[8], Aside from a brief break in firing 23 September to take aboard wounded from the Korean frigateApnok(PF-62), damaged by gunfire, New Jersey was heavily engaged in bombarding the Kansong area, supporting the movement of the U.S. X Corps. New Jersey's modernization was unique in that she was to be the only reactivated Iowa-class battleship to lose a gun turret. She also received hostile fire when North Vietnamese gunners attempted to strike at New Jersey with artillery positioned near Cap Lay. [8], New Jersey dashed up the North Korean coast raiding transportation facilities from 1 to 6 November. [25][33], Since the Tomahawk missile system had not yet been adopted for use during New Jersey's original update, the Navy announced plans to divert assets from two of their Spruance-class destroyers to install the necessary Tomahawk launchers. [8], After rehearsing in the Marshalls for the invasion of the Marianas, New Jersey put to sea 6 June in the screening and bombardment group of Admiral Mitscher's Task Force. She guarded the carriers in their strikes on Formosa, Okinawa, and Luzon, on the coast of Indo-China, Hong Kong, Swatow and Amoy, and again on Formosa and Okinawa. [56], Shortly after her arrival New Jersey was opened to the public, officially beginning her new career as a museum ship with the name Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. Congratulations to you and hope you enjoy this gorgeous piece of history from the @battleshipnj Its a Beautiful Day on the ship for the car show, student day and tours all day - come on out to the show cars are on the pier and in lot one!! The next day New Jersey engaged targets of opportunity, destroying 11 structures, seven bunkers, a concrete observation tower, and an enemy trench line. Fires occurred in three carriers when planes broke loose in their hangars, and some 146 planes on various ships were lost or damaged beyond economical repair by fires, impact damage, or by being swept overboard. As part of the multinational force the United States mobilized an expeditionary force composed of members of the United States Marine Corps and elements of the United States Sixth Fleet which operated out of the Mediterranean Sea. [8], Departing Long Beach 2 September, New Jersey touched at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay before sailing 25 September for her first tour on the gun line[19] along the Vietnamese coast. New Jersey was recommissioned at Bayonne on 21 November 1950, Captain David M. Tyree in command, and proceeded to the Caribbean, where she welded her crew into an efficient body which would meet the demanding requirements of the Korean War. On 3 October New Jersey fired on targets south of Tiger Island, and on 4 October the battleship fired on a Communist troop concentration and destroyed several bunkers. Military: Vietnam War: View of USS New Jersey (BB-62) Iowa-class battleship firing shell from the Gulf of Tonkin. Using both the 16in and 5in guns New Jersey engaged and destroyed 13structures and an artillery site, in the process halting an enemy platoon moving through the DMZ. With renewed attacks on Kansong and near the Chang-San-Got Peninsula 11 and 13 November, New Jersey completed her first tour of duty in Korea. Declassified 23 April 1980. In 1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War. "[44][45] The inaccuracy is believed to have resulted because the ship's main gunpowder had been remixed by the Navy, under the direction of Captain Joseph Dominick Miceli at the Naval Weapons Support Center, and rebagged. Section 1012 also required the transferee to locate the battleship in the State of New Jersey. On 14 October New Jersey shifted her gunfire to the coastal artillery sites on Hon Matt Island, destroying one battery on the island. Its plan for the Battle of Leyte Gulf included a feint by a northern force of planeless heavy attack carriers to draw away the battleships, cruisers and fast carriers with which Admiral Halsey was protecting the landings. Purchase your ticket at the Battleship Ticket . Upon her reactivation she underwent a period of modernization during which the 20mm and 40mm anti-aircraft guns on the battleship were removed, and she received improved electronic warfare systems and improvements to her radar. The Kojo area was her target 16 October as she sailed in company with HMSBelfast, pilots from HMASSydney spotting. Bunkers damaged 73 [56], This article is about the battleship commissioned in 1943. Two days later, she learned of the truce. BB-62 at sea. New Jersey was one of the Iowa-class "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. During this time the Navy developed several proposals to update their battleships to carry cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, as well as point defense system mounts. Armed with this information New Jersey fired five 16inch shells at the site, but in the darkness spotters were unable to confirm any hits. Structures destroyed 439 The New Jersey, like other battleships in the Iowa-class, was meant to take on the best and biggest warships . During his time in the Navy department, Edison pushed to build the Iowas, and to build one at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which secured votes for Roosevelt in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the 1940 presidential election. [28][32] In addition to saving time, this also made New Jersey cheaper to reactivate since the cost needed to modernize the battleship only included the addition of missile and gun system mounts, electronic warfare suites, and improved radar and gun spotter technology. She accounted for six bunkers, a supply truck and an anti-aircraft site that day; additionally, she helped rescue the crew of a Marine spotting plane forced down at sea by anti-aircraft fire. [8], Assuming command of a ship already earmarked for the "mothball fleet", Captain Peniston and his crew prepared for their task. The original, BB-9, was decommissioned in 1920 after more than two decades of service. Get personalized pricing by telling us when, where, and how you want to . Just a $50 donation to fire a salute! [8] New Jersey's next war cruise, 13 April 4 May 1944, began and ended at Majuro. Forces stationed in Japan into South Korea. One of USS New Jersey's original gun barrels from 1943 to 1954 now sits on the northwest corner of the Marine Parade Grounds alongside Broad Street and Intrepid Avenue in Philadelphia. New Jersey's big guns went to work on the complex, firing 16inch shells into tunnels and bunkers to aid the ground troops. USS Besugo (SS 321) and USS Hardhead (SS . Aided by spotter aircraft from the aircraft carrier USSAmerica, New Jersey engaged enemy targets, setting several enemy positions on fire and sealing one cave. Foul weather prevented spotter aircraft from flying until 20 October; however, New Jersey quickly made up for lost time on the gun line by destroying a Viet Cong command post and nine bunkers in support of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, who were operating about 50 miles (80km) north of Nha Trang. [53] The Navy made the switch in January 1999, and on 12 September, New Jersey was towed by the tug Sea Victory from Bremerton, Washington to Philadelphia, for restoration work in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in advance of her planned donation for use as a museum. The road from Philadelphia to Vietnam had not been an easy one. Structures destroyed 56 Early in October raids to destroy enemy air power based on Okinawa and Formosa were begun in preparation for the Leyte landings of 20 October 1944. She returned to this general area yet again 29 August, when she fired in an amphibious demonstration staged behind enemy lines to ease pressure on the Republic of Korea's troops. The recommissioning of New Jersey marked a return of the world's last battleships after a 13-year absence from the world's oceans. Many of the ships were caught near the center of the storm and buffeted by extreme seas and hurricane-force winds. 1984 Book of General Plans for the U.S.S. New Jersey would remain in the waters of the DMZ until after New Years, shelling Communist bunkers for ground troops until leaving to support the 1st Marine Division 3 January 1969. She struck at bridges, road, and rail installations at Wonsan, Hungnam, Tanchon, Iowon, Songjin, and Chongjin, leaving four bridges destroyed, others badly damaged, two marshaling yards badly torn up, and many feet of track destroyed. Here she broke the flag of Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.,[12] 24 August, becoming flagship of the United States Third Fleet. Here she destroyed large-caliber guns, bunkers, caves and trenches. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the name on 25 May 2015, at a ceremony in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Continental Navy Squadron, commanded by Commodore Esek Hopkins, is attacked by the British frigate HMS Glasgow and her tender while entering Long Island Sound. The results were excellent, with eight direct hits on three caves, one cave demolished, and four others closed. On 28 December 1982 New Jersey was formally recommissioned at Long Beach, California, her new homeport. When reactivated in 1967 New Jersey had her 20mm Oerlikon and 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns removed, and received improved electronic warfare capabilities. Further training off Southern California