USS New Jersey (BB-62)
You’ll spot it first from the Ben Franklin Bridge: a massive gray beast on the Camden banks. The USS New Jersey sailed four wars, blasted enemies from three oceans, and now tells war stories from its dock. Here’s the inside story of this Iowa class battleship turned museum.
The Fighting Ship That Cheated Death
Workers laid the keel at Philadelphia Navy Yard on September 16, 1940, with former Navy Secretary Charles Edison welding the first plates. The 45,000-ton battleship slid down the ways December 7, 1942, on Pearl Harbor’s first anniversary.
The $100 million vessel emerged nine months ahead of schedule, a testament to the 20,000 shipyard workers who built her. Captain Carl F. Holden stood on the bridge when she commissioned May 23, 1943.
Unlike her sisters, New Jersey sported an enclosed bridge—the only Iowa-class with this feature. She would go on to fight in more wars than any American battleship.
Baptism By Fire Over The Pacific
Nine 16-inch guns threw 2,700-pound shells 23 miles, each turret crewed by 85 men.
Twenty 5-inch guns provided additional punch along with dozens of anti-aircraft weapons. Eight boilers pumped 212,000 horsepower to four propellers, driving her through the waves at 33 knots.
Armor plate 17 inches thick shielded her vital areas, backed by three inches of decking overhead. On her teak main deck—53,000 square feet of wood—sailors swabbed daily to maintain the gleaming surface.
New Jersey entered Pacific waters January 1944, ready for her first taste of combat.
Racing With Halsey Into Battle
Admiral William “Bull” Halsey grabbed the reins August 24, 1944, running Third Fleet operations from New Jersey’s bridge. “Before we’re through, Japanese will only be spoken in hell,” he promised after Pearl Harbor.
His 200-man staff jammed into expanded quarters aboard, plotting the Empire’s destruction. From her bridge, Halsey hurled American naval might against Japanese strongholds.
When December’s typhoon struck, New Jersey weathered 70-foot waves while three destroyers sank nearby. Ship and admiral earned reputations for aggressive action, striking enemy bases and fleets with unrelenting fury through 1945.
Shattering Truk’s Island Fortress
New Jersey smashed into Japanese-held Truk on February 17-18, 1944, flying Admiral Spruance’s Fifth Fleet flag. Operation Hailstone targeted Japan’s “Gibraltar of the Pacific,” their powerful Central Pacific base.
Her 16-inch rifles pounded shore installations while destroying a Japanese trawler and helping sink destroyer Maikaze. American planes obliterated 270 enemy aircraft and sank 200,000 tons of shipping.
When Japanese planes counterattacked, her gunners helped throw up an umbrella of flak. The devastating raid forced Japan to abandon this critical stronghold, cutting off Imperial forces across the Pacific.
Fighting For Control At Leyte Gulf
When 200 Japanese warships threatened American landings at Leyte Gulf October 23-26, 1944, New Jersey raced to battle.
Halsey paced her bridge as multiple enemy forces converged on the Philippines. American planes spotted Admiral Ozawa’s carriers to the north, and New Jersey led Third Fleet battleships in pursuit.
Though controversy erupted when Japanese battleships almost reached vulnerable landing forces, American naval power prevailed. Japanese naval aviation died that day, with four carriers and three battleships sunk.
New Jersey continued pounding shore targets through the Philippines campaign, helping secure these islands for MacArthur’s forces.
Hammering Iwo Jima’s Black Beaches
New Jersey’s guns blasted Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, as Marines stormed ashore. Her shells pulverized concrete bunkers across the volcanic island, particularly on Mount Suribachi where Japanese defenders dug in.
Each 16-inch projectile created a crater 30 feet across and 8 feet deep, destroying positions impervious to smaller weapons. Spotters radioed coordinates, and New Jersey’s gunners responded with deadly accuracy.
Between bombardments, her seaplanes rescued downed pilots from shark-filled waters. After Iwo Jima fell, she steamed to Okinawa, providing similar gunfire support through April 1945.
Crushing Communist Bunkers In Korea
Five years after WWII ended, New Jersey awakened from retirement when North Korea invaded South Korea.
