Battleship New Jersey: The Complete History

by Paul L Stillwell USNR (Ret.), James M Caiella (Illustrator)

Overview

Battleship New Jersey: The Complete History offers the complete history of this long-storied ship from its keel laying in 1940, across all major naval conflicts of the 20th Century from WWII, Korea and Vietnam, and into the Persian Gulf. Driven by compelling new interviews with those who served on the NJ, this volume will be a major draw for readers of battleship design, WWII naval combat in the Pacific, and modern naval warfare.
Battleship New Jersey: The Complete History is a deeply detailed account of one of the world’s most famous and decorated battleships. This new edition builds upon the 1986 original, incorporating the ship’s service from 1986 to 1991, her final decommissioning, and her transformation into a world-class museum and memorial in Camden, New Jersey, in 2001. Author Paul Stillwell, who served on the ship, presents a narrative rooted in the personal stories of more than two hundred crew members. His research included interviews with thirteen of the ship’s nineteen commanding officers. Through these men’s recollections, readers will witness a firsthand perspective of life on board this legendary vessel, fostering a deep appreciation for the camaraderie and challenges faced by her sailors.  
The story begins with the ship’s genesis, from her design and construction at the Philadelphia Navy Yard to her historic launch on December 7, 1942—exactly one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Commissioned in 1943, New Jersey arrived in the Pacific in 1944. During her World War II service, she defended aircraft carriers, conducted shore bombardments, and served as Adm. William F. Halsey Jr.’s flagship. The battleship’s wartime service continued through pivotal moments in history, including the sprawling Battle of Leyte Gulf. During the Korean War, she was the first battleship recommissioned, providing critical shore bombardment fire support and flagship duties. The Vietnam War saw her in action once again, with her powerful guns safeguarding U.S. troops and striking enemy positions with unmatched accuracy.  

"Rest well, yet sleep lightly and hear the call, if again sounded, to provide firepower for freedom."  

These words were spoken by Capt. Robert C. Peniston at the ship’s decommissioning in 1969. She did indeed hear the call, and President Ronald Reagan recommissioned New Jersey in 1982. “Firepower for Freedom” was once again the ship’s motto—a perfect metaphor for the battleship’s powerful weaponry used to protect American interests. Under President Reagan’s rearmament program, New Jersey returned to duty and embarked on a global deployment that included combat operations off Lebanon, where she fired a record 288 rounds in a single day. Her legacy extended to her role as the centerpiece of the Navy’s first battleship battle group from the mid-1980s until her decommissioning in 1991.  

Battleship New Jersey: The Complete History invites readers aboard “Big J” to experience the remarkable journey of a vessel that stands as a testament to naval innovation, resilience, and service. More than a ship’s history, this book is a tribute to the men who served in her and their indomitable spirit. Whether you are a naval history enthusiast or new to the topic, this book will be an essential and compelling addition to your library.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682475676
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Paul Stillwell is an independent historian and retired naval officer. He worked for thirty years at the U.S. Naval Institute as an oral historian and editor of Naval History magazine. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including five on battleships and an award-winning volume on the U.S. Navy’s first African American officers, The Golden Thirteen. His 2021 book Battleship Commander: The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr. also received acclaim. He lives in Arnold, Maryland.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1 - From Drawing Board to Warship

September 1940 - January 1944

 High above the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the Delaware River, the December sky was laced with tracks of American fighter planes, bombers, and blimps. Their presence was part of the celebration of the christening and launching of the future battleship New Jersey. The event was on 7 December 1942, the first anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At the head of shipways number two, Mrs. Carolyn Edison, wife of New Jersey’s governor, smashed a bottle of champagne across the nose of the still-unfinished ship. The giant hull, which towered five stories above the building ways, began to slide and then moved ever more quickly. The governor’s wife blew kisses with both hands.

Applause from the crowd of twenty thousand mingled with the hooting of the New Jersey’s whistle. After it hit the water following a sixty-second journey down the ways, the 887-foot-long hull described a graceful arc and then reached across for an unscheduled bump against the river’s New Jersey shore. Within minutes, a gaggle of tugboats towed it back to the shipyard. Speeches followed from Governor Charles Edison and Under Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal.

The design process for the ship began in the late 1930s. On 1 July 1939, with the basic design complete, the Navy awarded the construction contract to the Philadelphia yard. Even as hundreds of shipboard compartments took shape on drafting tables, the name for the planned BB-62 was a subject of interest. Already in 1937, New Jersey citizens, public officials, and war veterans began petitioning the Navy to name a new battleship for their state. Especially prominent among the latter, as the campaign picked up in 1938, were veterans of the Spanish-American War.

The requests on behalf of the state bore fruit shortly after the contract was awarded. On 7 July 1939, Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson died after a period of failing health. For months Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison had acted in Swanson’s stead. Now he was officially made acting secretary, and in that capacity he approved the name “New Jersey” on 11 July. Son of the famous inventor Thomas Edison, the acting secretary didn’t have his father’s creative genius, but he was a capable businessman and solid administrator. Since he was a lifelong resident of the state, his decision was not surprising.