followed. Powder lots (an individual production of powder) burn at different rates. Hostilities had commenced on or about 15 January 1991 and sister ships Missouri and Wisconsin were engaging Iraqi targets with Tomahawk missiles at the time of New Jersey's decommissioning. [8], Between 23 and 27 May and again 30 May 1951, New Jersey pounded targets near Yangyang and Kansong, dispersing troop concentrations, dropping a bridge span, and destroying three large ammunition dumps. On 13 March the battleship departed the gunline bound for Subic Bay. [8], Shaping her course via the Panama Canal, Long Beach, and Hawaii, New Jersey reached Yokosuka 5 April, and next day relieved Missouri as flagship of Vice Admiral Joseph H. Clark, Commander 7th Fleet. Her first action as a flagship was in Operation Hailstone, a two-day surface and air strike by her task force against the major Japanese fleet base on Truk in the Carolines. [17] Between 2 and 8 December New Jersey returned to aid the 3rd Marine Division, shelling Viet Cong bunker complexes for the Marines operating around the Da Nang area before departing for Singapore 9 December. Therefore, remixing the powder lots could cause the guns to fire inconsistently. 1968 - USS New Jersey (BB 62) is recommissioned for shore bombardment duty at Vietnam. That day and the next would cripple Japanese naval aviation; in what would become known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot", the Japanese lost some 400 planes for less than two dozen American aircraft in return. The second Wisconsin was authorized on July 6, 1939 and laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard beginning in 1941. [17], On 28 October New Jersey steamed south to engage Communist targets. USS America's island seen during a 1976 cruise. Secondary explosions 46 With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of allied aircraft carriers, so New Jersey was fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns. On the evening of 7 October New Jersey received reports that a number of waterborne logistics craft were moving south near the mouth of the Song Giang River. [8], New Jersey's main battery consisted of nine 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in three three-gun turrets, which could fire 2,700-pound (1,225kg) armor-piercing shells some 23 miles (42.6km). Peniston. Briggs. In this span of the Pacific War, fast carrier task forces ranged the waters off the Philippines, Okinawa, and Formosa, making repeated strikes at airfields, shipping, shore bases, and invasion beaches. Our winner of the beautiful teak flag is Jordan Hartlove !! The anti-aircraft fire of New Jersey and the other screening ships proved virtually impenetrable; two American ships were slightly damaged during the battle. The recommissioning took place after a period of modernization, and the ceremony was conducted at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard with Captain J. Edward Snyder in command. She arrived on the 8th, and began preinactivation overhaul to ready herself for decommissioning. She was the scene of official receptions at Oslo, where King Haakon VII of Norway inspected the crew 2 July, and at Portsmouth, England. [7] She was christened at her launching by Carolyn Edison, wife of Governor Charles Edison of New Jersey, himself a former Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned at Philadelphia 23 May 1943, Captain Carl F. Holden in command. On 22 February New Jersey responded to an urgent request for fire support from the besieged Oceanview observation post near the DMZ. Naval officials to freeze live fire exercises with the guns until the investigation into the explosion was concluded. We were off the coast in December 1968 on patrol between the coast and tiger island. Congratulations to you and hope you enjoy this gorgeous piece of history from the @battleshipnj . The maneuver, according to the command history, "marked the first time a U.S. battleship had operated in the Soviet Navy's backyard. On 28 July off Wonsan the battleship was again taken under fire by shore batteries. On 28 Novemberafter 23 October 1983 Beirut barracks bombingthe U.S. government announced that New Jersey would be retained off Beirut although her crew would be rotated. On 24 March 1945 she again carried out the role of heavy bombardment, preparing the invasion beaches for the assault a week later. She called at Lisbon, participated in NATO exercises off Scotland, and paid an official visit to Norway where Crown Prince Olav was a guest. The NEW JERSEY crew is undoubtedly the finest and most professional group of men with which I have ever had the privilege of serving. Her ports of call included Gibraltar, Valencia, Cannes, Istanbul, Souda