WW2 Battleship Pacific Workhorse

For me, the USS North Carolina was the main "work horse" of world war two (in the Pacific).

There's a very good reason for this:  both her and her sister (USS Washington) were completed early in 1941, meaning they were available immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941).

They were also the first class to feature nine sixteen inch guns (in the standard two fwd one aft turret arrangement).  They were also the first battleships built by the US after the "Washing Treaty" building holiday expired, and were a vast improvement over earlier vessels.