The tonnages of the ships involved and of the ships sunk were greater than in any other naval battle, and it was fought over an area larger than the Northeast United States. U.S. Navy Photo, National Archives number 80-G . The planned 1.1-inch/75-caliber quadruple mounted Chicago Piano guns were shelved during construction. 06/25/2012 two2scoops@aol.com Ernest Caltenback. And USS New Jersey was at the heart of it all, its flag plot the room where it happened.. On USS New Jersey, Admiral Halsey credited his pilots post-strike reports and concluded Admiral Kuritas force had suffered so much topside damagethat it could not win a decision and could be left to Kinkaid. Halsey later stated that it seemed childish to me to guard statically San Bernardino Strait. He believed Kuritas fleet had been so heavily damaged in the Sibuyan Sea that it could no longer be considered a serious menace to the Seventh Fleet. Moreover, Halsey was determined not to allow any ships in the Japanese carrier force to escape so he would not be accused of being super-cautious like Admiral Spruance in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. 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. USS New Jersey was selected as to participate in the Navys first midshipman training to Europe since 1938. Winds up to 100 knots blew destroyers around like corks. On June 30, 1948, USS New Jersey was decommissioned at Bayonne in a ceremony headed by four-star Admirals H. Kent Hewitt and Thomas Kinkaid, who had led amphibious invasions in the European and Pacific Theaters, respectively. The Official Other ports/arrival records Her 55,000 sq. Speeding north in USS New Jersey, Admiral Halsey did not receive Kinkaids 0707 message until 0822. The New Jersey then headed for the newly occupied fleet base at Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands. Volume XII, Leyte, June 1944-January 1945, @ 1958 Samuel Eliot Morison. Meanwhile, USS New Jersey led Iowa, two cruisers, and four destroyers in a sweep around Truk to engage Japanese vessels attempting to escape. Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History 11th of April please use the following link and you will find the details and all events of this day in the following you will find some of the events. On September 23, 2001, USS New Jersey was moved to her permanent berth at her new ceremonial pier on the Camden waterfront facing Philadelphia. He described her as still in the prime of life, a Gallant Lady, the New Jersey. Recommissioning the New Jersey was the centerpiece of his 600-ship Navy program that helped convince the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. Almost the entire ship is open for tours, including her main turrets, bridge, flag bridge, some of her engineering spaces, main deck and helipad, bunks, and her central corridor so long it was called Broadway. After winning the Spanish-American War with these battleships, America built new battleships (BB-5 through BB-25) with greater endurance and displacement up to 16,000 tons. The ceremonies were limited by security concerns after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. President Ronald Reagan asserted a stronger response was necessary, including building a 600-ship Navy. The Japanese returned fire but missed. 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. Almost seven hundred Japanese planes attacked the fast carriers and invasion fleet, and the giant battleship Yamato and escorts embarked on a one-way attack aimed at Okinawa. The propulsion system on USS New Jersey incorporated eight Babcock and Wilcox three-drum double-furnace express-type boilers with an operating pressure of 565 PSI at a temperature of 850 degrees Fahrenheit. Register and add yourself to the Crew List of the USS New Jersey (BB 62), Report an offensive or inappropriate entry, I was part of the the decmission crew. Iowa Class Battleships, Their Design, Weapons; & Equipment, by Robert F. Sumrall, @ 1988 Robert F. Sumrall, Published by US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD. Avenger torpedo bombers sank Ozawas flagship Zuikaku, the last surviving carrier from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. . By 1010, his force sank two destroyers, a destroyer escort, and the escort carrier Gambier Bay the first carrier to be sunk in the Pacific by enemy gunfire. The three-turret layout for the main battery remained the same but the size of the main guns was increased from 16-inch/45 caliber to 16-inch/50-caliber, meaning