We lost five planes in one day on that one target. On October 20, 1944, over 160,000 Army troops landed on Leyte, a large island in the center of the Philippines. On April 7, while still hundreds of miles from Okinawa, Yamato and several escorts were sunk by 280 American planes from the carriers, while the New Jersey protected the carriers from attacking aircraft. For six months, USS New Jersey steamed just offshore to deter further conflict with her intimidating presence. The generated steam supplied four sets of Westinghouse geared, double reduction turbines to provide an output shaft horsepower to the four propeller shafts totaling 212,000 horsepower, with the shafts turning up to 202 RPM. She was reactivated to fight in the Korean War, and again to fight in the Vietnam War, when she was the worlds only operating battleship. That night and the next day, the New Jersey, the battleline, and the rest of the Fifth Fleet sailed toward the Japanese fleet. What had been the Fifth Fleet while Admiral Spruance commanded was called the Third Fleet while Halsey commanded. merced toyota To preserve her for possible future use, the Navy began the process popularly known as mothballing. The ship was sealed up with dehumidification equipment running inside alongside desiccant packs to prevent mold and water degradation. After triumphantly circling Truk in USS New Jersey, Admiral Spruance ordered his ships to hoist their large Victory Flags, and a victory it was. After his pilots reported little aerial opposition, Halsey on the New Jersey told his chief of staff, Admiral Robert Mick Carney: Im going to stick my neck out. The cycle began again, the teenage seamen performing the same tasks their grandfathers had done forty years before. The Soviet commander hears the sound of ripping linen that announces the passage of the monstrous projectiles, and sees the curtain of dust and rock as the battleships shells obliterate his artillery. They first came aboard at Pusan on April 14, 1953. The goal was to secure a base to escort and recover B-29 bombers attacking Japan from the Marianas. The New Jersey relieved Missouri, which had relieved Iowa. American dreadnought battleships (BB-26 through BB-44), built just before and during the First World War, grew in armament from eight 12-inch guns to twelve 14-inch guns, in displacement from 16,000 to 32,000 tons, in speed from 18 to 21 knots, and in propulsion from coal-fired expansion engines to oil-fired turbines. Registration and communicating with shipmates at Hullnumber.com is FREE FOREVER. Signed up the help maintain this historic ship after retiring from the IBM Corporation. New Jersey BB-62 Veterans, Inc. Their website features an online Member Roster, They made the bold decision to tow the two crippled cruisers and use them as bait to lure out the Japanese fleet. USS New Jersey was in active service for over 21.5 years 2.5 years more than Iowa, 5 years more than Missouri, and 8.5 years more than Wisconsin. It was an honor and a privilege to serve on-board the USS New Jersey with my fellow shipmates, and to be part of the final decommissioning crew. By the end of the war, that number would increase more than 10 times to over 3.4 million. Volume VIII, New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944-August 1944, @ 1953 Samuel Eliot Morison. Box BB-62 30 Sep 1968 The battleship USS New Jersey fires its 16-inch guns into the demilitarized zone here 9/30. As a result, the two Iowa-class battleships under construction (Illinois (BB-65) and Kentucky (BB-66)) were scrapped, and the more powerful but slower Montana-class battleships (BB-67 through BB-71) were never started. Bush had been shot down and rescued by a submarine. For her two tours between May 17, 1951, and July 27, 1953, USS New Jersey was awarded the Korean Service Medal with four battle stars 1. 13 Jun 1945 : USS Wisconsin arrived at Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands for repairs. Thus, ended Halseys run to the south, which pundits dubbed Bulls Run. As author Ian Toll stated, The mighty New Jersey had chased 300 miles north, turned around, and chased 300 miles south. The New Jersey escorted fast carriers striking Okinawa, Taiwan, and then Luzon. After she had steamed east over 6,000 of the 8,000 miles to Long Beach, on April 15, 1969, the North Koreans, who in January had seized the intelligence ship USS Pueblo, shot down an unarmed EC-121 Constellation reconnaissance aircraft over international waters, killing 31 Americans. As naval aviator and POW Jeremiah Denton said in the 1980s when he was a Senator urging the reactivation of the New Jersey: In Vietnam, we lost hundreds of aircraft at great cost in lives, as well as in