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Contents
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[edit] USS New Jersey (BB-62)
 USS New Jersey at sea in the Pacific during the Vietnam War |
|
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1 July 1939 |
| Laid down: | 16 September 1940 |
| Launched: | 7 December 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 23 May 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 8 February 1991 |
| Struck: | 17 March 2006 (incorrect) |
| Status: | Museum ship |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 45,000 tons |
| Length: | 887.2 ft (270 m) |
| Beam: | 108.2 ft (33 m) |
| Draft: | 28.9 ft (8.8 m) |
| Speed: | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,921 officers and men |
| Sensors and processing systems: | AN/SPS-49 Air Search Radar AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar AN/SPQ-9 Surface Search / Gun Fire Control Radar |
| Electronic warfare and decoys: | AN/SLQ-32 AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Decoy System 8 × Mark 36 SRBOC Super Rapid Bloom Rocket Launchers |
| Armament: | 1943: 9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns 20 × 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns 80 x 40 mm 56 cal. anti-aircraft guns 49 x 20 mm 70 cal. anti-aircraft guns 1968: 9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal Mark 7 guns 20 x 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal Mark 12 guns 1982: 9 x 16 in (406 mm) 50 cal. Mark 7 guns 12 × 5 in (127 mm) 38 cal. Mark 12 guns 32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles 16 x RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-Ship missiles 4 x 20 mm/76 cal. Phalanx CIWS |
| Armor: | Belt: 12.1 in (307 mm) Bulkheads: 11.3 in (287 mm) Barbettes: 11.6 to 17.3 in (295 to 439 mm) Turrets: 19.7 in (500 mm) Decks: 7.5 in (190 mm) |
USS New Jersey (BB-62), known as "Big J" and "Black Dragon", is an Iowa-class battleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Among the four completed Iowa-class battleships New Jersey is notable for having earned the most battle stars for her combat actions, and for being the only battleship of the class to have served a tour of duty in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
During World War II the New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa, and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall islands. During the Korean War she was involved in raids up and down the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned in to the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet". She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support U.S. troops before returning to the mothball fleet in 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy program, New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recomissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in U.S. operations during the Lebanese Civil War.
New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991, having earned a total of 15 battle stars for combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and a Navy Unit Commendation for service in Vietnam, and is now a museum ship at Camden, New Jersey.
[edit] Construction
New Jersey was one of the Iowa-class "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. She was launched on 12 December 1942 and commissioned on 23 May 1943. The ship was the second of the Iowa class to be commissioned by the US Navy.[1] The ship was christened at her launching by Mrs. Edison, wife of Governor Charles Edison of New Jersey, himself a former Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned at Philadelphia 23 May 1943, Captain Carl F. Holden in command.[2]
New Jersey’s main battery consisted of nine 16 inch (406 mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 naval guns, which could hurl 2,700 lbs armor piercing shells some 24 miles. Her secondary battery consisted of ten 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber guns, which could fire at targets up to 9 miles away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of allied aircraft carriers; to this end, New Jersey was fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns to defend allied carriers from enemy airstrikes. When reactivated in 1968 New Jersey had her 40 mm AA guns removed and was tailored for use as a heavy bombardment ship. When reactivated 1982 New Jersey had her remaining 20 mm guns and was outfitted with Phalanx CIWS mounts for protection against missiles and aircraft, and Armored Box Launchers and Quad Cell Launchers designed to fire Tomahawk missiles and Harpoon missiles, respectively.[3]
[edit] World War II
[edit] Shakedown and Service with the 5th Fleet, Admiral Spruance
New Jersey completed fitting out and trained her initial crew in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean. On 7 January 1944 she passed through the Panama Canal war-bound for Funafuti, Ellice Islands. She reported there 22 January for duty with the 5th Fleet, and three days later rendezvoused with Task Group 58.2 for the assault on the Marshall Islands. New Jersey screened the aircraft carriers from enemy attack as their planes flew strikes against Kwajalein and Eniwetok 29 January–2 February, softening up the latter for its invasion and supporting the troops who landed 31 January.[2]
New Jersey began her career as a flagship 4 February in Majuro Lagoon when Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commanding the 5th Fleet, broke his flag from her main. Her first action as a flagship was a bold two-day surface and air strike by her task force against the supposedly impregnable Japanese fleet base on Truk in the Carolines. This blow was coordinated with the assault on Kwajalein, and effectively interdicted Japanese naval retaliation to the conquest of the Marshalls. On 17 February and 18 February, the task force accounted for two Japanese light cruisers, four destroyers, three auxiliary cruisers, two submarine tenders, two submarine chasers, an armed trawler, a plane ferry, and 23 other auxiliaries, not including small craft. New Jersey destroyed a trawler and, with other ships, sank the destroyer Maikaze, as well as firing on an enemy plane which attacked her formation. The task force returned to the Marshalls 19 February.[2]
Between 17 March and 10 April, New Jersey first sailed with Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's flagship USS Lexington (CV-16) for an air and surface bombardment of Mille, then rejoined Task Group 58.2 for a strike against shipping in the Palaus, and bombarded Woleai. Upon his return to Majuro, Admiral Spruance transferred his flag to USS Indianapolis (CA-35).[2]