the guns were 80 inches longer and their shells would travel almost a mile further. In August, the New Jersey became Admiral Charles Wellborns flagship for the Second Fleet and NATOs Striking Fleet Atlantic. Tickets are still available for the @battleshipnj 's Evening Engine Room Guided Tour, Friday, March 3 at 6pm. G-2 The Best Turret ( just kidding) Battleship Gunners mates are the best, i loved being on the jersey though i hated my job and some people went out of their way too make my life miserablei loved the ship and enjoyed the travel i think of my time on the jersey almost every day please email me guys at stealthywizard@hotmai. She helped shoot down twenty Japanese warplanes and kamikazes, and rescued downed American pilots. The Home Port Alliance for the Battleship New Jersey sought to return the ship to Camden near Philadelphia where she had been built. With the fighting ended in Korea, the New Jersey visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, where Wisconsin relieved her as Seventh Fleet flagship on October 14, 1953. Spruance used the New Jersey as his flagship until April 10. As seen from the side, the turret's 0.75" STS backing plates are installed. Contrary to their assumption, USS New Jersey and the other ships earmarked for Task Force 34 were still part of the three carrier groups and were sailing north with Admiral Halsey. That two such massive amphibious invasions could be launched simultaneously on opposite sides of the globe was an impressive tribute to the Allied war effort. Yamatos nine 18.1-inch guns, the largest ever on a ship, could fire 3,219-pound shells over 25 miles. Over 33 million records are contained in this database. The New Jersey is the only one of Spruances flagships still in existence. Spruances orders were precise, Halseys were inspirational. Volume XIII, The Liberation of the Philippines, 1944-1945, @ 1959 Samuel Eliot Morison. Expert researcher and WWII historian Bill Beigel will conduct a thorough search of deck logs, squadron after action reports, and other records, concerning units and individuals who served in the Navy in World War II. On a diplomatic mission after the formation of the Warsaw Pact, the New Jersey visited feuding NATO allies Greece and Turkey, and was the first U.S. warship to visit Trieste after its restoration to Italy from nonaligned Yugoslavia. The New Jersey still has her full complement of Phalanxes. from the e-mails and entries made in the Ships Log, many of the visitors to She went to the Atlantic in 1947 and made one midshipmen's training cruise to Europe before decommissioning in June 1948. On March 14, 1945, Admiral Spruance took USS New Jersey and the Fifth Fleets carriers for renewed airstrikes on Japan, hitting warships and airfields. On July 27, she left behind Bremerton and the mothballed Missouri. President Reagan ordered the Marines to withdraw to their ships. The initial American response to these escalatory measures was to resume construction of battleships displacing 35-38,000 tons with nine 16-inch/45-caliber guns, but with greater speed and endurance. While the aircraft carrier remains the foundation of American naval power, the battleship will today be the sovereign of the seas. On October 18, 1943, many months ahead of schedule, USS New Jersey was ready for duty. Both the Harpoon and the Tomahawk launch using a rocket booster and then achieved their long ranges using a jet engine. There on April 12, 1954, she hosted the Atlantic Fleet change of command ceremony, presided over by now-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Carney. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos. Meanwhile, ex-Governor and future Presidential candidate Harold Stassen surveyed USS New Jersey as a potential flagship for Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. Admiral Spruance had felt the New Jerseys flag quarters were spacious, but they were not large enough for Admiral Halseys enormous staff. This was the New Jerseys third recommissioning still a Navy record. USS South Dakota was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at the Camden, NJ dock works and launched on June 7, 1941 - the very site of the modern day museum dock for the battleship USS New Jersey. Thus, the Leyte landing occurred before Imperial Japan could train enough naval pilots and reunite its fleet. A group of Soviet surface ships, led by Kirov, heads for the East Coast but is confronted by a battle group led by the New Jersey. Wives and children of Navy personnel, as well as civilians, can be found among passengers as well. She fired continuously for hours when Marine outposts were surrounded and attacked by Communist troops, including on February 22-23 and March 31, 1969. Halsey muttered on the New Jerseys flag bridge: When I get my teeth into something, I hate to let go. Instead, he ordered the New Jersey and Task Force 34 to speed north towards Ozawas carriers, while ordering Admiral John S. McCain Sr.s distant carrier group to launch long-range airstrikes to aid Taffy 3. Day after day, kamikaze and conventional planes would attack. 