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The USS New Jersey left her home in Camden, New Jersey headed to Paulsboro for\u00a0 repairs. Thence, the most decorated battleship in Naval history will be ‘balanced for dry dock’\u00a0 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.<\/p>\n
\nThe vessel, guided by tugboats, docked at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal on Thursday afternoon, where it will be balanced to prepare for dry docking and will then go to the Navy Yard in six days.<\/p>\n
The maintenance work is expected to take about two months to complete, officials said. Three major repair projects are planned, including repainting the ship’s hull, fixing the anti-corrosion system underneath the ship and inspecting through-hull openings. 6abc.com<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cThe ship gets ballasted in Paulsboro, which means we are adding about 2,000 tons of water to the ship\u2019s tanks to essentially even the ship out from bow to stern so that when we enter the dry dock in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on March 27th, we\u2019re essentially making sure that the ship and the hull, when it sits down on the blocks at the shipyard, it doesn\u2019t crack the hull in half.\u201d WHYY<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
They she is the most decorated battleship in naval history. She certainly had one of the longest active careers.<\/p>\n
The USS New Jersey was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched Dec. 7, 1942 \u2014 exactly one year to the day after Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted the United States into World War II.<\/p>\n
“She supported every amphibious campaign of the Pacific War from 1943 onward,” said Spevak.<\/p>\n
She went on to an unprecedented career of service, active for 21 years across six decades.<\/p>\n
The USS New Jersey fought in the Korean War, was placed in reserve, then recommissioned for duty in Vietnam.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
An article written Wednesday March 20th described a unique thrill for a vet:<\/p>\n
Ken Kersch speaks about the USS New Jersey as if it were a warm old friend instead of cold steel military hardware. “I love this ship,” said Kersch, who spent four years in the U.S. Navy (1966-70).<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s the best ship I served on. She was a part of my life for two years. She\u2019s a part of me now.”<\/p>\n
Kersch was a machinist on the USS New Jersey from 1967 to 1969, as the battleship supported land operations during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
Kersch, a machinist during his active service, will fire the guns of the USS New Jersey as it departs its home port and again in response to a salute from Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Me, I love the Missouri, and had a good friend who worked on her when she left service. But the New Jersey (of the same Iowa class) did stay in service longer and is more decorated.\u00a0 Note that after the Reagan-era refits, EACH Iowa-class carried as much firepower as the entire US WWII Pacific Fleet. That, my friends, is force projection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"