New Jersey's next war cruise, 13 April–4 May 1944, began and ended at Majuro. She screened the carrier striking force which gave air support to the invasion of Aitape, Tanahmerah Bay and Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, 22 April, then bombed shipping and shore installations at Truk 29 April–30 April. New Jersey and her formation splashed two enemy torpedo bombers at Truk. Her 16 inch salvos pounded Ponape 1 May, destroying fuel tanks, badly damaging the airfield, and demolishing a headquarters building.[2]
After rehearsing in the Marshalls for the invasion of the Marianas, New Jersey put to sea 6 June in the screening and bombardment group of Admiral Mitscher's Task Force. On the second day of preinvasion air strikes, 12 June, New Jersey downed an enemy torpedo bomber, and during the next two days her heavy guns battered Saipan and Tinian, throwing steel against the beaches the marines would charge 15 June.[2]
The Japanese response to the Marianas operation was an order to its mobile fleet: it must attack and annihilate the American invasion force. Shadowing American submarines tracked the Japanese fleet into the Philippine Sea as Admiral Spruance joined his task force with Admiral Mitscher's to meet the enemy. New Jersey took station in the protective screen around the carriers on 19 June 1944 as American and Japanese pilots dueled in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. That day and the next were to pronounce the doom of Japanese naval aviation; in this "Marianas Turkey Shoot", the Japanese lost some 400 planes. This loss of trained pilots and aircraft was equaled in disaster by the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carriers Taihō and Shōkaku by the submarines Albacore and Cavalla, respectively, and the loss of Hiyō to aircraft launched from the light aircraft carrier Belleau Wood. In addition to these losses, Allied forces succedded in damaging two Japanese carriers and a battleship. The anti-aircraft fire of New Jersey and the other screening ships proved virtually impenetrable. Only two American ships were damaged, and those but slightly. In this overwhelming victory only 17 American planes were lost to combat.[2]
[edit] Service with the 3rd Fleet, Admiral Halsey
New Jersey's final contribution to the conquest of the Marianas was in strikes on Guam and the Palaus from which she sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving 9 August. Here she broke the flag of Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.,[4] 24 August, becoming flagship of the 3rd Fleet. For the eight months after she sailed from Pearl Harbor (30 August), New Jersey was based at Ulithi. In this climactic span of the Pacific War, fast carrier task forces ranged the waters off the Philippines, Okinawa, and Formosa, striking again and again at airfields, shipping, shore bases, invasion beaches.[2]
In September the targets were in the Visayas and the southern Philippines, then Manila and Cavite, Panay, Negros, Leyte, and Cebu. Early in October raids to destroy enemy air power based on Okinawa and Formosa were begun in preparation for the Leyte landings of 20 October 1944.[2]
This invasion brought on the desperate, almost suicidal, last great sortie of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Its plan for the Battle of Leyte Gulf included a feint by a northern force of planeless heavy attack carriers to draw away the battleships, cruisers and fast carriers with which Admiral Halsey was protecting the landings. This was to allow the Japanese Center Force to enter the gulf through San Bernardino Strait. At the opening of the battle planes from the carriers guarded by New Jersey struck hard at both the Japanese Southern and Center Forces, sinking a battleship 23 October. The next day Halsey shaped his course north after the decoy force had been spotted. Planes from his carriers sank four of the Japanese carriers, as well as a destroyer and a cruiser, while New Jersey steamed south at flank speed to meet the newly developed threat of the Center force. It had been turned back in a stunning defeat when she arrived.[2]
New Jersey rejoined her fast carriers near San Bernardino 27 October 1944 for strikes on central and southern Luzon. Two days later, the force was under suicide attack. In a melee of anti-aircraft fire from the ships and combat air patrol, New Jersey shot down a plane whose pilot maneuvered it into the port gun galleries of USS Intrepid (CV-11), while machine gun fire from Intrepid wounded three of New Jersey's men. During a similar action 25 November three Japanese planes were splashed by the combined fire of the force, part of one flaming onto the flight deck of USS Hancock (CV-19). Intrepid was again attacked, shot down one would-be suicide, but was crashed by another despite hits scored on the attacker by New Jersey gunners. New Jersey shot down a plane diving on USS Cabot (CVL-28) and hit another which smashed into Cabot’s port bow.[2]
In December, New Jersey sailed with the Lexington (CV-16) task group for air attacks on Luzon 14 December–16 December; then found herself in the furious typhoon which sank three destroyers. Skillful seamanship brought her through undamaged. She returned to Ulithi on Christmas Eve to be met by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.[2]
[edit] Service with Battleship Division Seven, Admiral Badger
New Jersey ranged far and wide from 30 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 on her last cruise as Admiral Halsey's flagship. She guarded the carriers in their strikes on Formosa, Okinawa, and Luzon, on the coast of Indo-China, Hong Kong, Swatow and Amoy, and again on Formosa and Okinawa. At Ulithi 27 January Admiral Halsey lowered his flag in New Jersey, but it was replaced two days later by that of Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger II commanding Battleship Division 7.[2]
In support of the assault on Iwo Jima, New Jersey screened the USS Essex (CV-9) group in air attacks on the island 19 February–21 February, and gave the same crucial service for the first major carrier raid on Tokyo 25 February, a raid aimed specifically at aircraft production. During the next two days, Okinawa was attacked from the air by the same striking force.[2]
New Jersey was directly engaged in the conquest of Okinawa from 14 March until 16 April. As the carriers prepared for the invasion with strikes there and on Honshū, New Jersey fought off air raids, used her seaplanes to rescue downed pilots, defended the carriers from suicide planes, shooting down at least three and assisting in the destruction of others. On 24 March 1945 she again carried out the vital battleship role of heavy bombardment, preparing the invasion beaches for the assault a week later.[2]
