Wilmington in New Hanover County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
16-Inch Armor Piercing Projectile
U.S.S. North Carolina
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
1. 16-Inch Armor Piercing Projectile Marker
Model: Mark VIII, Mod 7
Weight: 2,700 pounds
Range: 21 miles
Speed: Left the barrel at 2,300 feet per second/1,560 miles per hour
Note the paint colors. Black indicated it was an armor piercing projectile and the yellow was for Explosive D, a common high explosive. The white band referred to the tracer's color. The two common colors were white and red. The green band referred to the dye marker color assigned to BB55 to mark shell splashes.
The stencil markings indicated many details including the projectile's size, type, weight, manufacturer, burster charge weight and type, fuze types, tracer type, the month and year when the explosive and fuzes were loaded, and which ammunition depot it came from.
From here, the projectile could reach: Fort Fisher/Kure Beach, Bolivia on SR17 south, Hampstead on SR17 north, and Rocky Point on I-40 west.
(caption)
Projectiles are ready to be lowered into storage.
Erected by Friends of the Battleship North Carolina.
Topics.
this page online
Location. 34° 14.19′ N, 77° 57.232′ W. Marker is in Wilmington, North Carolina, in New Hanover County. It can be reached from Battleship Rd NE 0.2 miles south of U.S.S. North Carolina Road, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Battleship Rd NE, Wilmington NC 28401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and on the Cape Fear Coast. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Tidewater, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
2. 16-Inch Armor Piercing Projectile Marker
Also see . . . Armaments & Innovations - The Navys Supershells. Naval History Magazine website entry (Submitted on April 15, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
3. 16-Inch Armor Piercing Projectile
via Naval History and Heritage Command, 1944
4. USS North Carolina (BB-55), 1941-1961
Naval History and Heritage Command website entry
Click for more information.
Click for more information.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 21, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 15, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 158 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 15, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. 4. submitted on June 21, 2025, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
