The State of New Jersey agreed to back whichever group could win approval from the Navy. The work to recommission the New Jersey was performed in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she had been built. USS New Jersey Aircraft Historical Marker - hmdb.org The Home Port Alliance for the Battleship New Jersey sought to return the ship to Camden near Philadelphia where she had been built. Unable to prevent the New Jerseys battle group from patrolling these international waters off Siberia, the Soviet Union shadowed her with a cruiser and frigates, and buzzed her with patrol aircraft, bombers, and helicopters. Superlatively well done.. These missile batteries gave the New Jersey long-range strike capability against naval and land targets. On May 6, 1945, USS New Jersey arrived for overhaul at Navy Yard Puget Sound in Bremerton, Washington. Login| Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy, by Craig L. Symmonds, @ 1995 by Craig L. Symmonds, Published by Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. Search crew members| She became the flagship of the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean fleet commanded by Admiral Richard Close-In Conolly, who had supported amphibious invasions in the Atlantic and Pacific. Full History - Battleship New Jersey Ships With Crew Members Going Ashore In Vietnam - VetsHQ Much of the ship is still in its original 1943 condition, with other areas showcasing the upgraded weaponry and electronics installed in 1982. After fighting enemy ships and planes, escorting carriers, and bombarding hostile islands across the Pacific, they carried home thousands of American troops. Other ports/arrival records Volume VIII, New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944-August 1944, @ 1953 Samuel Eliot Morison. Six new battleships (BB-55 through BB-60) of the North Carolina and South Dakota classes would be launched in 1940-42 and fought in World War II. On the way back to Majuro, the New Jersey escorted carriers striking the Japanese vessels and aircraft remaining at Truk on April 29-30 and helped down two Japanese planes attacking the fleet. These records are not available online. DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. ARDIE ARVIDSON, MORNING NEWS Ed Spivey is a United States Navy veteran of World. On June 6, 1944, the New Jersey, Iowa, and the 642 smaller ships of Admiral Spruances Fifth Fleet sailed from Majuro for the Marianas. The New Jersey promptly pitched in on May 19, shelling Kansong just above the Parallel to interdict enemy supplies. USS New Jerseys 16-inch shells could not be shot down and had no pilot who could be taken prisoner. The Battle for Leyte Gulf, The Incredible Story of World War IIs Largest Naval Battle, by C. Vann Woodward, @ 2007, 2013, 2017 Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., Published by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc, New York, NY. For the same reasons, the 19 slower battleships that fought in World War II were decommissioned by 1947. Commissioned in May 1943, she spent the rest of that year in the western Atlantic. Killed in Action | USS Franklin Museum Association Avenger torpedo bombers sank Ozawas flagship Zuikaku, the last surviving carrier from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Microsoft In addition to Spruances Fifth Fleet and Halseys Third Fleet, the New Jersey subsequently served as flagship for the occupation of Japan, the post-war Eastern Atlantic & Mediterranean Fleet, the Seventh Fleet during the Korean War, and the Second Fleet during the Cold War. | Aft and amidships, the ship was fitted with eight quadruple Mark 143 Armored Box Launchers to fire thirty-two Tomahawk missiles. These line of battle ships or battleships were the mainstays of their fleets and decided the fate of empires. Below that is a splinter deck of 0.625 inches. USS New Jerseys electronics systems also evolved, sprouting different antennae on her superstructure over time. By contrast, the next day, D-Day, Allied ships carried 160,000 soldiers only 50 miles across the English Channel, supported by nearby English ports and airbases. On August 1, during the Republican National Convention, General Norman Schwarzkopf, victor of Desert Storm, gave a nationally televised address to veterans from the deck of this great battleship New Jersey that made so much history and witnessed so much heroism.. I point out that the Thanh Hoa bridge was only 12 miles inland, well within the range of the 16-inch guns on the Iowa-class battleships. Moreover, the 16-inch guns would allow the New Jersey to support the troops while out of range of shore batteries that were damaging cruisers firing 8-inch guns. Leyte Operations, 7. As Admiral Halsey turned my back on the opportunity I had dreamed of since my days as a