During the final months of the war, New Jersey was overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, from which she sailed 4 July for San Pedro, Pearl Harbor, and Eniwetok bound for Guam. Here on 14 August she once again became flagship of the 5th Fleet under Admiral Spruance. Brief stays at Manila and Okinawa preceded her arrival in Tokyo Bay 17 September, where she served as flagship for the successive commanders of Naval Forces in Japanese waters until relieved 28 January 1946 by USS Iowa (BB-61). As part of the ongoing Operation Magic Carpet New Jersey took aboard nearly a thousand homeward-bound troops with whom she arrived at San Francisco 10 February.[2]
[edit] Post WWII (1946–1950)
After west coast operations and a normal overhaul at Puget Sound, New Jersey’s keel once more cut the Atlantic as she came home to Bayonne, New Jersey, for a rousing fourth birthday party 23 May 1947. Present were Governor Alfred E. Driscoll, former Governor Walter E. Edge and other dignitaries.[2]
Between 7 June and 26 August, New Jersey formed part of the first training squadron to cruise Northern European waters since the beginning of World War II. Over two thousand United States Naval Academy and NROTC midshipmen received sea-going experience under the command of Admiral Richard L. Connoly, Commander Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, who broke his flag in New Jersey at Rosyth, Scotland 23 June. She was the scene of official receptions at Oslo, where King Haakon VII of Norway inspected the crew 2 July, and at Portsmouth, England. The training fleet was westward bound 18 July for exercises in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic.[2]
After serving at New York as flagship for Rear Admiral Heber H. McClean, Commander, Battleship Division One, 12 September–18 October, New Jersey was inactivated at the New York Naval Shipyard. She was decommissioned at Bayonne 30 June 1948 and assigned to the New York Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.[2]
[edit] The Korean War (1950–1953)
New Jersey was recommissioned at Bayonne 21 November 1950, Captain David M. Tyree in command. In the Caribbean she welded her crew into an efficient body which would meet with distinction the demanding requirements of the Korean War. She sailed from Norfolk, Virginia 16 April 1951 and arrived from Japan off the east coast of Korea 17 May. Vice Admiral Harold M. Martin, commanding the 7th Fleet, placed his flag in New Jersey for the next six months.[2]
New Jersey’s guns opened the first shore bombardment of her Korean career at Wonsan 20 May. During her two tours of duty in Korean waters, she was again and again to play the part of seaborne mobile artillery. In direct support to United Nations troops; or in preparation for ground actions, in interdicting Communist supply and communication routes, or in destroying supplies and troop positions, New Jersey hurled a weight of steel, fire far beyond the capacity of land artillery, moved rapidly and free from major attack from one target to another, and at the same time could be immediately available to guard aircraft carriers should they require her protection. It was on this first such mission at Wonsan that she received her only combat casualties of the Korean War. One of her men was killed and two severely wounded when she took a hit from a shore battery on her number one turret and received a near miss aft to port.[2]
Between 23 May and 27 May and again 30 May 1951, New Jersey pounded targets near Yangyang and Kansong, dispersing troop concentrations, dropping a bridge span, and destroying three large ammunition dumps. Air spotters reported Yangyang abandoned at the end of this action, while railroad facilities and vehicles were smashed at Kansong. On 24 May, she lost one of her helicopters when its crew pushed to the limit of their fuel searching for a downed aviator. They themselves were able to reach friendly territory and were later returned to their ship.[2]
With Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, and Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, Commander Naval Forces Far East aboard, New Jersey bombarded targets at Wonsan 4 June. At Kansong two days later she fired her main battery at an artillery regiment and truck encampment, with 7th Fleet aircraft spotting targets and reporting successes. On 28 July off Wonsan the battleship was again taken under fire by shore batteries. Several near misses splashed to port, but New Jersey’s precision fire silenced the enemy and destroyed several gun emplacements.[2]
Between 4 July and 12 July, New Jersey supported a United Nations push in the Kansong area, firing at enemy buildup and reorganization positions. As the, Republic of Korea's First Division hurled itself on the enemy, shore fire control observers saw New Jersey’s salvos hit directly on enemy mortar emplacements, supply and ammunition dumps, and personnel concentrations. New Jersey returned to Wonsan 18 July for an exhibition of perfect firing: five gun emplacements demolished with five direct hits.[2]
New Jersey sailed to the aid of troops of the Republic of Korea once more 17 August, returning to the Kansong area where for four days she provided harassing fire by night, and broke up counterattacks by day, inflicting a heavy toll on enemy troops. She returned to this general area yet again 29 August, when she fired in an amphibious demonstration staged behind enemy lines to ease pressure on the Republic of Korea's troops. The next day she started a three-day saturation of the Changjon area, with one of her own helicopters spotting the results: four buildings; destroyed, road junctions smashed, railroad marshaling yards afire, tracks cut and uprooted, coal stocks scattered, many buildings and warehouses set blazing.[2]
Aside from a brief break in firing 23 September to take aboard wounded from the Korean frigate Apnok (PF-62), damaged by gunfire, New Jersey was heavily engaged in bombarding the Kansong area, supporting the movement of the U.S. X Corps. The pattern again was harassing fire by night, destruction of known targets by day. Enemy movement was restricted by the fire of her big guns. A bridge, a dam, several gun emplacements, mortar positions, pillboxes, bunkers, and two ammunition dumps were demolished.[2]
On 1 October 1951, General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Matthew B. Ridgeway, Commander in Chief Far East, came on board to confer with Admiral Martin.[2]
