uss new jersey crew list 1945 uss new jersey crew list 1945

The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial is a living museum with veterans and other volunteers and staff educating thousands of guests every year. The American cruisers were towed safely home. She also received the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Navy Unit Citation. Lee was the victor in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the only clash of battleships in the Pacific thus far. I was the last Dental Officer on the USS New Jersey BB 62. When you took the Philippines, that was the end of our resources. The battle paved the way for liberation of the Philippines and Allied victory in the Pacific. | Most of them were scrapped or expended as targets in atom bomb tests. She rejoined the fast carriers on October 27, 1944. As Halsey put it: Instead of the stagecoach system of keeping the drivers and changing the horses, we changed drivers and kept the horses. It facilitated planning and confused Japanese Intelligence, but [i]t was hard on the horses, including the New Jersey, the only ship to serve as flagship for both Spruance and Halsey. She headed through the Panama Canal to Cuba and Norfolk. After fighting fascism, communism, and terrorism, she was decommissioned for the final time in February 1991. The following websites post reunion notices and provide resources for locating veterans: Hullnumber.com (Navy ships and air squadrons), United States Naval Academy Alumni Association. Just as Admiral Sprague expected his ships to be annihilated, Kurita ordered his ships north to reorganize at 0911. Battleships of the Iowa Class, by Philippe Caresse, translated by Bruce Taylor, @ 2019 United States Naval Institute, Published by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. After 1956, a list of the officers is usually included with the muster rolls. Finally, if flagship New Jersey stayed behind with Task Force 34 to guard the strait, Halsey would miss the battle with the Japanese carriers. However, she was ordered home for refit via the Philippines and Japan. The table below contains the names of sailors who served aboard the USS New Jersey (BB 62). As Admiral Kuritas chief of staff admitted, the battle spelled the collapse of our Navy as an effective fighting force. Japans ships never again tried to challenge the United States Navy in battle. As a result, the two Japanese surface-ship pincers met very different fates as they sailed into the straits leading to Leyte Gulf in the wee hours of October 25, 1944. The second NEW JERSEY (BB-62) was launched 7 December 1942 by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Edison, wife of Governor Edison of New Jersey, former Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned at Philadelphia 23 May 1943, Captain Carl F. Holden in command. At 0215, USS TRIGGER attacks the convoy again, fires three torpedoes and all hit and sink DELAGOA MARU near Tanegashima. Wryly called CripDiv and BaitDiv, the slowly creeping ships did attract waves of Japanese planes and a Japanese cruiser force, but the force retreated when they discovered Third Fleet was otherwise intact. Admiral Mitscher launched an airstrike that did not reach the Japanese fleet until sunset. I recall Captain Tucker being one of the best Commanding Officers I've had. In an overhaul in Norfolk, USS New Jersey, like the other Iowa-class battleships, had her 16-inch gun barrels removed and replaced. For the same reasons, the 19 slower battleships that fought in World War II were decommissioned by 1947. In the darkness at Surigao Strait, Admiral Nishimura had to run a gauntlet set up by Admiral Kinkaids Seventh Fleet. Back to the USS New Jersey (BB 62) page. The New Jersey shot down more Japanese planes. Second, she led the Navys main fleet in the Battle for Leyte Gulf, the largest sea battle of all time, which destroyed the Japanese fleet as a fighting force. She has been designated as the State Ship of New Jersey, and is a member of the international Historic Naval Ship Association. On November 8, 1945, USS New Jersey became the flagship of Admiral John H. Towers, who had helped pioneer naval aviation. She went to the Atlantic in 1947 and made one midshipmen's training cruise to Europe before decommissioning in June 1948. Through the rest of 1944, she took part in raids on Japanese-held islands, the Marianas invasion and Battle of Philippine Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and operations against the Philippines. Her original fuel oil capacity of over 7,250 tons (over 2,175,000 gallons) gave her an endurance range of over 15,000 nautical miles when cruising at 15 knots, allowing her to operate without resupply for a month and to refuel smaller ships. Only the New Jersey played a role in every major amphibious invasion after 1943: the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands, the Marianas Islands, New Guinea, the Palau Islands, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The cycle began again, the teenage seamen performing the same tasks their grandfathers had done forty years before. The Soviet commander hears the sound of ripping linen that announces the passage of the monstrous projectiles, and sees the curtain of dust and rock as the battleships shells obliterate his artillery. Contrary to their assumption, USS New Jersey and the other ships earmarked for Task Force 34 were still part of the three carrier groups and were sailing north with Admiral Halsey. This shaft horsepower is sufficient to produce a speed of 33 knots at normal displacement. Reactivating the Iowa-class ships would allow the Navy to create battleship battle groups to supplement the twelve carrier battle groups already in commission, enabling the Navy to meet its growing worldwide commitments. From October 23, 1968, to April 1, 1969, USS New Jersey provided fire support to American troops from Quang Ngai to the DMZ, including Danang, Hue, Phan Theit, Tuy Hoa, Con Thein, and Cam Ranh Bay. On January 28, 1946, USS New Jersey yielded her role as flagship of the Fifth Fleet and the Japanese occupation. Volume XIV, Victory in the Pacific, 1945, @ 1960 Samuel Eliot Morison. | 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. At 1055, finally responding to Admiral Nimitzs message, Admiral Halsey ordered USS New Jersey to lead Task Force 34, and Admiral Bogans carrier group, to rescue Taffy 3. When U.S. Marines land to liberate Iceland, the New Jersey and Iowa provide fire support. There they joined the Central Pacific Force, the Navys main fleet, containing the fast carriers and fast battleships intended to fight the Japanese fleet. In Norway, USS New Jersey was visited by King Haakon VII and escorted by future King Olav V. In England, members of her crew were entertained by King George VI and the future Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. On February 4, 1944, at the newly seized base on Majuro, USS New Jersey became the flagship of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Miss the Big J. This database contains U.S. Navy muster rolls and associated reports of changes for U.S. Navy enlisted personnel who served on U.S. Navy ships or in other naval activities between 31 January 1938 and 31 December 1949. The following pages list the names of the 921 men who made the supreme sacrifice serving on the U.S.S. USS New Jersey returned to the Delaware on November 11, greeted by more than 25,000 people and by a tugboat that had helped at her launching in 1942. Beginning in the 1880s, armored, turreted battleships became the capital ships of the worlds major naval powers. There, he supervised the landing of General MacArthurs occupation Army, repatriation of Allied prisoners and surrendering Japanese garrisons, and the sweeping of many mines laid in Japanese waters. The New Jersey then headed for the newly occupied fleet base at Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands. Best time of my life, we did a west-pac and it was great!!! The USS New Jersey (BB-62) was an Iowa-class battleship that entered service in 1943 and saw combat in World War II and later fought in Korea and Vietnam. Navy cruise books are yearbook-style books assembled by volunteers on board ship to commemorate a deployment. Vietnamese Counter-Offensive, Phase V, 2. Admiral Nimitz, General MacArthur, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff accepted his recommendation. Spruance used the New Jersey as his flagship until April 10. After a high-speed meeting with the worlds fastest ocean liner United States (now berthed in sight of the New Jersey), the New Jersey visited France, Portugal, and the Caribbean. USS New Jersey 1945 - 1:1000 Ship Model (Amercom ST-20) 4.4 (60) $2900 FREE delivery Mon, Mar 13 Only 6 left in stock - order soon. Because of their great size, they had the space and reserve buoyancy to be retrofitted with modern missile systems, while retaining unmatched firepower and armor protection. This is the Navy, here, the real Navy.. The New Jersey first set sail under her own power on July 8, 1943, training her crew and testing her guns and engines under Forrestals gaze. The New Jersey bombarded Japanese bases and escorted carriers attacking Japanese forces on Pacific islands and the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Indochina, and Japan, including the first major carrier raid on Tokyo. In 1967, surface-to-surface missiles had sunk a warship for the first time when the Egyptians fired Soviet Styx missiles at an Israeli destroyer. He described her as still in the prime of life, a Gallant Lady, the New Jersey. Recommissioning the New Jersey was the centerpiece of his 600-ship Navy