cadet, taking the New Jersey and Task Force 34 south, smaller Third Fleet ships kept going north to attack Admiral Ozawas battered force. USS New Jersey and Admiral Spruance reunited at Majuro. was the best year of my life. USS New Jersey better showed what she could do on February 8, 1984, when she carried out the heaviest shore bombardment since the Korean War. AD. USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) Crew Roster. He was the only sailor ever killed in action on the New Jersey throughout the many conflicts in which she participated over her four commissionings. Prior to the end of construction, the ships crew began arriving to learn the equipment they would operate. Cruising off El Salvador, she was visited by its President as well as Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Second Fleet Commander Joseph Metcalf III. The task force was subjected to a flurry of attacking bombers and kamikazes, including the first use of rocket-powered piloted flying bombs. In World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, and the Persian Gulf, the New Jersey earned a total of 19 Battle and Campaign stars, making her the most decorated battleship in American history, the most of any surviving U.S. Navy ship, and the second-most decorated ship in American history. The Conquering Tide, War in the Pacific Islands 1942-44, by Ian W. Toll, @ 2015 Ian W. Toll, Published by W.W. Norton & Co., New York, NY. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); There are 465 crew members registered for the USS New Jersey (BB 62). 1982 Wives and children of Navy personnel, as well as civilians, can be found among passengers as well. Meanwhile, on May 27, 1945, Admiral Spruance yielded command of the main Pacific Fleet to Admiral Halsey, who was told his flagship would be Missouri. Her main battery sent 288 16-inch rounds 15 miles inland, silencing artillery positions shelling Beirut, and killing the general commanding Syrian forces in Lebanon. The New Jersey also fired her 5-inch guns in support of the Marines ashore on several occasions. It truly was an awsome ship, it was an honor to be a part of the decom crew. She was then floated pier side where a huge crane could aid in the final stages of construction, including the installation of the three massive, armored gun turrets and much of the topside equipment. This site's Ships Log nearly That same day, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died. [TF 34] IS WITH OUR CARRIERS NOW ENGAGING ENEMY CARRIERS, but that coded message took two hours to reach Kinkaid and was not sent to Admiral Nimitz. The New Jersey shot down at least one of the hundreds of planes downed by American ships and planes. Sixteen of them, with white-painted hulls, comprised President Theodore Roosevelts Great White Fleet that circumnavigated the world in 1907-09, announcing Americas arrival as a global naval power. Missouri opened as a museum in 1999. New President Richard Nixon declined to retaliate, and four days later, the New Jersey was ordered home, arriving at Long Beach on May 5, after an eight-month cruise. The New Jersey charged forward at over 30 knots and fired her 16-inch guns straight ahead, the speeding ship recoiling with each blast. On September 16, President Rhee presented the Korean Presidential Unit Citation to the Seventh Fleet and Admiral Clark. Ultimately, the rear 16-inch turret was retained, and was put to good use. After the Battle for Leyte Gulf, USS New Jersey picked up downed fliers and Japanese sailors in the water. This still left the New Jersey with twelve 5-inch guns gunpower unmatched by any ship in the Navy other than the other Iowa-class ships. And with a speed of 35 knots, the New Jersey will be among the fastest ships afloat.. Wisconsin and Missouri were decommissioned in September 1991 and March 1992, respectively. The Joint Chiefs of Staff took the unusual step of rotating almost half of the New Jerseys crew while she remained on station off Lebanon, using helicopters and landing craft. Thus, the Leyte landing occurred before Imperial Japan could train enough naval pilots and reunite its fleet. Iowa and Wisconsin were decommissioned in early 1958 and laid up in Philadelphia. Naval Personnel Command In October and November, she ranged far north up the North Korean coast, bombarding Hungnam, Hamhung, Iwon, Tanchon, Songjin, and Chongjin, almost within 16-inch range of Siberia. President Reagan ordered the Marines to withdraw to their ships. USS New Jersey and the other Iowa-class ships were the result and the crowning achievement of centuries of naval history. Please keep in mind that this list does only include records of people who submitted their information for publication on this website. Signed up the help maintain this historic ship after retiring from the IBM