Between 1 October and 6 October New Jersey was in action daily at Kansong, Hamhung, Hungnam, Tanchon, and Songjin. Enemy bunkers and supply concentrations provided the majority of the targets at Kansong; at the others New Jersey fired on railroads, tunnels, bridges, an oil refinery, trains, and shore batteries destroying with five-inch fire a gun that straddled her. The Kojo area was her target 16 October as she sailed in company with HMS Belfast, pilots from HMAS Sydney spotting. The operation was well-planned and coordinated, and excellent results were obtained.[2]
Another highly satisfactory day was 16 October, when the spotter over the Kansong area reported "beautiful shooting every shot on target-most beautiful shooting I have seen in five years." This five hour bombardment leveled ten artillery positions, and in smashing trenches and bunkers inflicted some 500 casualties.[2]
New Jersey dashed up the North Korean coast raiding transportation facilities from 1 November to 6 November. She struck at bridges, road and rail installations at Wonsan, Hungnam, Tanchon, Iowon, Songjin, and Chongjin, and left smoking behind her four bridges destroyed, others badly damaged, two marshaling yards badly torn up, and many feet of track destroyed. With renewed attacks on Kansong and near the Chang-San-Got Peninsula 11 November and 13 November, New Jersey completed this tour of duty.[2]
Relieved as flagship by USS Wisconsin (BB-64), New Jersey cleared Yokosuka for Hawaii, Long Beach and the Panama Canal, and returned to Norfolk 20 December for a six-month overhaul. Between 19 July 1952 and 5 September, she sailed as flagship for Rear Admiral H. R. Thurber, who commanded the NROTC midshipman training cruise to Cherbourg, Lisbon, and the Caribbean. Now New Jersey prepared and trained for her second Korean tour, for which she sailed from Norfolk 5 March 1953.[2]
Shaping her course via the Panama Canal, Long Beach, and Hawaii, New Jersey reached Yokosuka 5 April, and next day relieved USS Missouri (BB-63) as flagship of Vice Admiral Joseph H. Clark, Commander 7th Fleet. Chongjin felt the weight of her shells 12 April, as New Jersey returned to action; in seven minutes she scored seven direct hits, blowing away half the main communications building there. At Pusan two days later, New Jersey manned her rails to welcome the President of the Republic of Korea and Madame Rhee, and American Ambassador Ellis O. Briggs.[2]
New Jersey fired on coastal batteries and buildings at Kojo 16 April; on railway track and tunnels near Hungnam 18 April; and on gun emplacements around Wonsan Harbor 20 April, silencing them in five areas after she had herself take several near misses. Songjin provided targets 23 April. Here New Jersey scored six direct 16 inch (406 mm) hits on a railroad tunnel and knocked out two rail bridges.[2]
New Jersey added her muscle to a major air and surface strike on Wonsan 1 May, as 7th Fleet planes both attacked the enemy and spotted for the battleship. She knocked out eleven Communist shore guns that day, and four days later destroyed the key observation post on the island of Hodo Pando, commanding the harbor. Two days later Kalmagak at Wonsan was her target.[2]
Her tenth birthday, 23 May 1953, was celebrated at Inchon with President and Madame Rhee, Lieutenant General Maxwell D. Taylor, and other dignitaries on board. Two days later New Jersey was all war once more, returning to the west coast at Chinampo to knock out harbor defense positions.[2]
The battleship was under fire at Wonsan 27 May–29 May, but her five-inch guns silenced the counter-fire, and her 16 inch shells destroyed five gun emplacements and four gun caves. She also hit a target that flamed spectacularly: either a fuel storage area or an ammunition dump.[2]
New Jersey returned to the key task of direct support to troops at Kosong 7 June. On her first mission, she completely destroyed two gun positions, an observation post, and their supporting trenches, then stood by on call for further aid. Then it was back to Wonsan for a day-long bombardment 24 June, aimed at guns placed in caves. The results were excellent, with eight direct hits on three caves, one cave demolished, and four others closed. Next day she returned to troop support at Kosong, her assignment until 10 July, aside from necessary withdrawal for replenishment.[2]
At Wonsan 11 July–12 July, New Jersey fired one of the most concentrated bombardments of her Korean duty. For nine hours the first day, and for seven the second, her guns slammed away on gun positions and bunkers on Hodo Pando and the mainland with telling effect. At least ten enemy guns were destroyed, many damaged, and a number of caves and tunnels sealed. New Jersey smashed radar control positions and bridges at Kojo 13 July, and was once more on the east coast bombline 22 July–24 July to support South Korean troops near Kosong. These days found her gunners at their most accurate and the devastation wrought was impressive. A large cave, housing an important enemy observation post was closed, the end of a month-long United Nations effort. A great many bunkers, artillery areas, observation posts, trenches, tanks and other weapons were destroyed.[2]
At sunrise 25 July 1953 New Jersey was off the key port, rail and communications center of Hungnam, pounding coastal guns, bridges, a factor area, and oil storage tanks. She sailed north that afternoon, firing at rail lines and railroad tunnels as she made for Tanchon, where she launched a whaleboat in an attempt to spot a train known to run nightly along the coast. Her big guns were trained on two tunnels between which she hoped to catch the train, but in the darkness she could not see the results of her six-gun salvo.[2]
New Jersey's mission at Wonsan, next day, was her last. Here she destroyed large-caliber guns, bunkers, caves and trenches. Two days later, she learned of the truce. Her crew celebrated during a seven day visit at Hong Kong, where she anchored 20 August. Operations around Japan and off Formosa were carried out for the remainder of her tour, which was highlighted by a visit to Pusan. Here President Rhee came aboard 16 September to present the Korean Presidential Unit Citation to the 7th Fleet.[2]
[edit] Post Korean War (1953–1968)
Relieved as flagship at Yokosuka by Wisconsin 14 October, New Jersey was homeward bound the next day, reaching Norfolk 14 November. During the next two summers she crossed the Atlantic with midshipmen on board for training, and during the rest of the year sharpened her skills with exercises and training maneuvers along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean.[2]
