How a political favor turned a battleship into the most decorated in US history.

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The USS New Jersey, or Big J, was born from a political debt between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Governor Charles Edison. Beyond its origins, this Iowa-class titan became the only US battleship to provide gunfire support during the Vietnam War, earning more battle stars than any of its sister ships.

Commissioned in 1943, the USS New Jersey was a product of the Preliminary Design Branch’s 1938 fast battleship plan. Its construction at the Philadelphia Navy Yard was strategically pushed by Charles Edison, then-Governor of New Jersey and former Secretary of the Navy, to secure critical electoral votes for Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election. This political maneuver birthed a vessel that would serve for 21 years across several conflicts, including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Lebanese Civil War.

The ship’s combat capabilities were defined by its massive main battery: nine 16-inch guns capable of firing 2,700-pound armor-piercing shells over 23 miles. Throughout its career, the New Jersey evolved to meet changing naval needs. During World War II, it served as a flagship for Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., playing a pivotal role in the Marianas Turkey Shoot and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Despite surviving the fury of Typhoon Cobra in 1944, where other ships capsized, the New Jersey remained a resilient fixture of the fleet.

Reactivated multiple times, the ship underwent significant modernizations. In the 1980s, it was refitted with Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles and Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems to counter modern threats. By the time it was decommissioned for the final time in 1991, it had earned 19 battle and campaign stars. Today, the ship rests in Camden, New Jersey, where it has operated as a museum ship since 15 October 2001, serving as a tangible record of 20th-century naval power and the political history that launched it.

The legacy of the New Jersey is not merely one of firepower, but of adaptability. From its role as a mobile artillery platform in Korea—where it silenced shore batteries and demolished supply lines—to its final service in the Persian Gulf, the ship demonstrated the enduring utility of the battleship design. Its transition from a weapon of war to a museum piece reflects the shifting priorities of the US Navy, yet its record as the most decorated Iowa-class battleship remains unchallenged.

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