program that helped convince the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. The New Jersey sailed on to Eniwetok and then Guam some of the many islands the New Jersey helped recapture. That started a four-week slog to conquer this heavily defended heart of the Marianas. In addition, USS New Jersey still served as Seventh Fleet flagship. In June and July, the New Jersey provided sustained fire support for a U.N. offensive near Kansong. Meanwhile, USS New Jersey was again celebrated in fiction, now by best-selling author Tom Clancy. The Fleet at Flood Tide, America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-45, by James D. Hornfischer, @ 2016 James D. Hornfischer, Published by Bantam Books New York, NY. After training exercises in the Caribbean, the New Jersey and the midshipmen arrived in New York on August 28. Halseys carrier strikes surprised Okinawa and the Ryukyus Islands. Copyright 2023 HullNumber.com. USS New Jersey and the other Iowa-class ships were the result and the crowning achievement of centuries of naval history. The Fast Carriers, The Forging of an Air Navy, by Clark G. Reynolds, @ 1968 Clark G. Reynolds, Published by McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY. She bombarded Communist supply dumps and gun positions in the so-called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Vietnam. They sank a heavy cruiser, two light cruisers, several destroyers, and many transports bearing reinforcements. During World War II, due to her increasing anti-aircraft armament, her complement eventually peaked at over 2,700. USS New Jerseys float plane spotted the fleeing destroyer Nowaki over the horizon. The conning tower armor is 17.3 inches with a roof at 7.25 inches, deck at 4 inches, and the tube at 16 inches. The USS NORTH CAROLINA had a crew of 2,300 men. Individuals have had success in locating former and retired military personnel by placing advertisements or reunion notices in military-oriented periodicals or websites. USS New Jerseys 16-inch shells could not be shot down and had no pilot who could be taken prisoner. The Navy accepted the Home Port Alliances application on January 20, 2000. With the fighting ended in Korea, the New Jersey visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, where Wisconsin relieved her as Seventh Fleet flagship on October 14, 1953. Tickets are still available for the @battleshipnj 's Evening Engine Room Guided Tour, Friday, March 3 at 6pm. Fortunately, barrels were a long lead-time item, so barrels had been procured for Illinois, Kentucky, and some of the Montana-class battleships even though the ships never were completed. | On the turrets, the armor on the face plate is 17 inches plus 2.7 inches STS, on each side is 9.5 inches, on the back is 12 inches, and on the roof is 7.25 inches. The New Jersey sustained only negligible damage and continued escorting the carriers. By her reactivation for the Korean War, the rest of the single 20mm guns had been removed and were replaced by eight more twin-mounted 20mm guns were added, but all the twin-mounted 20mm were removed by late 1951. The Battle for Leyte Gulf, by William F. Halsey, Jr., in U.S. For information about joining, or getting membership information, contact them at: Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society P.O. Wives and children of Navy personnel, as well as civilians, can be found among passengers as well. Unsinkable Sailors: The Fall and Rise of the Last Crew of USS Frank E. Evans: Th 9780979164231 | eBay Then by using the crew list and the list of casualties, the names of the survivors of a World War II ship or vessel can be created. The New Jersey rendered more active service than any other Iowa-class ship. She was the lead ship of a class of three battleships, and the first ship to be named for the state of New Mexico.Her keel was laid down on 14 October 1915 at the New York Navy Yard, from which she was launched on 23 April 1917 and commissioned on 20 May 1918. Lee was concerned that the fast battleships had spent their time escorting carriers rather than training for night surface combat, and Spruance was worried that some Japanese naval forces might try an end run to attack the amphibious forces. Halsey did not think Kinkaid needed help from his fleet, which in any case was hundreds of miles away. Missouri had been decommissioned in Bremerton in 1955. This is a blast. After a minor overhaul, she served as flagship for the Fifth Fleet as the Second World War closed. The New Jersey carried Admiral Spruance to devastated Manila on August 20, 1945, where he conferred with General MacArthur about the upcoming occupation of Japan. Also, in 1982, the New Jerseys interior spaces were reconfigured for greater crew comfort, including new bunks and lockers, air conditioning systems, and other amenities such as a