Admiral’s Cabin

Admirals in the Navy served at sea as commanders of fleets, task forces, and other multi-ship formations, using a flagship as their office at sea, and battleships were traditionally chosen for that role. North Carolina was built to serve as the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet and included a suite of compartments for visiting admirals. The main compartment, called the Admiral's Cabin, served as the admiral's office, dining, and lounge areas, with a small galley, stateroom, and head forward of it, nearby quarters for senior staff officers, and the Flag Office below the Main Deck for enlisted staff. Access to this area was restricted to the admiral's staff and others with business there. Yet North Carolina rarely carried an admiral, and these quarters were often used for other purposes. When the ship reached the Pacific in July 1942 without an admiral aboard, Air Defense Officer John E. Kirkpatrick obtained permission from Captain George Fort, over the objections of the Executive Officer, for his gunnery officers to use the quarters temporarily as a bunk room near their battle stations. Later, Intelligence Officer Ben Blee used the unoccupied admiral's quarters for operational briefings. Commander Kemp Tolley recalled that North Carolina was rarely the flagship of anything and that flag officers aboard had little administrative or tactical role, while Ben W. Blee recalled using the unoccupied admiral's quarters to deliver detailed oral briefings on plans, routes, targets, shore bombardments, and expected enemy activity.

North Carolina · United States