"North Carolina" returned to the fleet in Leyte Gulf in late June before it embarked on another series of attacks on Japan on 1 July. By this time, the fast carrier task force had been transferred to Third Fleet, so the battleship joined TG 38.3. The air attacks began on 10 July, with over a thousand aircraft hitting airfields around Tokyo. The strikes continued for more than a week, until a typhoon approached and forced the fleet to withdraw to avoid it on 19 July. During these operations, one of her Kingfishers picked up a downed pilot in Tokyo Bay under heavy fire. Following the Japanese surrender on 15 August, "North Carolina" contributed men for the initial occupation force and entered Sagami Bay on 27 August with the rest of the fleet. She thereafter patrolled the coast until 5 September, when she steamed into Tokyo Bay to reembark the men. The next day, she was assigned to TF 11 along with the three s, a pair of light carriers, and a squadron of destroyers to return to the United States. From there, she sailed south to Okinawa to take on men bound for home as part of Operation Magic Carpet. The ship suffered a total of 10 crew dead and 67 wounded during her wartime service.