By 1940, the world was in considerable turmoil. The German war machine was on the march in Europe, and the Japanese had made inroads in East Asia. In the U.S. political arena President Franklin D. Roosevelt was considering an unprecedented third term. To disarm his political opponents, he cited the peril facing the nation and added Republicans to his cabinet as Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy. Charles Edison’s status had changed from acting secretary to Secretary of the Navy in January 1940. In June he left the new job when Roosevelt asked him to step aside in favor of Frank Knox. To sweeten the departure, Roosevelt offered his support for Edison to become governor of New Jersey. Edison was elected in November, and the president won his third term.

The physical manifestation of the battleship New Jersey had begun on 16 September 1940 when Edison welded the first two keel plates together.

In the months to come, that keel grew to considerable length, frames were attached, and collections of steel began to take the shape of a ship. Supervising the work were two naval constructors, Lieutenant Commander Francis Forest and Lieutenant Commander Allan L. Dunning. Building a warship of the New Jersey’s dimensions required assembling components produced in various parts of the country. Of necessity, they had to come together and go into place in a fairly rigid sequence.

At any given time, the size of the work force on the ship’s construction amounted to perhaps six thousand to eight thousand men and women, including those in various shops. One of them was Sam Kuncevich, a young shipfitter’s helper. He remembered 1940–42 as a time when there was a “spirit to get things done, to get ships built.” Eventually, work on the New Jersey proceeded around the clock in three shifts. For the day shift, the lunchtime period was a special event. Celebrities were frequently on hand to encourage the yard workers and urge people to buy war bonds. Kuncevich remembered a fight song that included the lyrics “We’re gonna have to slap the dirty little Jap, and Uncle Sam’s the guy who can do it.”

The schedule was especially tight for armor plate. Unlike older generations of battleships, the Iowa class had internal side belt armor. Thus, the heavy armor was installed while the ship was still on the building ways rather than after launching. The Midvale Steel Company of North Philadelphia supplied the New Jersey’s belt armor. It was routinely shipped to the navy yard by rail cars. For one critical section of lower side belt armor, however, a special shipment was made with a low-bed trailer truck accompanied by police escort. The plate was still so hot from its final treatment that workmen standing on the plate put an asbestos pad on it to keep their shoes from burning.

 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
 
List of Illustrations
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Revised Edition
Acknowledgements
 
Chapter 1             From Drawing Board to Warship: September 1940–January 1944
Chapter 2             World War II—Everything Except a Battleship: January 1944–August 1945
Chapter 3             Postwar Doldrums:August 1945–June 1948
Chapter 4             Korea, Midshipmen, and Korea Again: September 1950–July 1953
Chapter 5             The In-Between Years—Peacetime and Liberty Ports: July 1953–August 1957
Chapter 6             Politics and the Vietnam War: August 1967–December 1969
Chapter 7             From Mothballs to Lebanon: July 1981–June 1984
Chapter 8             Battleship Battle Group: May 1984–November 1988
Chapter 9             Going out in Style: November 1988-February 1991
Chapter 10          New Role for an Old Ship: February 1991-Present
 
Appendix I           USS New Jersey Commanding Officers
Appendix II          USS New Jersey Ship’s Data
Appendix III         Deck Diagram

Bibliography
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

"Paul Stillwell tells Battleship New Jersey's story in the crew's own words thanks to his incredible collection of oral history interviews, collected over the last 40 years. This long-awaited updated edition, which includes, for the first time, the closing years of the ship's active career and first years of her second life as a museum and memorial, is a must have for battleship enthusiasts and will be a permanent fixture on my desk at the museum."—Ryan Szimanski, Curator, Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial and Executive Director, Historic Naval Ships Association 
 

With the perspective afforded an officer who served aboard the New Jersey, Paul Stillwell has penned one of the best books on a warship ever written.  It is also a case study of a weapons system that served the country for half a century in roles unintended and in ways unimagined.  A remarkable work. —Dr. Malcom Muir,author of The Iowa Class Battleships

"Warships have lives, and so do the sailors who man them. In his revised illustrated history of battleship New Jersey, Paul Stillwell tells the stories of both with the sort of insight that only an experienced veteran—and veteran author—can have. This revision is a book to learn from and also to enjoy—as I most certainly have." — Dr. Thomas C. Hone, author of American and British Aircraft Carrier Development, 1919-1941 and Battle Line: The United States Navy, 1919-1939

"A book that vividly brings alive the entire long history of this famous ship, most notably through the voices of crew members, drawn from many personal interviews, oral histories, letters, and the author’s own personal experience as a crew member during the late 1960s. There are few books that so faithfully recall the experience of a ship’s service in war and peace, in particular one that covers such a long period of time." —Christopher C. Wright, Editor-in-Chief, Warship International

“Battleship New Jersey” is as enjoyable to read as it is to admire its research. It is filled with interesting, often funny personal anecdotes from the battleship’s construction to its service years. Stillwell has a remarkable skill at weaving technical descriptions and facts into very understandable and fast reading prose. As read as one may be the subject, be assured you will still learn new things here and enjoy it as well. —Anthony Tully 
author of "Battle of Surigao Strait",  co-author of "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway"

From the Publisher