Bay; and Barcelona. It is worthy to note that NEW JERSEY accomplished all this with a crew one-half the size of her World War II complement. New Jersey responded by closing on the formation and succeeded in sinking eleven of the craft before they could beach. The battleships are seen as especially valuable offensive platforms in a nonnuclear conflict with the Soviet Union because of their extraordinary 32-knot speed, 1,500-mile range and exceptional. On 24 May, she lost one of her helicopters after the crew pushed their chopper to the limit of its fuel searching for a downed aviator. During the next two days, Okinawa was attacked from the air by the same striking force. Air spotters reported Yangyang abandoned at the end of this action, while railroad facilities and vehicles were smashed at Kansong. Battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 Index Page. Waterborne Logistic Craft (WBLC) destroyed (Sea Dragon) 9 At the opening of the battle, planes from the carriers guarded by New Jersey struck hard at both the Japanese Southern and Center Forces, sinking a battleship 23 October. [8] New Jersey's tenth birthday, 23 May 1953, was celebrated at Incheon with President and Madame Rhee, Lieutenant General Maxwell D. Taylor, and other dignitaries on board. New Jersey screened the aircraft carriers from Japanese attack as planes from Task Group 58.2 flew strikes against Kwajalein and Eniwetok 29 January 2 February, softening up the latter for its invasion and supporting the troops who landed on 31 January. Learn how steam , Thank you sponsors and ticket buyers! Between 19 July 1952 and 5 September, she sailed as flagship for Rear Admiral H. R. Thurber, who commanded the NROTC midshipman training cruise to Cherbourg, Lisbon, and the Caribbean. Following her decommissioning New Jersey was towed to Bremerton, Washington, where she remained in reserve until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1995. A Kara-class cruiser and two Grisha III frigates also shadowed the U.S. ships. After a review of both plans, the Navy selected the Home Port Alliance as the battleship's final resting place. Her big guns were trained on two tunnels between which she hoped to catch the train, but in the darkness she could not see the results of her six-gun salvo. "[49] Following an overhaul at Long Beach which lasted into 1988 New Jersey returned to the Pacific Ocean, this time operating as part of a surface action group. An investigation into New Jersey's gunfire effectiveness in Lebanon, led by Marine Colonel Don Price, found that many of the ship's shells had missed their targets by as much as 10,000 yards (9,140m) and therefore may have inadvertently killed civilians. Enemy killed in action (probable) 7, Theabove excerpts are from (Operational Experience of Fast Battleships; World War II, Korea, Vietnam pp 196/197, and from the USS NEW JERSEY Command History dated 17 Dec 1969. [25][26] At one point the NATO Sea Sparrow was to be installed on the reactivated battleships; however, it was determined that the system could not withstand the overpressure effects when firing the main battery.[25][27]. USS New Jersey(BB-62) USS New Jerseyunderway in January 1985 History United States Namesake State of New Jersey Ordered 1 July 1939 Builder Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Laid down 16 September 1940 Launched 7 December 1942 Sponsored by Carolyn Edison Commissioned 23 May 1943 Decommissioned 30 June 1948 Recommissioned 21 November 1950 Decommissioned [11], New Jersey completed fitting out and trained her initial crew in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. Vice Admiral Harold M. Martin, commanding the United States Seventh Fleet, placed his flag in New Jersey for the next six months. [17] New Jersey took up station off Tiger Island 1 October and fired at targets north of the DMZ before moving south that afternoon to engage Viet Cong targets. That summer she again carried midshipmen to Northern Europe for training, bringing them home to Annapolis 31 July. The battlewagon fired nearly twenty. On 17 and 18 February, the task force accounted for two Japanese light cruisers, four destroyers, three auxiliary cruisers, two submarine tenders, two submarine chasers, an armed trawler, a plane ferry, and 23 other auxiliaries, not including small craft. [17], On 16 October New Jersey took up station in support of the U.S. 3rd Marine Division. She also engaged an enemy gun emplacement with her five-inch (127mm) gun mounts, which New Jersey successfully destroyed. [8], In September the targets were in the Visayas and the southern Philippines, then Manila and Cavite, Panay, Negros, Leyte, and Cebu. [8] During sea trials following her modernization, New