Blast from the Past: Step Aboard USS New Jersey

            You can see her massive armament from across the river in Philadelphia. Those guns tell stories of American history in times of war. A visit to the USS New Jersey can teach you more than just military history, but all about those who called her home.

Docked in Camden, USS New Jersey weighs in at 43,000 tons and measures 888 feet from bow to stern. She is a massive awe-inspiring colossal warship.

The USS New Jersey is an Iowa-class battleship. Iowa-class battleships were larger, faster and delivered more fire power than other class battleships. Six were ordered by the Navy, but only four were delivered (Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and New Jersey).

 New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in Navy history, earning distinctions in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and conflicts in the Middle East. The New Jersey’s history spanned over half the 20th century, from her design in 1938 until her decommission in 1991.

She was launched on the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and went on to steam more miles, fight in more battles, and fire more shells than any other battleship in history.

The New Jersey also fought in the two largest naval battles of the Pacific War. First, in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. She helped throw up the impenetrable wall of antiaircraft fire which, with naval airpower decimated Japan’s forces in the Marianas Turkey Shoot. Second, she led the Navy’s main fleet in the Battle for Leyte Gulf, the largest sea battle of all time, which destroyed the Japanese fleet as a fighting force.

“The ship’s crew size varied over her career,” said Ryan Szimanski, Curator and Executive Director of the Historic Naval Ships Association. “It was designed to hold about 2,000 sailors. The maximum crew ended up to be about 2,700 during World War II because there was an admiral and his staff on board, and some new anti-aircraft guns had been added. By the 1980s it was down to 1,600 because all the old analog guns had been removed (it was now mostly pushbutton warfare, missiles etc.) By the 1980s we had also shifted to a smaller all-voluntary military.”

“The four Iowa-class were the only battleships fast enough to keep up with the fast carriers in World War II,” said Szimanski. The Iowa class battleships were designed for a top speed of 33 knots (37.97 mph) but New Jersey on at least one occasion reached 35.2 knots, (40.50 mph), making New Jersey the fastest battleship ever built.

“I’ve been told that the ship vibrated at that speed and that it would sink down with water coming over the fantail,” Szimanski said.

To enjoy this ship, take the 90-minute family friendly tour that takes guests through one of the battleship’s massive 16-inch gun turrets.

Visitors can stand in the armored gun house where the gun captain oversaw the reloading procedures, explore the magazines where one-ton shells and thousands of powder bags were stored. Visitors can even pull the triggers in the plotting room where primitive but effective computers aimed the guns over the horizon. It includes many hands-on elements that let you see and feel what it was like for a World War II crewmen to fire the ships guns.

   “There are 12 stories in the superstructure, but we limit the tour to five,” said  Szimanski.  Visitors can tour eight of the ships 19 decks. As they get higher in the superstructure or below decks, the stairs become vertical and difficult for some people to climb.

“Remarkably, only one sailor died of enemy action on board,” said Szimanski. “The ship’s armor protected her from just about everything. The sailor who died on board was on the main deck and was killed by shrapnel when a shell hit the armor and bounced off. There was one sailor who died of enemy action while he was on dry land. He happened to be in the Marine Corps barracks building in Beirut when it was bombed back in 1983.”

The Battleship New Jersey has the last working fire control computer working on a battleship caliber gun. Guests can see it when they take the guided tour. It’s called a Mk (Mark) 8 rangekeeper. The Mk 1 Ballistic Computer was the first rangekeeper that was referred to as a computer.

New Jersey has the longest tour route of any battleship. It’s a mile and a half long but that is spread out over eight decks.

   No Iowa-class battleship gave more distinguished service than USS New Jersey. She earned 19 Battle and Campaign stars, making her the most decorated battleship in American history, and the second-most decorated ship in American history. (The carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6), which the New Jersey frequently escorted, earned 20 battle stars in World War II but was scrapped after the war.)

USS New Jersey was in active service for over 21.5 years – 2.5 years more than Iowa, 5 years more than Missouri, and 8.5 years more than Wisconsin.

BB-62-2 43,000 tons moving at 35 knots was to be respected wherever New Jersey went. (Credit U.S. Navy)

 The New Jersey fired nearly twelve million pounds of shells in six months off Vietnam, where she saved thousands of American lives. According to one Marine Corps Commandant, she had a “tremendous psychological effect” on enemy troops: “nobody ever stood up to the New Jersey.” For six months, the New Jersey supported the beleaguered Marines in Lebanon with the unrivaled visible symbol of enormous power represented by the battleship.

To counter the Soviet military and naval expansion, the New Jersey led her three sisters into the Missile Age, adding cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and anti-missile weapons to their massive 16-inch guns and numerous 5-inch guns, making them the most formidable surface warships ever put to sea by the Navy. They were also the only ships for which nuclear projectiles were designed.

The modernization required to bring USS New Jersey in line with the technology of the 1980s was more expensive and extensive than her two prior recommissioning’s.

The main change was to remove four twin 5-inch/38-caliber gun turrets and replace them with launchers for the Navy’s new, powerful anti-ship and anti-surface missiles. These missile batteries gave the New Jersey long-range strike capability against naval and land targets.

Today, New Jersey continues her service as a living museum and memorial.

 “We offer a classroom program for schools and overnight programs for scout troops,” said Szimanski. “Scout troops, school groups, youth organizations and families can again spend a safe night aboard the Battleship. They’ll enjoy dinner and breakfast, experience a guided tour of the ship, take a chance to fire the saluting gun and sleep in the bunks that the crew of the USS New Jersey once did!”

Open seven days a week, rain or shine 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, USS New Jersey is available for anyone to visit. For more information about tours, email [email protected] or call 866-877-6262.