Corporation. Halsey could see the distant fight from the New Jersey the only surface action he eve witnessed but the New Jersey and Iowa never fired a shot. On September 16, 1940, with the war in Europe already a year old, the New Jersey was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls); Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C. She was reactivated to fight in the Korean War, and again to fight in the Vietnam War, when she was the worlds only operating battleship. President Bill Clinton had all the battleships struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1995, but Congress in 1996 required that two battleships be reinstated to the reserve fleet so they could be reactivated if needed for amphibious operations. The battleline fulfilled the role assigned by Admiral Spruance of protecting the carriers by downing most of the attackers with virtually impenetrable antiaircraft fire, while sustaining minimal injury. This is the Navy, here, the real Navy.. The Soviet Union was pressured by President Reagans foreign policy initiatives and expansion of the Navy (which peaked at 594 ships), and challenged by East European discontent, Afghan resistance, and economic deterioration at home. Note: Distribution of this information by the Department of the Navy does not constitute endorsement by the Department of the Navy of the information or services from the firms, organizations, and websites listed hereafter. In August, the New Jersey became Admiral Charles Wellborns flagship for the Second Fleet and NATOs Striking Fleet Atlantic. On April 7, while still hundreds of miles from Okinawa, Yamato and several escorts were sunk by 280 American planes from the carriers, while the New Jersey protected the carriers from attacking aircraft. Recommissioning was completed on budget and ahead of schedule. Star-Studded War History As a new and powerful battleship, USS New Jersey was placed in reserve. Nonetheless, befitting a ship that survived so many crises, the New Jersey opened as a museum and memorial on October 14. Halseys attacks devastated Japanese airpower on Luzon and stemmed the tide of kamikazes, which had sunk 24 ships and damaged 67 others in the Seventh Fleet carrying MacArthurs Army. After joining the Third Fleet for wargames, USS New Jersey departed Long Beach on June 9, 1983, for what was scheduled to be a three-and-a-half-month deployment to the Far East. It demonstrated to the Soviets the renewed power of the Navy in the Pacific, highlighted by a simultaneous live fire demonstration by the New Jersey and Missouri. She had helped carry the American advance thousands of miles from the edge of the Japanese outer defensive perimeter in the Marshalls to the doorstep of Japan itself. It towered like a skyscraper and stretched away, seemingly for blocks, on either side, hiding the atoll. Looking at the majestic main deck of the New Jersey, the Caines officers see the New Jerseys pelican hook was as big as the Caines main guns; one link of the battleships anchor chain would have stretched across the minesweepers entire bow; and the main battery, the long, long cannons with their turrets, seemed bigger than the whole Caine. The great central citadel of the bridge and stacks jutted out of the deck skyward, a pyramid of metal, nervous with anti-aircraft batteries and radars; the deck dwindled aft beyond it for hundreds of feet. With only the Missouri still active, a call went out for more battleship support, and USS New Jersey was the first to answer. The mothballing process was reversed, and a new crew trained. Franks was severely damaged, and her captain killed by collision with the battleships anchor. Admiral Gerald Bogan, commander of one of Halseys carrier groups, used TBS to contact the New Jersey and reiterate his night scouting pilots had seen that Admiral Kuritas force was again heading toward San Bernardino Strait and that the Japanese had turned on the straits navigation lights. Reality was worse. The result should have been the slaughter of the slow escort carriers and their tiny escorts. By the late 1990s two distinct groups had emerged as potential stewards of the historic warship. That means it lobbed 5,866 sixteen-inch shells and 14,891 five-inch shells. Other American planes sank two light carriers and a destroyer and crippled another light carrier and a light cruiser. At her launch 29 October, she was sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite Chevalier, wife of LCdr. Meanwhile, Navy reconnaissance flights had been fired on over Syrian-controlled areas of Lebanon. The ship was built in 1921 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., of Camden, New Jersey, as SS Blue Hen State, but was renamed President Garfield in 1923 and then SS President Madison in 1940 for service with American President Lines.