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USS ''New Jersey'' (BB-62; "Big J" or "Black Dragon") is an , and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the US state of New Jersey. ''New Jersey'' earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed ''Iowa''-class battleships, and was the only US battleship providing 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 up and down 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 serving a total of 21 years in the active fleet), having 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 began her career as a museum ship 15 October 2001. ==Construction== ''New Jersey'' was one of the "fast battleship" designs planned in 1938 by the Preliminary Design Branch at the Bureau of Construction and Repair. She was launched on 12 December 1942 and commissioned on 23 May 1943. The ship was the second of the ''Iowa'' class to be commissioned by the U.S. Navy.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/BB62.htm )〕 The ship was christened at her launching by Carolyn Edison, wife of Governor Charles Edison of New Jersey, himself a former Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned at Philadelphia 23 May 1943, Captain Carl F. Holden in command. ''New Jersey''s main battery consisted of nine 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in three three-gun turrets, which could fire armor-piercing shells some . Her secondary battery consisted of twenty 5"/38 caliber guns mounted in twin-gun dual purpose (DP) turrets, which could hit targets up to away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of allied aircraft carriers, so ''New Jersey'' was fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns. When reactivated in 1968, ''New Jersey'' had her 20 mm and 40 mm AA guns removed and was tailored for use as a heavy bombardment ship. When reactivated in 1982, ''New Jersey'' had four twin 5"/38 caliber DP mounts removed. She was outfitted with four Phalanx CIWS mounts for protection against missiles and aircraft, and eight Armored Box Launchers and eight Quad Cell Launchers designed to fire Tomahawk missiles and Harpoon missiles, respectively. Unlike the other ''Iowa''-class battleships, ''New Jersey'' was named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to repay a political debt, to then-New Jersey Governor Charles Edison. During his time in the Navy department, Edison pushed to build the ''Iowa''s, and to build one at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which secured votes for Roosevelt in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the 1940 presidential election.〔Comegno, Carol. ("Historian details the role politics played in battleship's creation" ), ''Courier-Post,'' 6 January 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS New Jersey (BB-62)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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