dollars, that could have been saved had a battleship been on station. After the Caines officers abandon their effort to see Admiral Halsey, they watch USS New Jersey and other floating iron skyscrapers head off to support the landing on Mindoro as part of the most formidable sea force that the planet has ever borne. During the typhoon, the Caine sees the New Jersey trying to refuel a destroyer but the fueling line parts with the destroyer yawing violently near the battleship, trailing a snaky black hose. Unlike the flammable carriers, the Iowa-class ships were near impervious to kamikazes. The four Iowa-class were the only battleships fast enough to keep up with the fast carriers in World War II. All but Kearsarge (BB-5) were named after states. The Official The Battleship USS New Jersey, From Birth to Berth, by Carol Comegno, @ 2001, Published by Pediment Publishing, Canada. From January 25 to February 4, the New Jersey protected carriers striking the Japanese bases on Kwajalein and Eniwetok atolls, enabling the Army and Marines to invade Kwajalein and Majuro atolls. This limited the United States Navy to 18 battleships totaling 525,000 tons displacement. At 1701, Admiral Halsey ordered the fastest part of Task Force 34 USS New Jersey, Iowa, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers to race ahead at almost 30 knots to catch Admiral Kuritas force in a night action. Moreover, the New Jersey was the first ship on which Admiral Chester Nimitz flew his five-star flag as admiral of the fleet. USS New Jersey (BB-62) sent 30 crew members ashore for Thanksgiving dinner while offshore near Hue on November 28, 1968 USS Saint Paul (CA-73) [Cruiser] while anchored in Da Nang Harbor, small boats sent ashore on May 9, 1969, and May 25, July 17, and September 17, 1970 . The Iowa-class ships great size and reserve of buoyancy allowed them to carry the heavy anti-aircraft armament needed to defend themselves and the carriers they escorted in the Air Age, and to incorporate the latest cruise missile and anti-ship missile technology to keep them relevant in the Missile Age. The Soviet Union was pressured by President Reagans foreign policy initiatives and expansion of the Navy (which peaked at 594 ships), and challenged by East European discontent, Afghan resistance, and economic deterioration at home. With several destroyers dangerously low on fuel and high in the water, Admiral Halsey ordered refueling to continue. After the Korean War, the Navy again began decommissioning ships. For that reason, she did not join the recently reactivated Missouri and Wisconsin when President George H.W. Propulsion was where the Iowa-class ships were most improved; their power plant was designed to be 60% more powerful to propel the larger vessels 6 knots faster than the South Dakota class, making the Iowa class the first battleships fast enough to keep up with the fast carriers. Reports of changes were compiled monthly and are found in between each quarter's muster roll. Iowa and Wisconsin were decommissioned in early 1958 and laid up in Philadelphia. These ironclads helped win the American Civil War and led to seagoing warships, such as the cruiser Olympia, now berthed near the New Jersey on the Delaware. To use this service, please write to the following address and include the service member's full name, Social Security number, grade or rank, and, if possible, last known duty station. As USS New Jersey led the entire Third Fleet north that night, some of Admiral Halseys subordinates were concerned that San Bernardino Strait was totally unguarded. With the fighting ended in Korea, the New Jersey visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, where Wisconsin relieved her as Seventh Fleet flagship on October 14, 1953. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Takom Model 1:700 USS Southernland DD743 Gearing Class Destroyer 1945 w/F New at the best online prices at eBay! UNDERWAY! Most were downed by Navy planes, carriers, the screen, or the New Jersey, but some got through. