oppression.

In the years before World War I, "North Carolina" trained and maneuvered in the western Atlantic and Caribbean and participated in ceremonial and diplomatic activities. Highlights included attending centennial celebrations of the independence of Argentina (May-June 1910) and Venezuela (June-July 1911); carrying the Secretary of War for an inspection tour of Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Cuba, and the Panama Canal (July-August 1911); and bringing home from Cuba bodies of the crew of the destroyed "Maine" for their final interment in Arlington National Cemetery.

World War I

As war began in Europe, "North Carolina" departed Boston 7 August 1915 to protect Americans in the Near East. After calling at ports of England and France, she cruised constantly between Jaffa, Beirut, and Alexandria, her presence a reminder of the might of the still neutral United States. She returned to Boston 18 June 1915 for overhaul.

Reaching Pensacola, Florida, 9 September 1915, "North Carolina" contributed to the development of naval aviation through service as station ship. On 5 November 1915, she became the first ship ever to launch an aircraft (a Curtiss Model F) by catapult while under way. This experimental work led to the use of catapults on battleships and cruisers through World War II, and to the steam catapults on present-day aircraft carriers.

When the United States entered World War I, "North Carolina" sailed north to escort troop transports plying between Norfolk and New York.

Decommissioning and fate

Between December 1918 and July 1919, she brought men of the American Expeditionary Force home from Europe. Renamed "Charlotte" 7 June 1920 so that her original name might be assigned to a new battleship, she decommissioned at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 18 February 1921. Her name was struck from the Navy List 15 July 1930, and she was sold for scrapping 29 September of that year.

References

* Alden, John D. "American Steel Navy: A Photographic History of the U.S. Navy from the Introduction of the Steel Hull in 1883 to the Cruise of the Great White Fleet." Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. ISBN 0870212486
* Friedman, Norman. "U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History." Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN 0870217186
* Musicant, Ivan. "U.S. Armored Cruisers: A Design and Operational History." Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870217143

External links

* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/acr12/acr12.htm Photos of "North Carolina" (ACR-12)]