&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:New_Jersey_Sails.jpg) USS New Jersey underway in January 1985
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | State of New Jersey |
| Ordered | 1 July 1939 |
| Builder | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down | 16 September 1940 |
| Launched | 7 December 1942 |
| Sponsored by | Carolyn Edison |
| Commissioned | 23 May 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 30 June 1948 |
| Recommissioned | 21 November 1950 |
| Decommissioned | 21 August 1957 |
| Recommissioned | 6 April 1968 |
| Decommissioned | 17 December 1969 |
| Recommissioned | 28 December 1982 |
| Decommissioned | 8 February 1991 |
| Stricken | 4 January 1999 |
| Motto | "Firepower for Freedom"[1][2] |
| Nickname(s) | "Big J"[1] "Black Dragon"[3] |
| Honors and awards | |
| Status | Museum ship |
| Notes | Most decorated battleship in the history of the US Navy |
| Badge | &sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:USS_New_Jersey_COA.png) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Iowa-class battleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 887 ft 7 in (270.54 m) |
| Beam | 108 ft 1.375 in (32.95333 m) |
| Draft | 37 ft 9 in (11.51 m) (full load) 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m) aft, 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m) forward (1968)[5] |
| Propulsion | 4 x 53,000 hp turbines powered by 8 x 650 psi m type boilers |
| Speed | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Complement | 1,921 officers and men |
| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
| Aircraft carried |
|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Silver-service-star-3d.png){kind=small}
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:U.S._Navy_Unit_Commendation_ribbon.svg){kind=small}
USS New Jersey (BB-62) is an Iowa-class battleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the U.S. state of New Jersey. She was often referred to fondly as "Big J". New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships, and was the only US battleship used to provide gunfire support during the Vietnam War.
During World War II, 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 along the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet". She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support US 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 recommissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War.
New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991 after having served a total of 21 years in the active fleet. During her career she earned a Navy Unit Commendation for service in Vietnam, and 19 battle and campaign stars for combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, and service in the Persian Gulf. After a brief retention in the mothball fleet, she was donated to the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, and has served as a museum ship there since 15 October 2001.
- ^ a b "An Act providing for the issuance of Battleship U.S.S. New Jersey license plates ..." (PDF). NJ state library. 12 September 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Battleship New Jersey: Frequently Asked Questions". Battleship New Jersey. Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- ^ "USS New Jersey (BB 62) of the US Navy - American Battleship of the Iowa class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ Garzke and Dunlin pp. 145–148
- ^ a b RADM Joseph Snyder Jr, USN (ret) Archived 24 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine p. 2, Retrieved 10 June 2019