The “Black Dragon,” USS New Jersey (BB-62), whose keel was laid in September 1940, was last dry docked from late 1990 into 1991 when she was being deactivated and prepared for the mothball fleet. Stricken in 1999, capping an impressive 56-year career (21 of them on active duty), she has been a museum ship since 2001.
With “Big J” currently dry docked for the first time in three decades, it is interesting to see how her hull is holding up and, luckily, she will be open for limited tours every Saturday and Sunday for the next two months while the Battleship is in dry dock.
If you can’t make it to Philly for the tour, below is a rundown of how she looks and how the project is going thus far.
Battle Group Romeo
With the above in mind, this post seems like a great time to highlight a couple of her biggest cruises following her third (and final) recommissioning– operating with the Pacific Fleet as the centerpiece of her own surface action group: Battle Group Romeo. It was the first time a battleship had operated in those waters since 1954.
This would include a lengthy 1986 West Pac cruise with port calls at Pearl, Inchon, Manila, Sasebo, Hong Kong, Pattaya Beach (!), and a brush with the Red Fleet in the Sea of Okhost before returning stateside.
Then came the 1988 West Pac cruise which saw Battle Group Romeo steam to Australia and operate in tandem with ships of the Royal Australian Navy and call at Sydney there to mark the country’s bicentennial celebration.
Drink in the “Big Thunder Down Under” pics, all taken by PH2 Barry Orell, across the 86 and 88 deployments, and currently in the National Archives.
An aerial bow view of the first battleship battle group to deploy to the Western Pacific since the Korean War underway with Australian ships during a training exercise. The ships are, clockwise from bottom: USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9), USS MERRILL (DD-976), HMAS SWAN (D-50), HMAS STUART (D-48), HMAS PARRAMATTA (D-46), USNS PASSUMPSIC (T-AO-107), USS WABASH (AOR-5), HMAS DERWENT (D-49), USS KIRK (FF-1087), USS THACH (FFG-43), HMAS HOBART (D-39) and USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), center.
An aerial bow view of the first battleship battle group to deploy to the Western Pacific since the Korean War underway. The ships are, clockwise from top: replenishment oiler USS WABASH (AOR 5), destroyer USS MERRILL (DD 976), frigate USS GRAY (FF 1054), guided missile frigate USS THACH (FFG 43), nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9) and the battleship USS NEW JERSEY (BB 62), center.
An aerial port bow view of the first battleship battle group to deploy to the Western Pacific since the Korean War underway with Australian ships during a training exercise. The ships are, clockwise from bottom left: USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9), USS MERRILL (DD-976), HMAS SWAN (D-50), HMAS STUART (D-48), HMAS PARRAMATTA (D-46), USNS PASSUMPSIC (T-AO-107), USS WABASH (AOR-5), HMAS DERWENT (D-49), USS KIRK (FF-1087), USS THACH (FFG-43), HMAS HOBART (D-39) AND USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), center.
An aerial port beam view of the first battleship battle group to deploy to the Western Pacific since the Korean War underway with Australian ships during a training exercise. The ships are, clockwise from left: USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9), USS MERRILL (DD-976), HMAS SWAN (D-50), HMAS STUART (D-48), HMAS PARRAMATTA (D-46), USNS PASSUMPSIC (T-AO-107), USS WABASH (AOR-5), HMAS DERWENT (D-49), USS KIRK (FF-1087), USS THACH (FFG-43), HMAS HOBART (D-39) and USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), center.
An aerial starboard bow view of the first battleship battle group to deploy to the Western Pacific since the Korean War underway with Australian ships during a training exercise. The ships are, clockwise from right: USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9), USS MERRILL (DD-976), HMAS SWAN (D-50), HMAS STUART (D-48), HMAS PARRAMATTA (D-46), USNS PASSUMPSIC (T-AO-107), USS WABASH (AOR-5), HMAS DERWENT (D-49), USS KIRK (FF-1087), USS THACH (FFG-43), HMAS HOBART (D-39) and USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), center.
A port bow view of the battleship USS NEW JERSEY (BB 62) tied up at a pier with 60 other warships during the Australian bicentennial celebration.
A view of the battleship USS NEW JERSEY (BB 62) lit up at night during the Australian bicentennial celebration.