Jersey set the battleship world speed record by achieving a speed of 35.2 knots (65.2km/h; 40.5mph), maintaining this speed for six hours. Overview of the USS New Jersey (BB-62) Nation: United States Type: Battleship Shipyard: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Laid Down: September 16, 1940 Launched: December 7, 1942 The Reagan Administration decided to dispatch New Jersey, a decision the Marines cheered. According to the New Jersey museum website, the battlewagon destroyed more than 1,000 targets . Only 17 American planes were lost in combat. At the time the ships were operating about 300 miles (500km) east of Luzon in the Philippine Sea. Enemy killed in action (confirmed) 10 [47] New Jersey's final cruise began in 1989 as part of Pacific Exercise '89. On 11 November New Jersey departed Vietnamese waters to replenish; she returned to the gunline 23 November and relieved USSGalveston, taking up position in support of the U.S. Army's Americal Division. Navy. The @battleshipnj hosted members of the Jackson, NJ VFW for guided tours, lunch in the Officers Wardroom & the shooting of the 5-inch and saluting guns today. [17] New Jersey was selected for this task because she was in better material condition than her sisters, having received an extensive overhaul prior to decommissioning. She screened the carrier striking force which gave air support to the invasion of Aitape, Tanahmerah Bay and Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, 22 April, then shelled shipping and shore installations at Truk 2930 April. Bunkers destroyed 596 [17], On 25 November New Jersey launched the most destructive shore bombardment of her Vietnam tour. This alteration helped reduce the time it took to get New Jersey recommissioned: since she was not in her World War II format, the only major physical alteration to New Jersey involved the removal of four of her ten 5inch gun mounts to make room for the Armored Box Launchers. [35] After this attack the Marines began returning fire. New Jersey bombarding positions off South Vietnam during the latter part of her 1968-69 WESTPAC cruise. [8], As the crisis eased, New Jersey was released to continue her interrupted voyage. Artillery sites neutralized 19 3 gun turret during her 1980s career. On 14 December, New Jersey fired 11 projectiles from her 16-inch (406mm) guns at hostile positions inland of Beirut. Brief stays at Manila and Okinawa preceded her arrival in Tokyo Bay 17 September, where she served as flagship for the successive commanders of Naval Forces in Japanese waters until relieved 28 January 1946 by Iowa (BB-61). Meters of trenchline rendered unusable 1,925 Although New Jersey performed her job expertly during the intervention in Lebanon some have criticized the decision to have New Jersey shell Druze and Syrian forces. Main battery rounds expended during NEW JERSEYs deployment to Vietnam were only 1,500 short of the total she fired in World War II, two cruises to Korea, and several midshipman cruises. Her 16-inch salvos pounded Ponape 1 May, destroying fuel tanks, badly damaging the airfield, and demolishing a headquarters building. When reactivated in 1982, New Jersey had four twin 5"/38 caliber DP mounts removed. (rebellionresearch.com) . [24], At the time of the reactivation the Navy envisioned using New Jersey and her sister ship Iowa to meet sustained global requirements and relieve the strain on the Navy created by an increase in U.S. commitments to the Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea regions. For the next three days New Jersey pounded the area with her 16in shells in an effort to eliminate the Viet Cong presence in the region. Near the 17th parallel on 30 September, the battleship fired her first shots in battle in over sixteen years, expending a total of 29 sixteen inch rounds against People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) targets in and near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel. As U.S. carriers destroyed what remained of Japanese airpower and seapower in spring 1945, Missouri bombarded . Email: [email protected]. Two days later Kalmagak at Wonsan was her target. North Vietnam 9/30/1968 - 10/31/1968 CREDIT: Neil Leifer (Photo by Neil Leifer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: L79461 ) PURCHASE A LICENSE. A gun emplacement on tiger island decided to try their luck and lob a shot at us. [17], On the night of 23 October New Jersey steamed north to rearm before taking up position in support of the 3rd Marine Division 25 October. [10] Unlike the other Iowa-class battleships, New Jersey was named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to repay a political debt, to then-New Jersey Governor Charles Edison. The task