New Jersey stood out of Norfolk 7 September 1955 for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Her ports of call included Gibraltar, Valencia, Cannes, Istanbul, Suda Bay; and Barcelona. She returned to Norfolk 7 January 1956 for the spring program of training operations. That summer she again carried midshipmen to Northern Europe for training, bringing them home to Annapolis 31 July. New Jersey sailed for Europe once more 27 August as flagship of Vice Admiral Charles Wellborn, Jr., Commander 2nd Fleet. She called at Lisbon, participated in NATO exercises off Scotland, and paid an official visit to Norway where Crown Prince Olaf was a guest. She returned to Norfolk 15 October, and 14 December arrived at New York Naval Shipyard for inactivation. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Bayonne 21 August 1957.[2]
[edit] The Vietnam War
New Jersey’s third career began 6 April 1968 when she recommissioned at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Captain J. Edward Snyder in command. Fitted with improved electronics and a helicopter landing pad and with her 40 millimeter battery removed, she was tailored for use as a heavy bombardment ship. Her 16 inch guns, it was expected, would reach targets in Vietnam inaccessible to smaller naval guns and, in foul weather, safe from aerial attack.[2]
New Jersey, now the world's only active battleship, departed Philadelphia 16 May, calling at Norfolk and transiting the Panama Canal before arriving at her new home port of Long Beach, California, 11 June. Further training off southern California followed. On 24 July New Jersey received 16 inch shells and powder tanks from Mount Katmai (AE-16) by conventional highline transfer and by helicopter lift, the first time heavy battleship ammunition had been transferred by helicopter at sea.[2]
Departing Long Beach 3 September, New Jersey touched at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay before sailing 25 September for her first tour of gunfire support duty along the Vietnamese coast. Near the 17th parallel on 30 September, the dreadnought fired her first shots in battle in over sixteen years. Firing against Communist targets in and near the so-called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), her big guns destroyed two gun positions and two supply areas. She fired against targets north of the DMZ the following day, rescuing the crew of a spotting plane forced down at sea by antiaircraft fire.[2]
The next six months saw New Jersey settling herself into a steady pace of bombardment and fire support missions along the Vietnamese coast, broken only by brief visits to Subic Bay and replenishment operations at sea. In her first two months on the gun line, New Jersey directed nearly ten thousand rounds of ammunition at Communist targets; over 3,000 of these shells were 16 inch (406 mm) projectiles.[2]
At the end of her tour in 1969, the New Jersey fired over 116,000 times from her 16 in main cannons and over 1 million times from her 5 in cannons, marking the heaviest naval bombardment since World War II.[2]
[edit] Post Vietnam War (1969–1982)
Her first Vietnam combat tour completed, New Jersey departed Subic Bay 3 April 1969 for Japan. She arrived at Yokosuka for a two-day visit, sailing for the United States 9 April. Her homecoming, however, was to be delayed. On the 15th, while New Jersey was still at sea, North Korean jet fighters shot down an unarmed EC-121 Constellation electronic surveillance plane over the Sea of Japan, killing its entire crew. A carrier task force was formed and sent to the Sea of Japan, while New Jersey was ordered to come about and steam toward Japan. On the 22nd she arrived once more at Yokosuka, and immediately put to sea in readiness for what might befall.[2]
As the crisis eased, New Jersey was released to continue her interrupted voyage. She anchored at Long Beach 5 May 1969, her first visit to her home port in eight months. Through the summer months, New Jersey’s crew toiled to make her ready for another deployment, and deficiencies discovered on the gun line were remedied. According to official reports, though, reasons of economy were to dictate otherwise. However, many believe that the ship was ordered decommissioned because the Viet Cong said that they would not attend the Paris Peace Talks if the ship was redeployed to Vietnam. Nonetheless, on 22 August 1969 the United States Secretary of Defense released a list of names of ships to be inactivated; at the top of the list was New Jersey. Five days later, Captain Snyder was relieved of command by Captain Robert C. Peniston.[2]
Assuming command of a ship already earmarked for the "mothball fleet," Captain Peniston and his crew prepared for their task. New Jersey got underway on the voyage 6 September, departing Long Beach for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She arrived on the 8th, and began preinactivation overhaul to ready herself for decommissioning. On 17 December 1969 New Jersey 's colors were hauled down and she entered the inactive fleet, still echoing the words of her last commanding officer: “Rest well, yet sleep lightly; and hear the call, if again sounded, to provide fire power for freedom.”[2]
[edit] Lebanese Civil War (1982–1984)
New Jersey’s "light sleep" ended in 1980 when President Ronald Reagan played reveille for the battleships and her three sisters by announcing plans for a 600-ship Navy, plans which involved reactivating, modernizing and recommissioning all four Iowa-class battleship. New Jersey was subsequently reactivated in 1982 and moved under tow to califonia to undergo modernization, and officially began her fourth career by recommissioning at Long Beach, California, on 28 December 1982. She was modernized as part of President Ronald Reagan's "600-ship Navy" plan, receiving an installation of 16 Harpoon missiles, with a range of about 60 miles (100 km), and 32 Tomahawk missiles, with a range of about 500 miles.
In 1983, a bloody civil war was raging in Lebanon, and U.S. naval forces were offshore to protect U.S. interests and U.S. Marines who had landed in the war-torn country. On 19 September, after a period in which U.S. ships fired when U.S. position were attacked, USS Virginia (CGN-38) and USS John Rodgers (DD-983) fired 338 rounds from their five inch (127 mm) guns in support of Lebanese Army forces defending the strategically important village of Suk El Gharb in the Chouf Mountains east of Beirut. This signaled a shift in U.S. policy, and on 25 September, New Jersey took up station off Beirut.
On November 28 — after October 23, 1983 Beirut barracks bombing — the U.S. government announced that New Jersey would be retained off Beirut although her crew would be rotated. On 14 December, New Jersey fired 11 projectiles from her 16 inch (406 mm) guns at hostile positions inland of Beirut. These were the first 16 inch (406 mm) shells fired for effect anywhere in the world since New Jersey ended her time on the gunline in Vietnam in 1969.
