Like her sister ships, the USS New Jersey was an awe-inspiring site in 1943 with her 9 x 16 inch Mark 7 series main guns. Supplemental artillery support was provided through some twenty 5" Mark 12 series cannons and air-defense accomplished through 80 x 40mm guns and an additional 49 x 20mm guns. By 1982 and undergoing modernization with the rest of the Iowa class battleships, the USS New Jersey received a full complement of 32 x BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from eight quadruple launchers. This was supplemented by 16 x RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles fired from similar quadruple launchers. Air defense was now covered by 4 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) mountings positioned about.
Still at her home in Long Beach, the USS New Jersey was re-commissioned and back in action just in time to support US involvement in the Lebanese War of 1983-1984. As expected, the New Jersey performed admirably well and was kept offshore after the Marine barracks bombing on October 23, 1983. Following that involvement, the New Jersey served with the Pacific Fleet before returning stateside in 1990. With her decommissioning already underway, the USS New Jersey had to watch from the sidelines as her sisters - the USS Wisconsin and the USS Missouri - pounded Iraqi positions in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, a silent end to a most legendary ship.
Today, the USS New Jersey remains a floating museum and, fittingly, the property of the state of New Jersey. It was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places on September 17th, 2004 and resides in Camden, New Jersey. The USS New Jersey, in all its glory, remains the most decorated battleship to have ever flown the colors of the United States of America, earning some 19 battle stars for actions covering World War 2, Korea, Vietnam and Lebanon - a testament to her crews, commanders and systems alike, operating in deadly and efficient unison and instilling the fear and might of the power of United States Navy for well over four and a half decades.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.