New Jersey

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Launched on 7 December 1942 and commissioned on 23 May 1943, New Jersey was named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to repay a political debt to Governor Charles Edison of New Jersey. During World War II, she shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa while screening aircraft carriers in the Marshall Islands. In the Korean War, she conducted raids along the North Korean coast before entering the 'mothball fleet'. Briefly reactivated in 1968 for Vietnam service, she was modernized again in the 1980s to carry Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles under the 600-ship Navy program. She participated in operations during the Lebanese Civil War in 1983 before her final decommissioning in 1991.

In Their Own Story

On 4 February 1944, New Jersey became the flagship of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance's Fifth Fleet in Majuro Lagoon. She led strikes against Truk in Operation Hailstone, sinking a trawler and destroying an enemy aircraft. Later, as part of the Third Fleet under Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., she screened carriers during the invasion of Leyte and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In June 1944, she helped cripple Japanese naval aviation in the 'Marianas Turkey Shoot'. Her main battery of nine 16-inch guns pounded Ponape on 1 May 1944, destroying fuel tanks and an airfield.

Reader's Guide

New Jersey served a total of 21 years in the active fleet. She earned a Navy Unit Commendation for Vietnam service and 19 battle and campaign stars covering World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, and Persian Gulf operations. Her main battery consisted of nine 16-inch Mark 7 guns firing armor-piercing shells up to 23 miles. In the 1980s reactivation, four twin 5-inch mounts were removed to make room for missile systems, including eight Armored Box Launchers and four Quad Cell Launchers.

Did You Know?

• New Jersey was the only U.S. battleship to provide gunfire support during the Vietnam War.
• She earned more battle stars than any other completed Iowa-class battleship.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt named her specifically to repay a political debt to New Jersey Governor Charles Edison.
• During the 1980s reactivation, she was modernized to carry Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles.
• She has served as a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey, since 15 October 2001.