On 8 February 1984, New Jersey fired almost 300 shells at Druze and Syrian positions in the Bekaa valley east of Beirut. Some 30 of these massive projectiles rained down on a Syrian command post, killing the general commanding Syrian forces in Lebanon and several other senior officers. This was the heaviest shore bombardment since the Korean War.
[edit] Post Cold War (1984–Present)
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's and the lack of a perceived threat against the United States came drastic cuts to the defense budget, and the high-manning requirements of the battleship saw New Jersey decommissioned for the final time at the Naval Station Long Beach, California, on 8 February 1991 and then towed to Bremerton, Washington.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 required the United States Navy to maintain two battleships in the mothball fleet that were in good condition and could be reactivated for use in the Marine Corp's amphibious operations. Due to Iowa’s damaged Turret 2 the Navy selected New Jersey for placement into the mothball fleet, even though the training mechanisms on New Jersey’s 16" guns had been welded down. The cost to fix New Jersey was considered less than the cost to fix Iowa; however, the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act of 1999 demanded that the Navy substitute Iowa for New Jersey; additionally, the Navy was to arrange for New Jersey’s donation for use as a museum ship. The Navy made the switch in January 1999, paving the way for Camden, New Jersey, to acquire USS New Jersey.
On 12 September 1999, the ship was towed by the tug Sea Victory from Bremerton to Philadelphia where she arrived on 11 November. On 20 January 2000, Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig announced that the battleship would be donated to Home Port Alliance of Camden, New Jersey, for use as a museum. After the 11 September 2001 attacks, the Secretary of the Navy decreed that the Navy Jack remain on New Jersey. Having completed an outstanding career, the ship is now the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. She is permanently berthed on the Camden Waterfront. The museum opened to the public for tours in October 2001. Self-guided, tour-guided and overnight encampments are offered on the floating museum. Overnight encampments, typically for the benefit of scouting organizations, offer the opportunity to sleep and eat in the original berths and mess decks.
[edit] Awards
New Jersey earned the Navy Unit Commendation for Vietnam service. She received nine battle stars for World War II; four for the Korean conflict; and two for Vietnam. Overall, she holds the distinction of being the most decorated battleship in the history of the US Navy.
[edit] See also
- USS New Jersey for other Navy ships of the same name.
- List of broadsides of major World War II ships
[edit] Notes
- ^ Naval Vessel Register. United States Navy. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax USS New Jersey (BB 62) History. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. United States Navy. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ Johnston, Ian & McAuley, Rob (2002). The Battleships. London: Channel 4 Books (an imprint of Pan Macmillian, LTD), page 120. ISBN 0752261886.
- ^ William F. Halsey held the rank of a four star Admiral throughout the Second World War. In December of 1945, four monthes after the official surrender of the Japanese, he was promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral and awarded his fifth star. Source
[edit] References
- Comegno, Carol. The Battleship USS New Jersey: From Birth to Berth. Pediment Pub, 2001. ISBN 1-891395-76-9
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
[edit] External links
- [1] "How Lieutenant Ford Saved His Ship," New York Times Op-Ed about Typhoon Cobra in December 1944, by Robert Drury and Tom Clavin, authors of "Halsey's Typhoon," December 28, 2006.
- Battleship New Jersey museum
- Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station - Shows Amateur Radio operators restoring ships electronics
- Unofficial US Navy Site
- Maritimequest USS New Jersey BB-62 Photo Gallery
- WWII Battleship Site Entry for USS New Jersey
- Naval Vessel Registry Entry for USS New Jersey
- USS New Jersey Photos on board the Battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 in Camden, NJ
[edit] USS Mobile Bay rewrite
 USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) in the Persian Gulf |
|
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 15 January 1982 |
| Laid down: | 6 June 1984 |
| Launched: | 22 August 1985 |
| Commissioned: | 21 February 1987 |
| Status: | Active in service as of 2007. |
| Homeport: | San Diego, California |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | approx. 9,600 tons full load |
| Length: | 567 feet (173 meters) |
| Beam: | 55 feet (17 meters) |
| Draught: | 33 feet (10 meters) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60 km/h) |
| Complement: | 33 officers & 327 enlisted |
| Sensors and processing systems: | AN/SPY-1A/B multi-function radar AN/SPS-49 air search radar AN/SPG-62 fire control radar AN/SPS-55 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar AN/SQQ-89(V)3 Sonar suite, conisiting of
|
| Armament: | 2 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems 122 × RIM-67 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk, or RUM-139 VL-Asroc 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles 2 × Mark 45 5 in / 54 cal lightweight gun 2 × 25 mm 2–4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun 2 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 x Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters. |
| Motto: | Full Speed Ahead |
USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. She is named for the naval Battle of Mobile Bay during the American Civil War in 1864.
With her guided missiles and rapid-fire cannons, she is capable of facing and defeating threats in the air, on the sea, or the ashore, and underneath the sea. She also carries two Seahawk LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters, but mainly for anti-submarine warfare, ASW.
USS MOBILE BAY was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries. The cruiser was commissioned on 21 February 1987 at the Alabama State Docks in Mobile, Alabama.
After commissioning, MOBILE BAY joined the U. S. Atlantic Fleet, arriving at its Mayport, Florida, homeport in March 1987. Following a year of crew qualifications, tests and systems trials, MOBILE BAY embarked on its maiden deployment on 11 May 1989. During this cruise, MOBILE BAY earned its first two awards: the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Armed Services Expeditionary Medal, for operations conducted in the Gulf of Oman.
