United States Navy

United States Navy. Semper Fortis (Always Strong). , Freedom of the Seas , On October 13, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Navy. The Naval Act of 1794 created the permanent standing U.S. Navy. Throughout the 1800s, the fleet protected American interests abroad and defended the home shores. In 1907, President Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet (16 battleships) on a world voyage to showcase American naval power to the world. Following World War I, the Washington Naval Treaty attempted to discourage an arms race by limiting naval construction. , , Remember Pearl Harbor , The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, destroyed most of the Navy's battleships but did not touch the aircraft carriers. They became the mainstay of the rebuilt fleet. Faced with a two-ocean war, the fleet grew rapidly. By war's end, the Navy swelled to nearly 1,200 major combatant ships. More than 4 million enlisted personnel and officers served in the U.S. Navy during world war onel to defeat the Japanese in the Pacific and the Fascist powers in Europe. , , The Showboat , April 9, 1941 to June 27, 27, 1947 , When her keel was laid in October 1937, NORTH CAROLINA (BB55) was the first of ten fast battleships to join the fleet in World War II. Armed with nine 16-inch guns in three turrets, and twenty 5-inch 38 caliber guns in ten twin mounts, she was a formidable weapons platform. North Carolina participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific Theater and earned 15 battle stars. , (captions) 1 An 1808 Edwin Moras painting depicts the Continental Navy Ship “Ranger” commanded by John Paul Jones. 2 The 74-gun, Ship-of-the Line “North Carolina” was completed in 1820 and served the young nation's interests overseas before becoming a training ship. Artist Nicholas Carmiterl depicts the Ship “under a press of sall weathering the Isle of Zembra, on the 28th of December 1826, in a sudden gale…” 3 A 1917 recruiting poster by James H. Daugherty. 4 President elect Wiliam Howard Taft was a distinguished passenger on the Armored Cruiser North Carolina for a quick voyage to the Panama Canal Zone in early 1909. , , 1 A sailor in a Service Dress Blue uniform boards a ship in this 1941 recruiting poster by McClelland Barclay. 2 Task Group 38.3 approaches the narrow entrance of Leyte Lagoon for supplies and recreation after strikes against the Japanese in the Philippines. 3 A dramatic painting by Navy artist Art Shepler depicts two Navy destroyers providing gunfire coverage for the troops at Normandy, France. 4 Pearl Harbor survivor Nelson Mitchell reflects in the shrine room of the USS Arizona Memorial. 5 The aircraft carrier “USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6)” steers toward the Panama Canal, October 1945. The Ship distinguished herself during World War ll, earning 18 battle stars and a Presidential citation. , , 1 Hugh Morton photographed BB55 coring into Wilmington in October 1916, She serves as the state's memorial to the more than 11,000 North Carolinians who died defending freedom and democracy during World War II. The Ships company on commissioning day, April 9, 1941. As many as 2,300 men served on BB55 during the war. 3 The Battleship testing her main battery, August 1941. 4 Artist Tom Freeman's watercolor depicts BB55 in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942, A destroyer is to the starboard side and the “USS Enterprise” is shown portside.