Here she destroyed large-caliber guns, bunkers, caves and trenches. New Jersey bombarding positions off South Vietnam during the latter part of her 1968-69 WESTPAC cruise. 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. The training fleet was westward bound 18 July for exercises in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. The results were excellent, with eight direct hits on three caves, one cave demolished, and four others closed. 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. 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. A carrier task force was formed and sent to the Sea of Japan, while New Jersey was ordered to come about and steam toward Japan. USS New Jersey (BB-62) During World War II - ThoughtCo One of her men was killed and two severely wounded when she took a hit from a shore battery on her number one turret and received a near miss aft to port. Her ports of call included Gibraltar, Valencia, Cannes, Istanbul, Souda Bay; and Barcelona. USS New Jersey BB-62 - Historycentral Adm. William "Bull" Halsey took Missouri as flagship of the Third Fleet in May. That afternoon New Jersey's 5inch guns shelled enemy buildings, destroying 15structures and inflicted heavy damage on 29others. As Captain Snyder remarked; The men on todays NEW JERSEY are not afraid to experiment, to innovate, to reject old and begin new traditions. [56], This article is about the battleship commissioned in 1943. U.S.S. 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. When reactivated in 1982, New Jersey had four twin 5"/38 caliber DP mounts removed. The next day she answered eight call for fire support missions from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in the process destroying eight Viet Cong bunkers and five structures. The USS Wisconsin was actually the second battleship named for the Badger State. The anti-aircraft fire of New Jersey and the other screening ships proved virtually impenetrable; two American ships were slightly damaged during the battle. Troop movements stopped 12 The second Wisconsin was authorized on July 6, 1939 and laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard beginning in 1941. 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. Upon his return to Majuro, Admiral Spruance transferred his flag to Indianapolis. military flags - battleship new jersey stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. [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. . During her two tours of duty in Korean waters, she was again and again to play the part of seaborne mobile artillery. On This Day. 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. She returned to Norfolk 15 October, and 14 December arrived at New York Naval Shipyard for inactivation. The ship was complete by 1942, and after sea trials, was commissioned in 1943. What Happened to the USS New Jersey Battleship? Artillery sites neutralized 19 [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. She reported there 22 January for duty with the United States Fifth Fleet, and three days later rendezvoused with Task Group 58.2 for the assault on the Marshall Islands. 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 After a brief retention in the mothball fleet, she was donated to the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, and has served as a museum ship there since 15 October 2001. She returned to Norfolk 7 January 1956 for the spring program of training operations. 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. Secondary explosions 46 Through the summer months, New Jersey's crew toiled to make her ready for another deployment, and deficiencies discovered on the gun line were remedied. New Jersey responded by firing six 16inch rounds at the site, destroying it. Navy. On 13 March the battleship departed the gunline bound for Subic Bay. The Reagan Administration decided to dispatch New Jersey, a decision the Marines cheered. - YouTube 0:00 / 13:31 Battleship NJ Sinks an Island! [8], In 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea, prompting the United States to intervene in the name of the United Nations. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Bayonne 21 August 1957. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE HOME PORT ALLIANCE FOR THE USS NEW JERSEY, INC. Chairman Dennis Levitt Vice-Chairman Lisa Conti Treasurer Tom Reilly Secretary Robert DelSordo, Esq. New Jersey's big guns went to work on the complex, firing 16inch shells into tunnels and bunkers to aid the ground troops. [60] This cleared New Jersey for placement on the National Register of Historic Places, a list to which New Jersey was officially added in 2004. [35] United States Navy warships shelled Druze positions and helped the Lebanese Army hold the town of Suk El Gharb until a cease-fire was declared on 25 September, on which day the battleship New Jersey arrived on the scene. On 26 December New Jersey returned to the gunline, taking up station off Tuy Ha in support of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 47th Regiment. 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. 10 to 2 pm EVENING ENGINE ROOM GUIDED TOUR Descend into the armored citadel of the ship for a 90-minute, family friendly, guided, walking tour of the most powerful engineering plant ever installed on a battleship. New Jersey sailed for Europe once more 27 August as flagship of Vice Admiral Charles Wellborn Jr., Commander United States Second Fleet. [37] On 8 February 1984, New Jersey fired almost 300 shells at Druze and Shi'ite positions in the hills overlooking Beirut. 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. 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. On 22 February New Jersey responded to an urgent request for fire support from the besieged Oceanview observation post near the DMZ. 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. The USS New Jersey (BB-62) was an Iowa-class battleship that entered service in 1943 and saw combat in World War II and later fought in Korea and Vietnam. [14] As with the other battleships of TF 38, skillful seamanship brought New Jersey through the storm largely unscathed. [8] Another highly satisfactory day was 16 October, when the spotter over the Kansong area reported "beautiful shooting every shot on target-most beautiful shooting I have seen in five years." Declassified 23 April 1980. For the next six hours New Jersey fired her guns, ultimately repelling the attacking force. [28], Because New Jersey had been recalled for service in the Vietnam War her modernization differed from her sisters for a number of reasons. This was to allow the Japanese Center Force to enter the gulf through San Bernardino Strait. It had been turned back in a stunning defeat when she arrived. Find Uss New Jersey stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. For the next two days the battleship concentrated her fire at Viet Cong storage areas near Qung Ngi, destroying 182structures and 54bunkers, inflicting heavy damage to 93structures, and demolishing several tunnel complexes before departing for Point Betsy near Hue 27 November to support the 101st Airborne Division. Laid down in 1940 the USS New Jersey BB-62 was launched on December 7 1942 just a year after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Preliminary modernizations schemes included the removal of four of the ten 5inch gun mounts on New Jersey to make room for the armored box launchers that would be required to carry and launch the BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles. "Big Wisky" - 12 Amazing Facts About the Battleship USS Wisconsin Family Finds One-Ton Battleship Shell | USS New Jersey in Vietnam On 31 May 1967 the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara authorized a study aimed at determining what would be required to get New Jersey reactivated in her present condition, and when the results of the submitted study proved favorable toward the reactivation he took action. 3 16in gun turret (located aft of the superstructure). Truman also sent U.S. based troops, tanks, fighter and bomber aircraft, and a strong naval force to Korea to support the Republic of Korea. CREATIVE. Battleship NJ Sinks an Island! - YouTube Powder lots (an individual production of powder) burn at different rates. Songjin provided targets 23 April. This shelling was in response to attacks on U.S. reconnaissance planes by Syrian/Druze antiaircraft batteries.[38]. Just a $50 donation to fire a salute! As the Republic of Korea's First Division hurled itself on the enemy, shore fire control observers saw New Jersey's salvos hit directly on enemy mortar emplacements, supply and ammunition dumps, and personnel concentrations. The museum also operates a YouTube channel where curators educate viewers on various historical details, facts, and the service history of the ship. Full History - Battleship New Jersey [36], On 16 September 1983 Druze forces massed on the threshold of Suk El Gharb, a village defended by the Lebanese Army. 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. The next day New Jersey engaged targets of opportunity, destroying 11 structures, seven bunkers, a concrete observation tower, and an enemy trench line. Members of this camp allege that this action forced a shift in the previously neutral U.S. forces by convincing local Lebanese Muslims that the United States had taken the Christian side;[40][41] New Jersey's shells had killed hundreds of people, mostly Shiites and Druze. [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. [8], New Jersey ranged far and wide from 30 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 on her last cruise as Admiral Halsey's flagship. Air spotters reported Yangyang abandoned at the end of this action, while railroad facilities and vehicles were smashed at Kansong.