In June of 1990, MOBILE BAY shifted homeports from Mayport, Florida to Yokosuka, Japan. Shortly thereafter, MOBILE BAY deployed in August 1990 in support of Operation Desert Shield and Storm, becoming the first Aegis cruiser to circumnavigate the globe. In the Arabian Gulf, the ship distinguished itself by becoming the first Battle Force Anti-Air Warfare Commander to control a four-carrier Task Force. MOBILE BAY launched 22 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile strikes, and controlling carrier-launched attack aircraft that contributed to the complete destruction of the Iraqi Navy.
In May of 1991, MOBILE BAY was ordered to Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, to participate in Operation Fiery Vigil, the evacuation of thousands of people displaced by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. In December 1991, MOBILE BAY began work-ups for a spring 1992 Arabian Gulf deployment.
On 15 April 1992, MOBILE BAY once again set sail for the Arabian Gulf. En route, the ship and crew visited Sydney, Australia, to represent the U. S. Navy at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Battle of Coral Sea. Sailing through the Straits of Hormuz in late May 1992, the ship began duties as the Arabian Gulf Anti-Air Warfare Commander. MOBILE BAY also played a vital role in Operation Southern Watch, the enforcement of the U. N.-mandated "No Fly Zone" over Southern Iraq. Returning to Japan in October, MOBILE BAY participated in ANNUALEX-92, a major naval exercise involving units of the U. S. Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. MOBILE BAY served as the Anti-Air Warfare Commander for a joint U. S. - Japanese flotilla.
In May 1993, MOBILE BAY steamed to Western Australia for SPRING TRAINING-93, a multi-national exercise involving units of the U. S., Royal Australian, and Singaporean Navies. In September of 1993, MOBILE BAY made an historic visit to the Russian seaport of Vladivostok. Departing Russia, MOBILE BAY participated in ANNUALEX-93 before returning to Yokosuka to finish preparations for an upcoming Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf deployment.
On 17 November 1993, MOBILE BAY departed Yokosuka for a third deployment in three years. Arriving in the Arabian Gulf a month later, MOBILE BAY immediately assumed duties as Anti-Air Warfare Commander for naval forces in the Gulf. Remaining on station until February 1994, MOBILE BAY helped to maintain stability in the region. MOBILE BAY completed this deployment on 17 March 1994, returning to Yokosuka.
In May of 1994, MOBILE BAY left home waters to participate in RIMPAC-94, a month-long exercise in the mid-Pacific involving over 50 warships from five Pacific Rim nations.
In spring 1999, the MOBILE BAY sailed three times through the Taiwan Straits during a period of tension between Taiwan and China, and in June 1999 it was dispatched to Korea during the "Crab Wars" over fishing rights between North and South Korea.
In early May 1999, USS MOBILE BAY deployed to Singapore to participate in the 1999 International Maritime Defense Exhibition (IMDEX) Asia, there.
In mid-1999, USS MOBILE BAY deployed to serve US forces supporting INTERFET operations off the coast of East Timor. Sailing south on August 23, 1999, for a series of routine Australian port visits and Exercise Crocodile 99, USS MOBILE BAY was redirected by Commander, 7th Fleet, and told to sail for the waters of East Timor. As the first U.S. forces on the scene, MOBILE BAY was designated as Commander, Joint Task Force Timor Sea Operations (CJTF TSO). During Timor Sea operations, MOBILE BAY performed many missions including guard ship; U.S. armed forces sanctuary; air surveillance; intelligence gathering; Timor ground operations repair efforts; link manager (which provided primary air tracking in support of aircraft into and out of East Timor carrying supplies and troops); and ship escort.
Following the East Timor operation, MOBILE BAY Bay visited Singapore; Pattaya, Thailand; Kagoshima and Sasebo, Japan. After the Sasebo port visit, MOBILE BAY participated in early November in the joint exercise Annualex, with the Japanese navy.
In July 2000, USS MOBILE BAY changed homeports from Yokosuka, Japan, to San Diego, CA, ending 10 years of 7th Fleet service.
USS MOBILE BAY was refurbished in 2001 as one of the Navy’s first "Smart Ships," and one of four ships selected to test how well Navy vessels can operate with sharply reduced crews. MOBILE BAY had been nominated for the Navy’s "Optimal Manning Project", an early test of concepts to be integrated into the design of DD-21.
On December 21, 2001, a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, operating from the USS MOBILE BAY, seized 10.5 metric tons of cocaine approximately 800 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.
See USS Mobile (disambiguation) for other ships carrying the name "Mobile".
[edit] External links
{{NVR}} {{Ticonderoga class cruiser}} [[Category:Ticonderoga class cruisers|Mobile Bay (CG-53)]] [[Category:Cruisers of the United States|Mobile Bay (CG-53)]] [[Category:Cruisers of the United States Navy|Mobile Bay (CG-53)]] [[Category:Cold War cruisers of the United States|Mobile Bay (CG-53)]] [[Category:Active cruisers of the United States|Mobile Bay (CG-53)]] [[ja:モービル・ベイ (ミサイル巡洋艦)]] {{US-mil-ship-stub}}
[edit] That "Thing"
High Wind Advisory - Unique to the Southwestern region of the United States, high wind advisories are issued in advance of aproaching cold fronts to advise people about the potential aproaching hazard. Cold fronts have heavy winds, which can (and frequently do) kick up power dust storms in the desert; such storms severely limit visability and, if powerful enough, can overturn vehicals, topple utility poles, and blow roofs off houses. Typical these advisories are issued when a cold front’s winds are aproximated to be 35-40 miles per hour, and last thoughout the duration of the storm.