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. USS New Jersey, World War II to the Persian Gulf, by Robert F. Dorr and Neil Leifer, @ 1988 Neil Leifer (under the title USS New Jersey the Navys Big Guns, From Mothballs to Vietnam), @ 2002 Neil Leifler, Published by MBI Publishing Company, St. Paul, MN. Design work for the Iowa class was premised on the recent South Dakota class and the calculations that a ship 108 wide and 860 long at the waterline would make the fastest possible hull form that could fit through the 110-wide Panama Canal. Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society After 1956, a list of the officers is usually included with the muster rolls. At 2022 Admiral Halsey sent a radio telegram from USS New Jersey to Admirals Nimitz and Kinkaid stating he was PROCEEDING NORTH WITH 3 GROUPS TO ATTACK CARRIER FORCE AT DAWN. Nimitz and Kincaid believed this referred only to Halseys three carrier groups and not to Task Force 34, which they again assumed was guarding San Bernardino Strait. Halsey did not think Kinkaid needed help from his fleet, which in any case was hundreds of miles away. Shortly after the New Jersey returned to Norfolk on October 15, the Cold War heated up, with Soviet tanks suppressing a revolt in Hungary. And with a speed of 35 knots, the New Jersey will be among the fastest ships afloat.. The Fleet at Flood Tide, America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-45, by James D. Hornfischer, @ 2016 James D. Hornfischer, Published by Bantam Books New York, NY. BB-62 - USS New Jersey - Booklet of General Plans, 1984, Iowa Class, bb62.pdf (10 MB PDF) . On September 8, 1944, Admiral Halsey on USS New Jersey joined up with the Third Fleets fast carriers. From January 10 to 20, 1945, Admiral Halsey in USS New Jersey took the Third Fleet into the South China Sea, a Japanese bastion. As the Fifth Fleets fast carrier task force had seven fleet carriers, eight light carriers, and 956 carrier aircraft, the resulting Battle of the Philippine Sea was the largest carrier battle in history. As Halsey put it: Instead of the stagecoach system of keeping the drivers and changing the horses, we changed drivers and kept the horses. It facilitated planning and confused Japanese Intelligence, but [i]t was hard on the horses, including the New Jersey, the only ship to serve as flagship for both Spruance and Halsey. 13 Jun 1945 : USS Wisconsin arrived at Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands for repairs. With several destroyers dangerously low on fuel and high in the water, Admiral Halsey ordered refueling to continue. members belong to the USS New Jersey Historical Museum Society. This online edition of the Commission's Production Services Directory lists over 1,000 New Jersey professionals and servicesand a growing list of certified minority, women and veteran-owned businessesthat cater to the film, television and digital media industry. She also conducted fleet exercises with the Seventh Fleet. The New Jersey and her sister ships can outgun and outclass any rival platform. Japan committed to the attack all its modern battleships, including for the first time its treaty-busting battleships, Yamato and Musashi, with displacement exceeding 64,000 tons and 18.1-inch guns both the largest ever for a battleship. Commissioned in May 1943, she spent the rest of that year in the western Atlantic. From the New Jersey, Spruance commanded all naval forces in Japanese waters. On April 13, 1944, USS New Jersey and Admiral Spruances Central Pacific Force now renamed the Fifth Fleet steamed 2,000 miles west to support the amphibious offensive by General Douglas MacArthur and the Seventh Fleet against the Japanese in New Guinea. Moreover, USS New Jersey surpassed the other Iowa-class battleships as a flagship of Americas fleets. Clancys description of their shore bombardment vividly evokes the New Jerseys many fire support missions in four wars: As the massive sixteen-inch rifles turned slowly to starboard and fired their first salvo, obscuring the firing battleship in an orange flash, the Soviet commander whispers Mother of God. Already the guns were going through their thirty-second reload cycle. Two days later, Spruance took command and the Third Fleet again became the Fifth Fleet. The slipway then had to be lengthened by 325 feet and reinforced to accommodate the New Jersey which was 12% longer and 30% heavier. It was estimated she saved 100 lives every day she was on station. 