chapel and a TV studio. USS New Jersey, which served longer and with greater distinction than any other battleship, now serves as a unparalleled museum and memorial of all of Americas major conflicts from 1943 to 1990. One of these ships was the first battleship USS New Jersey (BB-16), which displaced 15,000 tons and could reach 19 knots. I volunteer 2 days a week with a great group of guys (mostly vets). These and other attacks cost Japan over a thousand aircraft and made April one of the bloodiest months in the war for the Navy. Beginning in mid-October 1968, USS New Jersey moved south to support Marine, Army, South Vietnamese, and Korean troops in the I Corps area of South Vietnam. On February 10, 1945, Admiral Spruance led USS New Jersey and the rest of the Fifth Fleet to the Bonin Islands in support of the invasion of Iwo Jima. Stop by the @battleshipnj booth to win a free family membership, a coupon for a free tour with the purchase of a tour and information on upcoming events and programs. The New Jersey remained on station off Lebanon for 170 of 191 days, with brief port visits to Israel and Egypt. Start them north. Orders flashed from the New Jerseys towering radio masts ordering the Third Fleets nine fleet carriers, seven light carriers, six battleships, sixteen cruisers, and twenty-seven destroyers to speed toward Ozawa, leaving no ship to guard San Bernardino Strait. It was the only battle where ships were sunk by submarines, aircraft, and other ships, using all types of guns, torpedoes, bombs, rockets, and mines. Uniquely, USS New Jersey was considered for more radical changes: replacing her rear 16-inch turret with a vertical-launching missile system carrying 48 more Tomahawk or Harpoon missiles, or with a ski-jump ramp able to launch and land vertical- or short-takeoff aircraft like the Marines Harrier jump jet. The only thing between Admiral Kuritas fleet and the American amphibious ships were the Seventh Fleets three groups of escort carriers. In the throes of a brutal civil war after the 1982 Israeli invasion, a multinational peacekeeping force including U.S. Marines had been sent to supervise the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He was now awarded the main Pacific fleet as his first fleet command. Work on USS New Jersey proceeded around the clock. Halseys attacks devastated Japanese airpower on Luzon and stemmed the tide of kamikazes, which had sunk 24 ships and damaged 67 others in the Seventh Fleet carrying MacArthurs Army. That fleet had started the Central Pacific offensive in November 1943 with liberation of Tarawa and Makin in the Gilbert Islands. The captains gig and other ships boats are in place. 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. Off the Southern California coast on May 10, she became the first surface warship to conduct a successful firing of the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, landing a direct hit on a target over 500 miles away in central Nevada. In addition to strengthening USS New Jerseys offense, the refit revamped her defense a need highlighted when Argentinas planes used Exocet missiles to sink a British destroyer in the 1982 Falklands War. Reports of changes were compiled monthly and are found in between each quarter's muster roll. That day, however, the Japanese agreed to capitulate. Only USS New Jersey served in the Vietnam War and the conflict in Lebanon, and she served in the Persian Gulf. At 1701, Admiral Halsey ordered the fastest part of Task Force 34 USS New Jersey, Iowa, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers to race ahead at almost 30 knots to catch Admiral Kuritas force in a night action. On March 19, the New Jersey shot down about a half dozen aircraft attacking the carriers, damaged others, and used her floatplane to rescue a downed carrier pilot. Equipment was coated with preservative grease like cosmoline, and non-moving parts were preserved under layers of paint. There he conferred with General MacArthurs staff and finalize plans for the next big operation: the landing at Leyte Island to begin the liberation of the Philippines, then an American Commonwealth occupied by Imperial Japan early in the war. The Soviet Union was pressured by President Reagans foreign policy initiatives and expansion of the Navy (which peaked at 594 ships), and challenged by East European discontent, Afghan resistance, and economic deterioration at home. Her internal piping system can handle up to 125,000 gallons of fresh water per minute, while the salt-water distilling plan can produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water daily. On January 7, they squeezed through the Panama Canal, with less than a foot to spare on each side. The New Jersey and six other battleships then formed a battle line that pulverized the Japanese base on Ponape Island in the