[edit] Cyberization
Cyberization is a term applied to those that have replaced their biological bady parts with high quality prosthetic device designed to do the same job but more efficently. All branches of Ghost in the Shell take place in a future when hi-tech prosthetics exist and are commonplace, and the use of prosthetics and other cybernetic devices on humans has resulted in much ambiguity over what exactly constitutes cyberization and what should be considered a cyborg. This ambiguity is further enlarged by the fact that Ghost in the Shell does not explicitly define what cyberization is and at what point it makes a person a cyborg.
In a broad sense cyberization could best be described as undergoing some level of cyber enhancement, such as receiving replacement prosthetics for limbs rendered missing, badly-damaged or ineffective. This process may be as simple as having a finger or toe replaced, or it may be as complicated as transferring a cyberbrain in order to completely switch one’s body. Others have argued that replacing a large portion of the body with prosthetics should not be considered cyberization, but cyborgization. Used in this sense, those bearing mechanization but lacking heavy amounts of it (50% or greater appears to be the common baseline level among military personnel) would still be considered natural humans, while those over a certain replacement level would not.
Several discussions throughout the Ghost in the Shell universe attest to the difficulty of conclusively reaching a definition that can be agreed upon. In Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Section 9's members are all revealed to have undergone cyberization, yet the group refers to Togusa as a "natural" as he lacks anything beyond the basic cyberbrain upgrade, which everyone needs to have. The Laughing Man, the primary focus of the "Complex" episode story arc, gave insight to a cyborg's ability to share and synchronize memories, thus depriving humans of the uniqueness. The Major countered his point by noting that each person’s curiosity can overcome sychronization. Even the Tachikoma mini-tanks debate these points in episode 15 (Time of the Machines – MACHINES DÉSIRANTES) of Stand Alone Complex when one of the units points out that Japanese citizens who have undergone cyberization resented being called cyborgs.
[edit] Rewrite
While in Puerto Vallarta the steelworkers donated their time to paint an orphanage, touching in a positive way the lives of many less fortunate children. In the ensuing months Stethem embarked on her third Inter Deployment Training Cycle (IDTC) and served as Command Destroyer Squadron 23’s flagship throughout the month of February. In March, Stethem completed the Command Assessment of Readiness for Training II (CART II). Between the weeks of 1 April and 3 May 2002 Stethem completed the Tailored Ship’s Training Availability period. On 6 May Stethem served as the opposition forces for the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Battle Group’s Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX).
In early June, Stethem ensured her seventh Engineering Command excellance award as a result of outstanding performance during the Engineering Underway Demonstration. On July 8-12, she commenced a Supply Management Assessment which was upgraded to an Inspection because of her exemplary Combat Logistics readiness. Returning to the site of her commissioning in 1995, at the end of July, STETHEM took part in the 60th Anniversary of SEABEE Days in Port Hueneme, CA in honor of her namesake. She then transited to Everett, WA, embarked families and friends for the short transit to participate in the Seattle Seafair Festival. On September 12, 2002, STETHEM was given the distinct privilege of leading the Parade of Sail into San Diego Bay. In the beginning of October, STETHEM occupied a place of honor downtown at Broadway Pier as part of San Diego’s Fleet Week Celebration. While at Broadway Pier, STETHEM safely hosted the first public Navy ship tours in San Diego after the September 11th attacks. Soon afterward, on October 16, STETHEM successfully launched the first Tomahawk Cruise Missile using the new Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS). At the end of October, STETHEM once again played the role of opposition force, this time for the CONSTELLATION Carrier Battle Group.
In January 2003, STETHEM played the opposition force role for the NIMITZ Carrier Battle Group. On February 5, 2003, STETHEM returned to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for another port visit. Working with the San Diego and Puerto Vallarta Navy League Chapters, STETHEM delivered medical equipment for distribution to handicapped residents of Puerto Vallarta. The STEELWORKERs also painted the local library frequented by many of Puerto Vallarta’s school children. On April 5, 2003, STETHEM successfully performed the first ever surface ship launch of a Block IV Tactical Tomahawk Cruise Missile, bringing it one big step closer to fleet introduction. This was followed up on 08 May with the first surface ship launch of a Block IV Tactical Tomahawk Cruise Missile with a live warhead. After the missile left the launcher, STETHEM’s strike team became the first to demonstrate Tactical Tomahawk’s post launch execution capability when they redirected the missile in flight. Both the team and the missile performed flawlessly completely destroying the intended target on San Clemente Island after over 2 hours and 700 miles of missile flight.
On May 14th, after a two week Intermediate Maintenance Availability, STETHEM sailed in support of a different kind of missile firing exercise. During this exercise STETHEM’s Airwarfare Team engaged two air borne targets with Standard Missiles. After this successful engagement, STETHEM celebrated by transiting north to Juneau, Alaska and Victoria, B. C. for some well deserved rest and relaxation. All of the STEELWORKER’s took advantage of great opportunities for sightseeing and shopping.
Returning from her trek up North in June, STETHEM rested for one week and then put back to sea to serve as the Opposition Force against Pacific Fleet’s first Expeditionary Strike Group which was headed up by USS PELELIU.
On July 3, 2003, surrounded by friends and family, Commander David W. Melin was relieved by Commander Charles F. Williams. Today, we are continuing our successes with our new Commander and our great crew.
[edit] Image Gallery
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[edit] Wikibreak
{wikibreak|TomStar81|when the Confederacy of Collage Finals is supressed by the United Student Resistance Faction.}
[edit] External links
http://users3.ev1.net/~cfmoore/history/1944normandy.html
USS William D. Porter (DD-579)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/nation/111001-1v.htm
[edit] FA
These are some of the featured works I have contributed to
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| My User Page | My Talk Page | My Sand box | My Copyrights | My Contributions |
[edit] Userpage Overhaul
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