30 Sep 1968 The battleship USS New Jersey fires its 16-inch guns into the demilitarized zone here 9/30. USS New Jersey and the Fifth Fleet weathered the most powerful kamikaze attacks of the war, with over 355 kamikazes and 340 other planes attacking on April 6-7, and 185 kamikazes and a hundred or more other planes on April 11-12, 1945. Halseys parting message from the New Jersey to the fleet accurately stated: We have driven the enemy off the sea and back to his inner defenses. Naval Personnel Command During the next two hours, Kinkaid sent repeated urgent messages to the New Jersey that his escort carriers were being attacked by four battleships, eight cruisers, and destroyers, and asking Halsey to launch airstrikes immediately and send Admiral Lee at top speed with his battleships, including the New Jersey, to prevent the Japanese from destroying the escort carriers and entering Leyte Gulf. Truk was Japans main fleet base outside of the Home Islands, had been fortified against naval and air attack, and was known as the Gibraltar of the Pacific. Spruance hoped to catch Japanese ships fleeing the attack, and he knew the New Jersey with her 33-knot speed and 16-inch guns would be at the center of the action. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Unsinkable Sailors: The Fall and Rise of the Last Crew of USS Frank E. Evans: Th at the best online prices at eBay! While USS New Jersey was readying again for action, 1968 had opened with the Tet offensive against cities throughout South Vietnam. 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. Nimitzs orders to Halsey required the New Jersey and the Third Fleet to cover and support MacArthurs invasion of Leyte and to destroy enemy naval and air forces in or threatening the Philippines area. But Halsey got the orders amended to add: In case opportunity for destruction of major portions of the enemy fleet is offered or can be created, such destruction becomes the primary task. Halsey invoked that loophole at the Battle for Leyte Gulf. The New Jersey relieved Missouri, which had relieved Iowa. Admiral Spruance on the New Jersey took tactical command of this force the first time a four-star Navy admiral was on a ship in a sea action. In all, the New Jersey fired an unbelievable 12 million pounds of munitions against the enemy in less than a year. Balao (AGSS-285) Balch (DD-363) Balduck (APD-132) Bancroft (DD-598) Bang (SS-385) Barnstable County (LST-1197) Barracuda (SST-3) Basilone (DD-824) Bayfield (APA-33) Bayonne (PF-21) Beale (DD-471/DDE-471) Bear (AG-29) Bearss (DD-654) Belknap (APD-34) Belknap (DLG-26) Bell (DD-587) Belle Grove (LSD-2) Belmont (AGTR-4) Belusan (IX-187) The Marianas were part of Japans defensive cordon, and Tokyo was only 1,200 miles away within bombing range if the Americans could capture Saipan and base the new B-29 Superfortress there. Although she had been deployed for much longer than planned, she could not be relieved as she was still the only active battleship; Iowa would not be reactivated until April 28, 1984. this site are former crewman, and often they are looking for old After the Caines officers abandon their effort to see Admiral Halsey, they watch USS New Jersey and other floating iron skyscrapers head off to support the landing on Mindoro as part of the most formidable sea force that the planet has ever borne. During the typhoon, the Caine sees the New Jersey trying to refuel a destroyer but the fueling line parts with the destroyer yawing violently near the battleship, trailing a snaky black hose. There he conferred with General MacArthurs staff and finalize plans for the next big operation: the landing at Leyte Island to begin the liberation of the Philippines, then an American Commonwealth occupied by Imperial Japan early in the war. What was scheduled to be a three-and-a-half-month deployment had turned out to be an eleven-month deployment, the longest deployment of any Navy ship since World War II.