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, by Joseph-James Ahern, @ 1997 Joseph-James Ahern, Published by Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC. Good time were had aboard Our Lady Gray. The New Jersey displays one of her original quad 40mm guns, and displays two single 20mm guns. After World War I, America completed her first battleships with eight 16-inch/45-caliber guns (BB-45, -46 and -48). At 2022 Admiral Halsey sent a radio telegram from USS New Jersey to Admirals Nimitz and Kinkaid stating he was PROCEEDING NORTH WITH 3 GROUPS TO ATTACK CARRIER FORCE AT DAWN. Nimitz and Kincaid believed this referred only to Halseys three carrier groups and not to Task Force 34, which they again assumed was guarding San Bernardino Strait. Go Nasty boys (softball team). Box BB-62 Middletown, New Jersey 07748-0062 Phone: (908) 233-9093 Fax: (908) 233-0823 Or click below to visit their website: However, Tirpitz sustained enough damage from British midget submarines that she required months of repairs. Back to the USS New Jersey (BB 62) page|Crew List main page| That started a four-week slog to conquer this heavily defended heart of the Marianas. Visiting the @acboatshow this weekend? USS New Jerseys 16-inch shells could not be shot down and had no pilot who could be taken prisoner. USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) Crew Roster. Moreover, the destruction of all major hostile surface navies, the coming of peace, and the advent of nuclear weapons reduced the need to maintain the largest fleet in history. Reagan opened by saying: I find myself developing a great respect for the leading lady in these ceremonies. USS New Jerseys other anti-aircraft armament evolved with experience with air attacks during World War II, and with reduced air threat and higher jet speeds after the war. The Japanese main fleet had already fled, but Spruances carrier planes pounded the atoll and the remaining ships in its lagoon. Battleship commander Admiral Lee used a blinker light to signal the New Jersey he believed that Ozawas carrier force was a decoy and that Kuritas fleet would come out through the strait. Slade D. Cutter) torpedoes and sinks YAWATA MARU. Accordingly, the Japanese Navy sought a decisive battle to stop the Fifth Fleet. The heavy powder bags were dropped onto the ramps and rammed behind the shells. The Fourth Registration, often referred to as the "old man's registration", was conducted on 27 April 1942. With the battlelines stabilizing and negotiations beginning, USS New Jersey still alternated between escorting carriers and bombarding the North Korean coast. Do not sell or share my personal information, Date reported for particular duty or on board. When the contract was awarded in July 1939, Charles Edison, son of the famous New Jersey inventor Thomas Edison, was acting Secretary of the Navy. By using the list of officers in the deck logs and the muster rolls, one can compile a list of the crew. Four turrets were removed in 1982 to make room for Tomahawk cruise missile and Harpoon anti-ship missile batteries. A flight of aircraft is a momentary and vulnerable show of force; post-war ships have insufficient armor to operate close to land; but a battleship anchored off a hotspot sends a clear message. A carrier airstrike was launched against the Syrian anti-aircraft batteries, but two planes were shot down. While USS New Jersey was readying again for action, 1968 had opened with the Tet offensive against cities throughout South Vietnam. Additionally, her interior spaces were air-conditioned and reconfigured for greater crew comfort as befitting a ship serving in the new era of an all-volunteer military. Her 55,000 sq. Her internal piping system can handle up to 125,000 gallons of fresh water per minute, while the salt-water distilling plan can produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water daily. On March 5, 1953, the New Jersey left Norfolk for her second tour off Korea. Her introduction led to the major powers building great fleets of ever more powerful dreadnought battleships. Iraq and Iran had been in a vicious war since 1980, and both had attacked tankers carrying oil through the vital waterway. Aft and amidships, the ship was fitted with eight quadruple Mark 143 Armored Box Launchers to fire thirty-two Tomahawk missiles. On September 16, 1940, with the war in Europe already a year old, the New Jersey was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She twice attacked Truk, Japans Gibraltar of the Pacific, and with Iowa sank fleeing Japanese warships the only surface combat by the Iowa-class ships. USS New Jersey is a national memorial to her crews and other Americans who served over her five decades. For information about joining, or getting membership information, contact them at: Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society P.O. The heaviest battleship afloat, Yamato, together with three other battleships, could have faced Americas best battleships New Jersey and Iowa, and perhaps the four slower American battleships. Uniquely, USS New Jersey was considered for more radical changes: replacing her rear 16-inch turret with a vertical-launching missile system carrying 48 more Tomahawk or Harpoon missiles, or with a ski-jump ramp able to launch and land vertical- or short-takeoff aircraft like the Marines Harrier jump jet. By the end of their second