force rendezvoused with Captain Jasper T. Acuff and his fueling group 17 December with the intention of refueling all ships in the task force and replacing lost aircraft. Shadowing American submarines tracked the Japanese fleet into the Philippine Sea as Admiral Spruance joined his task force with Admiral Mitscher's to meet the enemy. By 1982 and undergoing modernization with the . The next day she started a three-day saturation of the Changjon area, with one of her own helicopters spotting the results: four buildings destroyed, road junctions smashed, railroad marshaling yards afire, tracks cut and uprooted, coal stocks scattered, and many buildings and warehouses set blazing. The decision to decommission New Jersey robbed the battleship of the chance to participate in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, a military campaign to forcibly remove Iraqi invasion troops from Kuwait. Mortar sites silenced 6 The operation was well-planned and coordinated, and excellent results were obtained. The ship was complete by 1942, and after sea trials, was commissioned in 1943. She accounted for six bunkers, a supply truck and an anti-aircraft site that day; additionally, she helped rescue the crew of a Marine spotting plane forced down at sea by anti-aircraft fire. New Jersey responded by closing on the formation, and succeeded in sinking eleven of the craft before they could beach. In 1997, while the ship was still in the mothball fleet, the New Jersey State Review Board for Historic Sites recommended that it "be listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, contingent upon the transfer of the battleship to New Jersey waters. The training fleet was westward bound 18 July for exercises in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. [8] Relieved as flagship by Wisconsin, New Jersey cleared Yokosuka for Hawaii, Long Beach and the Panama Canal, and returned to Norfolk 20 December for a six-month overhaul. Visitors marvel at the 16" guns. [8], New Jersey began her career as a flagship 4 February in Majuro Lagoon when Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commanding the 5th Fleet, broke his flag from her main. Both teams submitted plans to operate and maintain the battleship as a museum. Upon completion of the exercise, New Jersey sailed through the Indian Ocean and into the Persian Gulf, in the process becoming the centerpiece for various battle groups and surface action groups. [14] On 18 December, the small but violent typhoon overtook the Task Force while many of the ships were attempting to refuel. Who would want to fire on a ship with that type of fire power? May 8, 1945 welcomes in VE Day, "Today the war in Europe came to an end!" On 10 February the battleship left to reinforce the Korean 2nd Marine Brigade operating near Da Nang. At Ulithi 27 January Admiral Halsey lowered his flag in New Jersey, but it was replaced two days later by that of Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger II commanding Battleship Division 7. MAIN BATTERY [13] Approximately 790 officers and men were lost or killed, with another 80 injured. 10 to 2 pm. New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships, and was the only US battleship providing gunfire support during the Vietnam War. Four hundred Marines stationed in Beirut attended the show. A gun emplacement on tiger island decided to try their luck and lob a shot at us. Welcome to the Online Homeport of the USS New Jersey. "[43], The accuracy of New Jersey's guns was also called into question. New Jersey took station in the protective screen around the carriers on 19 June 1944 as American and Japanese pilots dueled in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. On 17 December 1969 New Jersey's colors were hauled down and she entered the inactive fleet, following the words of her last commanding officer: "Rest well, yet sleep lightly; and hear the call, if again sounded, to provide fire power for freedom. A bridge, a dam, several gun emplacements, mortar positions, pillboxes, bunkers, and two ammunition dumps were demolished. [8], New Jersey ranged far and wide from 30 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 on her last cruise as Admiral Halsey's flagship. [20], Upon completion of this mission New Jersey steamed south, taking a position off Da Nang and Point DeDe to lend naval gunfire support to the U.S. 1st Marine Division operating in the area. On 30 August New Jersey set sail from Pearl Harbor, and for the next eight months was based at Ulithi to lend support to Allied forces operating in the Philippines. Moreover, Suk El Gharb controlled a ridge that overlooked Baabda, Yarze, which was the location of the Ministry of Defence, and East Beirut.