Both "North Carolina" and "Washington" saw extensive service during the Second World War in a variety of roles, primarily in the Pacific Theater where they escorted fast carrier task forces and conducted shore bombardments. "North Carolina" shot down between seven and fourteen Japanese aircraft in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and later sustained a torpedo hit from a Japanese submarine. In a chaotic night engagement during the naval battle of Guadalcanal "Washington"s radar-directed main batteries fatally damaged the Japanese battleship , causing it to sink the next day. In February 1944, "Washington" crushed its bow in a collision with battleship . Following repairs, "Washington" rejoined "North Carolina" for the Battle of the Philippine Sea. After the end of the war, both ships took part in Operation Magic Carpet, the withdrawal of American military personnel from overseas deployments. The vessels were laid up in the reserve fleet until the early 1960s, when "North Carolina" was sold to the state of North Carolina as a museum ship, and "Washington" was broken up for scrap.