USS New Mexico (BB-40)

USS New Mexico (BB-40) was the lead ship of the New Mexico-class battleship and a significant evolution in United States Navy capital ship design. Commissioned in the final months of World War I, she served as a frontline battleship for nearly three decades, modernized extensively in the 1930s. Her career culminated in intense combat across the Pacific Theater during World War II, where she earned multiple battle stars for her service.

Design and description

The design of *New Mexico* represented a major advance over the preceding Pennsylvania-class battleship, introducing a distinctive "clipper" bow and a modernized secondary battery layout. Her most revolutionary feature was the adoption of General Electric turbo-electric drive propulsion, which offered superior fuel economy and operational flexibility compared to traditional geared steam turbines. Main armament consisted of twelve 14-inch/50-caliber guns mounted in four triple gun turrets, with protection provided by an advanced all or nothing armor scheme focused on the citadel. Her initial anti-aircraft suite was minimal, reflecting pre-World War I design priorities that would be radically altered by later modernizations.

Construction and career

Her keel was laid down at the New York Navy Yard on 14 October 1915, and she was launched on 13 April 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. Commissioned on 20 May 1918 under Captain Ashley H. Robertson, she joined the Atlantic Fleet but saw no combat before the Armistice of 11 November 1918. During the interwar period, *New Mexico* operated with both the Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet, participating in extensive fleet exercises and goodwill cruises, including a notable visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1925. She underwent a comprehensive reconstruction from 1931 to 1933 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, receiving new oil-fired boilers, an armored "pagoda mast", enhanced deck armor, and a modernized anti-aircraft battery.

World War II

Stationed at Pearl Harbor with the Pacific Fleet in 1941, *New Mexico* was fortuitously away for an overhaul on the U.S. West Coast during the attack on Pearl Harbor. She quickly returned to service, providing naval gunfire support for the Aleutian Islands Campaign at Attu and Kiska. In 1943, she supported landings in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign at Makin and Kwajalein. Her most intense service began with the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, where she bombarded Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. During the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines, she survived a kamikaze attack that caused significant casualties. In 1945, she provided crucial fire support during the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa, where she was struck by another kamikaze and a Japanese artillery shell, suffering heavy damage and casualties, including the death of her commanding officer, Captain Robert W. Fleming.

Post-war and fate

Following repairs at Pearl Harbor, *New Mexico* was tasked with transporting home American servicemen as part of Operation Magic Carpet. After this duty, she was decommissioned at Boston Navy Yard on 19 July 1946. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 February 1947, she was sold for scrap to the Lipsett Division of Luria Brothers on 13 October 1947.

Awards

For her extensive wartime service, USS *New Mexico* was awarded six battle stars for her actions in World War II. These recognized her participation in the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Philippines campaign (1944–1945), the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the Battle of Okinawa.

Category:New Mexico-class battleships Category:Ships built in Brooklyn Category:World War I battleships of the United States Category:World War II battleships of the United States