Workers recommissioned the battlewagon November 21, 1950, making her the first battleship recalled for the conflict. Vice Admiral Harold Martin flew his Seventh Fleet flag from her bridge by May 1951.
Her guns roared to life at Wonsan on May 20, hammering coastal batteries, though one enemy shell struck her turret. Through autumn 1951, she demolished bridges, rail lines, and highways along North Korea’s eastern coast.
Communist supply routes crumbled under her guns, her shells reaching targets well beyond any other naval weapon’s range.
The Last Battleship In Vietnam
When American planes fell in alarming numbers over Vietnam, Defense Secretary McNamara turned to New Jersey. Workers in Philadelphia removed her anti-aircraft guns and added modern electronics during a $21.5 million overhaul.
She fired her first Vietnam salvo September 30, 1968, the world’s only active battleship. Her 16-inch shells cleared 200-yard helicopter landing zones with a single hit. Near Quang Ngai in November, she flattened 182 buildings and 54 bunkers in two days.
North Vietnam falsely claimed coastal guns damaged her, but she fired 5,688 16-inch rounds without serious incident during her deployment.
Rising From The Ashes Under Reagan
President Reagan revived New Jersey in 1981 as centerpiece of his 600-ship Navy plan. Workers spent $326 million transforming her into a missile battleship at Long Beach Naval Shipyard.
Eight Armored Box Launchers held 32 Tomahawk cruise missiles with 1,000-mile range. Four Phalanx gatling guns added protection against incoming missiles.
Navy engineers rejected plans to remove her aft turret for aircraft operations. Reagan personally attended her December 28, 1982 recommissioning, making her the only battleship ever relaunched by a sitting president.
When Shells Rained Over Beirut
New Jersey answered the call after terrorists killed 241 Marines in Beirut on October 23, 1983. Her silhouette off Lebanon’s coast sent a clear message of American resolve.
On December 14, eleven 16-inch shells destroyed Syrian anti-aircraft positions that fired on American planes. Bob Hope entertained 400 Marines aboard for Christmas 1983, bringing holiday cheer to a tense war zone.
Her guns unleashed hell February 8, 1984, with 290 shells pounding Druze militia positions. Thirty rounds hit a Syrian command post, killing the general commanding Syrian forces and several staff officers.
The Final Cruise To The Persian Gulf
New Jersey sailed west one last time in 1989, joining Pacific Exercise ’89 before entering the Persian Gulf. She projected American power as tensions built toward Operation Desert Storm.
Paired with aircraft carrier Ranger, she patrolled waters where Iran and Iraq had recently ended their brutal war. Her deployment paused when sister ship Iowa suffered a deadly turret explosion, halting battleship gunnery exercises.
The aging warrior participated in the 40th anniversary celebration of WWII’s end. Budget cuts ended her career February 8, 1991, just as Desert Storm began—her firepower sorely missed as war erupted.
Coming Home To American Waters
After decommissioning, tugs towed New Jersey to Bremerton, Washington, joining the Navy’s reserve fleet. She rested there eight years until September 12, 1999, when her final journey began.
Through the Panama Canal and into the Atlantic she traveled, reaching Philadelphia November 11. Two New Jersey cities fought fiercely to claim her—Bayonne and Camden submitting detailed preservation plans.
Navy Secretary Richard Danzig awarded her to Camden’s Home Port Alliance January 20, 2000. Fifty thousand people lined Delaware River shores October 15 when she arrived at her permanent berth.
Visiting The Big J In Camden
You’ll find the Battleship New Jersey at 62 Battleship Place in Camden, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia’s downtown.
Self-guided and guided tours run daily from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the award-winning Fire Power Tour taking you five levels up and two decks below.
Adult tickets cost $40, with discounts for veterans, seniors, and children under 12, while Philadelphia CityPASS holders save up to 50%.
For an exclusive experience, book the Turret II or Engine Room specialty tours that explore areas most visitors never see.
Visit the Black Dragon Café for lunch and refreshments, where you can even enjoy a local craft beer while overlooking the Delaware River.
Wear flat, rubber-soled shoes and prepare to climb steep ladders and navigate through tight spaces just as sailors did during her active service.
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