USS New Jersey (BB-62)

USS New Jersey (BB-62)
Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT · Public domain · source
Ship name	USS New Jersey (BB-62)
Caption	USS New Jersey underway, 1984
Country	United States
Shipyard	Philadelphia Navy Yard
Laid down	16 February 1940
Launched	7 December 1942
Commissioned	23 May 1943
Builder	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Fate	Museum ship at Camden, New Jersey
Class	Iowa-class battleship
Displacement	45,000 long tons (full load)
Length	887 ft (270 m)
Beam	108 ft (33 m)
Draft	37 ft (11 m)
Propulsion	Steam turbines, 212,000 shp
Speed	33 knots
Complement	2,700 officers and enlisted

USS New Jersey (BB-62) was the second completed Iowa-class battleship of the United States Navy and one of the most decorated American capital ships of the 20th century. Commissioned in 1943, she served in the World War II Pacific War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and again in the 1980s during the Reagan administration's naval buildup and Lebanon shore bombardment. Preserved as a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey, she symbolizes US naval power and 20th-century surface combatant evolution.

Design and Construction

Designed under the constraints of interwar treaties and precedents established by the Utah Treaty-era limitations, the Iowa-class battleship program prioritized high speed, heavy armor, and powerful main battery armament. Keel-laying at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began on 16 February 1940; construction combined lessons from predecessors such as the North Carolina-class battleship and the South Dakota-class battleship. Her propulsion plant produced 212,000 shp allowing 33-knot flank speed to operate alongside fast carrier task forces like Task Force 58 and Task Force 38. The main battery comprised nine 16-inch/50 caliber guns in three triple turrets, a design lineage traceable to earlier Standard-type battleship doctrines and advances demonstrated by ships such as USS Iowa (BB-61) and HMS King George V. Armor scheme and compartmentalization reflected wartime survivability improvements influenced by experiences at Pearl Harbor and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

Service History

After shakedown and training, she joined Pacific Ocean operations in late 1943, escorting carrier groups including USS Essex (CV-9) and participating in strikes against Rabaul, Truk, and the Philippine Sea operations. In 1944–45 she provided naval gunfire support for Leyte Gulf operations and escorted carrier raids during the Battle of Leyte Gulf period. Postwar she supported occupation duties in Tokyo Bay and operations during demobilization. Recommissioned for the Korean War in 1951, she conducted shore bombardment in support of United Nations forces along the Korean Peninsula and engaged targets near Wonsan. Decommissioned again in the late 1950s, she was reactivated for Vietnam War service in 1968–69 to provide naval gunfire support for operations near Quảng Trị and other coastal fire support missions for III Marine Expeditionary Force. In the 1980s under the 1980s naval rearmament program, she returned to service, firing missiles and guns in support of operations off Lebanon in 1983–84 and conducting training and deterrence patrols during heightened tensions with the Soviet Union.

Modernizations and Refits

Throughout her career New Jersey underwent multiple modernizations to integrate evolving weapons, sensors, and propulsion maintenance. Post-World War II refits improved anti-aircraft batteries with 40 mm and 20 mm systems influenced by lessons from Battle of Midway and later threats. The 1967–68 modernization for Vietnam included radar, fire-control upgrades, and improvements to habitability conforming to contemporary Naval Reactivation practices. The 1980s rebuild under the 1980s reactivation program installed armored box launchers for BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, updated electronic warfare suites, and modernized combat information centers compatible with systems aboard carriers such as USS Nimitz (CVN-68). Structural repairs and compartmental upgrades maintained hull integrity and propulsion reliability to meet sustained high-speed tasking with carrier battle groups.

Decommissioning and Museum Ship

Following the end of the Cold War and shifting defense priorities under the Base Realignment and Closure era, New Jersey was decommissioned for the final time in 1991. Transferred to the United States Naval Vessel Register in a caretaker status, she became a museum ship after preservation efforts led by state and private groups, culminating with berthing at Camden Waterfront adjacent to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. As a museum, she joins other preserved battleship museums such as USS Missouri (BB-63) and USS Wisconsin (BB-64), offering public tours, educational programs, and artifacts illustrating naval history from World War II through the late Cold War.

Armament and Armour

New Jersey's primary armament was nine 16-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in three triple turrets capable of engaging shore and surface targets at extreme ranges, a development lineage shared with USS Missouri (BB-63). Secondary batteries included 5-inch/38 caliber dual-purpose guns for surface and anti-aircraft roles analogous to mounts on USS Enterprise (CV-6). Anti-aircraft armament evolved from 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon guns in World War II to modernized point-defense and missile systems in the 1980s, including Phalanx CIWS installations on contemporaries. Armor protection combined a robust belt, deck armor, and heavily armored turrets consistent with all-or-nothing armor principles applied since the Dreadnought era; internal subdivision and torpedo defense systems reflected incremental improvements made after engagements such as the Battle of Jutland informed naval architects who influenced American battleship design.

Awards and Legacy

New Jersey earned multiple awards for combat service, including Presidential Unit Citation-level recognition equivalents in various campaign streamers from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and commendations related to Lebanon operations. Her legacy influences naval historiography covering capital ship roles, power projection, and surface-to-shore fire support; scholars compare her operational record with contemporaries like HMS Belfast and IJN Yamato in analyses of battleship utility. As a museum, she contributes to public understanding of 20th-century naval warfare, engineering, and veterans' service, preserving material culture connected to major events such as Doolittle Raid-era carrier operations and Cold War naval diplomacy.

Category:Iowa-class battleships Category:Museum ships in New Jersey Category:Ships built in Philadelphia Category:World War II battleships of the United States