Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Aloha to the Battleship New Jersey (Part 2)

USS New Jersey
Battleship New Jersey
Public Domain (link)

Continuing the scouts' overnight encampment aboard the Battleship New Jersey, from it website,

BB62 was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and launched December 7, 1942- just a year after the Pearl Harbor Attack brought America into WWII.  


The USS NEW JERSEY (BB62) was actually the second ship to be called “NEW JERSEY”, the first being BB16, a turn of the century (19th century) battleship. The first Battleship New Jersey (BB-16) was a Virginia class pre-dreadnought that served from 1906 until she was sunk as a bombing target in 1922. She sailed with the Great White Fleet and served her country in World War I as a training vessel.


NEW JERSEY was decommissioned on February 8, 1991 in Long Beach, California and later towed to Bremerton, Washington where she resided until heading home to New Jersey. She was officially stricken from the Navy list on February 12,1995 but was then ordered reinstated by an order of congress as a mobilization asset under Bill 1024 section 1011.
 

On January 4, 1999 NEW JERSEY was again stricken from the Navy list and IOWA replaced her as a mobilization asset. On September 12, 1999 NEW JERSEY began her Final Voyage home from Bremerton, where she had rested in mothballs for the last 8 years. On November 11th, she arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Since that time, she has been restored, opened and established as an educational museum and a tribute to the brave sailors who served on her during her long and distinguished career. The Battleship New Jersey opened as a Museum and Memorial in October 2001.


This is the panel which allows the crew to turn the ship around .... hands off!


The guide reminded the scouts to obey "no entry signs" ...


... lest the scouts fall several stories down the rabbit hole.  It has a long ladder to allow sailors in the lower levels of the ship to escape quickly to safety.


 Time for lights out ... but not in the officers' quarters!


I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter from this week's posts.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about ships - have you visited any or cruised on any?

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, February 20, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, February 21.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City



11 comments:

  1. Yes my hubby took me aboard one last year for our anniversary a cruise ship though not a battle ship or anything

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  2. I have visited many ships. Tall ships in Boston and military ships in San Diego. Then I have cruised on very big ones and even took a river cruise.

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  3. Ni I haven't been on a ship, get seasich just by looking at one ;-)

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  4. I've never been on a commercial cruise - when I was a kid my family did take the Blue Nose Schooner (car carrier ferry) from Maine to Nova Scotia. I've climbed around on some Navy ships in ports (now museums), but not the New Jersey yet.

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  5. I was on a casino ship in B.C., it was awesome.

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  6. I've been on one cruise and loved it. Also got to go aboard a navy ship when in D.C.

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  7. I've been on a few cruise ships.

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  8. I've been on several cruises and enjoyed every one of them.

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  9. We have cruised on several cruise ships. And we have toured the USS Stennis and the USS Midway aircraft carriers. And the old sailing ship The Star of India.

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  10. I would be interested in seeing a ship as a museum, but not for sailing. I have a tendency toward motion sickness! I would love to see the USS New Jersey & the even closer-to-home Intrepid museum.

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