Carolines on May 1. On August 30, the New Jersey brought Spruance to Okinawa, where he and Fifth Fleet kept a watchful eye on Japanese forces until their surrender to MacArthur on Missouri on September 2. The New Jersey relieved Missouri, which had relieved Iowa. U.S. involvement was at its height, with over half a million American troops deployed in South Vietnam. For membership information or reunion inquiries, visit On a diplomatic mission after the formation of the Warsaw Pact, the New Jersey visited feuding NATO allies Greece and Turkey, and was the first U.S. warship to visit Trieste after its restoration to Italy from nonaligned Yugoslavia. With the battlelines stabilizing and negotiations beginning, USS New Jersey still alternated between escorting carriers and bombarding the North Korean coast. The Navy does not keep track of anyone once they have left the Navy. USS New Jersey was commissioned for the second time on November 21, with Admiral Halsey speaking and breaking out his five-star flag. The USS New Jersey continued to blast targets until April 1969. President Reagan closed: After valiant service in Vietnam and after saving the lives of countless Marines, the New Jersey was decommissioned in 1969. EN. The design was recommended by the Battleship Design Advisory Board, which included Americas premier naval architect William Francis Gibbs, who designed ocean liners such as SS United States, and William Hovgaard, MITs professor of naval design, who investigated the sinkings of Titanic and Lusitania. For length of service, combat service, shore bombardment, fleet leadership, and decorations, USS New Jersey is second to none. The generated steam supplied four sets of Westinghouse geared, double reduction turbines to provide an output shaft horsepower to the four propeller shafts totaling 212,000 horsepower, with the shafts turning up to 202 RPM. On April 15, 1945, USS New Jersey held a memorial service for President Franklin Roosevelt, who had died three days before. The typhoon damaged many other ships, destroyed 156 planes, and drowned 790 men. Even the speedy Iowa-class ships were targeted by the budget-cutters. Moreover, the destruction of all major hostile surface navies, the coming of peace, and the advent of nuclear weapons reduced the need to maintain the largest fleet in history. At Pearl Harbor, the New Jerseys flag quarters were enlarged and updated to be the best in the fleet.. However, Admiral Halseys command decisions on USS New Jersey resulted in Task Force 34 being unable to fight a surface engagement either against Admiral Ozawas carrier force or Admiral Kuritas main force. On October 29, 1944, USS New Jersey shot down a kamikaze who nonetheless managed to crash into the carrier Intrepid. 1983 1984 Propulsion was where the Iowa-class ships were most improved; their power plant was designed to be 60% more powerful to propel the larger vessels 6 knots faster than the South Dakota class, making the Iowa class the first battleships fast enough to keep up with the fast carriers. By contrast, Admiral Kuritas more powerful force debouched from San Bernardino Strait at 0035, expecting a fight but finding no ships guarding the strait. Those barrels were used to replace the ones on the New Jersey. In this episode we're talking. Her 55,000 sq. There, on May 21, 1951, a North Korean shore battery scored a direct hit that did no significant damage to the heavily armored Turret I, and a near miss that sprayed the ship with shrapnel, killing Seaman Robert Oesterwind. The State of New Jersey agreed to back whichever group could win approval from the Navy. The New Jersey displays a Kaman SH-2 Seasprite helicopter, the type assigned to the ship in the 1980s for target-spotting. She was then floated pier side where a huge crane could aid in the final stages of construction, including the installation of the three massive, armored gun turrets and much of the topside equipment. The next two ships Missouri (BB-63) and Wisconsin (BB-64) were to be built in the New York and Philadelphia Navy Yards respectively alongside the Iowa and the New Jersey. Even before she was launched, the New Jersey began serving her country. Luzon Operations, 8. It was a serious blow to Japanese morale, and a boost to American spirits approaching that of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. Some of these targets, too fortified to be destroyed by artillery or aircraft, were demolished by the unmatched penetrating power of the New Jerseys 16-inch guns. For best viewing use These rifled guns could fire a 2,700 lb. You can locate this information through various sources: The Old Military and Civil Records Branch, National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20408, holds copies of deck logs from 1801 through 1940, as well as muster rolls through 1938 in bound books.