war, the Navy decided to replace them. Unsinkable Sailors: The Fall and Rise of the Last Crew of USS Frank E. Evans: Th 9780979164231 | eBay All Rights Reserved. Also, in 1982, the New Jerseys interior spaces were reconfigured for greater crew comfort, including new bunks and lockers, air conditioning systems, and other amenities such as a chapel and a TV studio. General MacArthur strode ashore through the surf and broadcasted: This is the voice of freedom, General MacArthur speaking. In June and July, the New Jersey provided sustained fire support for a U.N. offensive near Kansong. It demonstrated to the Soviets the renewed power of the Navy in the Pacific, highlighted by a simultaneous live fire demonstration by the New Jersey and Missouri. To avoid the weather, Halsey moved the fueling rendezvous south. The Battle for Leyte Gulf, by William F. Halsey, Jr., in U.S. Meanwhile, the New Jersey and Iowa bombarded Japans base on Mili atoll in the Marshalls on March 18, 1944. About; Archives & Collections; . These frames and spacings along with the many other bulkheads provide the ship with approximately 1,100 individual compartments. On April 13, 1944, USS New Jersey and Admiral Spruances Central Pacific Force now renamed the Fifth Fleet steamed 2,000 miles west to support the amphibious offensive by General Douglas MacArthur and the Seventh Fleet against the Japanese in New Guinea. 9 Jun 1945 : USS Wisconsin was designated a training ship for a cruise to Britain, France, and Cuba. All the 40mm guns were removed in 1967. At 0100 on October 26, Nowaki was exploded by Task Force 34.5s cruisers and destroyers. Sixteen of them, with white-painted hulls, comprised President Theodore Roosevelts Great White Fleet that circumnavigated the world in 1907-09, announcing Americas arrival as a global naval power. On July 19, 1940, Congress passed the Two-Ocean Navy Act, authorizing the construction of three more Iowa-class battleships. Pull yourself together! Halsey, so mad he could not talk, stormed into his cabin on the New Jersey. It rapidly revamped its Kongo-class battlecruisers as 30-knot fast battleships, and reputedly began designing new battleships to have unprecedented tonnage and armament. A group of Soviet surface ships, led by Kirov, heads for the East Coast but is confronted by a battle group led by the New Jersey. After a minor overhaul, she served as flagship for the Fifth Fleet as the Second World War closed. U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949. Inert gas ejected scraps of the silk propellant-bags out of the muzzles to clear the bores, then the breeches opened and loading ramps unfolded into place. It's currently a museum ship in, fittingly, New Jersey. On March 24, 1945, USS New Jersey bombarded Okinawa in preparation for the April 1 invasion by four Army and three Marine divisions. Luzon Operations, 8. Thus, the typhoon results in a court-martial. On November 22, 1951, as delegates at Panmunjom agreed that the current battleline would be the truce line, USS New Jersey was relieved by the newly arrived Wisconsin (later relieved by Iowa). On May 31, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara authorized a study on whether to reactivate a battleship. By 1950 these had been replaced by helicopters, for which the New Jersey has a landing pad and flight control tower. The work to recommission the New Jersey was performed in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she had been built. As early as the 1970s, the Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society and other organizations had been formed to lobby the Navy to return the historic New Jersey to the State for which she was named. After training exercises in the Caribbean, the New Jersey and the midshipmen arrived in New York on August 28. She earned the following commendations: World War II Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal; Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation; America Defense Service Ribbon; and the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Ribbon with nine battle stars 1. USS New Jersey and Admiral Spruance reunited at Majuro. There he conferred with General MacArthurs staff and finalize plans for the next big operation: the landing at Leyte Island to begin the liberation of the Philippines, then an American Commonwealth occupied by Imperial Japan early in the war. Best Time of my Naval Career- Dirk's right we should have shoved a 16 projectile up saddams asshole----and that prick Bin Ladin too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The New Jersey protected carriers striking Japans new Combined Fleet base in the Palau Islands on March 30-April 1. Ultimately, the rear 16-inch turret was retained, and was put to good use. On October 18, 1943, many months ahead of schedule, USS New Jersey was ready for duty. She was visited by more than 21,000 people. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were repulsed with heavy losses by U.S. and South Vietnamese forces, but the Tet offensive shocked America and fueled opposition to the war. On March 31, President Lyndon Johnson announced he would enter negotiations, drop his bid for re-election, and halt bombing north of the 19th Parallel thus shielding much of North Vietnam (including the Thanh Hoa bridge) from bombardment by the New Jersey. New Jersey was outfitted with three Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes for this purpose at the beginning of her World War II service in 1943. The destroyers, cruisers, and battleships obliterated Nishimuras two battleships, his heavy cruiser, and three of his four destroyers. These were the first shells fired by the New Jersey in the Vietnamese war. The Fast Carriers, The Forging of an Air Navy, by Clark G. Reynolds, @ 1968 Clark G. Reynolds, Published by McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY. USS New Jersey remained in commission until June 30, 1948. She arrived off Vietnam on September 29. Phone: (908) 233-9093 Fax: (908) 233-0823 The task force was subjected to a flurry of attacking bombers and kamikazes, including the first use of rocket-powered piloted flying bombs. The Communist forces had just driven the outnumbered U.N. forces back across the 38th Parallel to the gates of Seoul in the biggest battle of the war. Admiral Gerald Bogan, commander of one of Halseys carrier groups, used TBS to contact the New Jersey and reiterate his night scouting pilots had seen that Admiral Kuritas force was again heading toward San Bernardino Strait and that the Japanese had turned on the straits navigation lights. As a result, she was recommissioned at the lightest weight ever achieved by an Iowa-class battleship. West Caroline Operations, 5. This was the largest amphibious operation in the Pacific and proved to be the final amphibious operation of the war. That means it lobbed 5,866 sixteen-inch shells and 14,891 five-inch shells. DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. The armor was designed to give a zone of immunity against fire from 16-inch/45-caliber guns at ranges of between 18,000 and 30,000 yards and is impenetrable by smaller guns. When they ran out of ammunition, they made repeated dummy runs through heavy anti-aircraft fire to divert the Japanese ships. The Americans lost warships displacing 36,600 tons (a light carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 1 destroyer escort, 1 PT Boat), about 200 planes, and approximately 3000 men. In 1999, Congress allowed the Navy to turn USS New Jersey into a museum, provided she was moored in New Jersey territorial waters. The table below contains the names of sailors who served aboard the USS New Jersey (BB 62). After a refit, USS New Jersey was once again the flagship of a midshipmens summer cruise, this time to San Francisco, Tacoma, San Diego, and Hawaii, where her crew listened as man first walked on the moon. On June 7, 1954, off the Virginia Capes, all four Iowa-class battleships steamed together for the first and only time. USS New Jersey and the Fifth Fleet weathered the most powerful kamikaze attacks of the war, with over 355 kamikazes and 340 other planes attacking on April 6-7, and 185 kamikazes and a hundred or more other planes on April 11-12, 1945. Naval Institute Proceedings, May 1952. Best time of my life, we did a west-pac and it was great!!! After the Communists broke off talks in August 1951, the New Jersey provided naval gunfire support for the U.N. troops ashore near Kansong. The Japanese formations were decimated by superior American pilots and fighters in what one pilot said was just like an old-time turkey shoot down home! Japanese planes which got through the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot mainly attacked the heavily armored battleline. Typhoon Cobra and USS New Jersey were immortalized in Herman Wouks Pulitzer-prize-winning novel The Caine Mutiny, which was made into a movie. The Army was able to land at Lingayen Gulf on January 9, 1945, and eventually liberate Manila and the rest of Luzon. Chevalier. Over the next two months, she launched some of her heaviest and most accurate bombardments, again hitting Wonson, Hungnam, and Tanchon and directly supporting U.N. troops near Kansong. On the way back to Majuro, the New Jersey escorted carriers striking the Japanese vessels and aircraft remaining at Truk on April 29-30 and helped down two Japanese planes attacking the fleet. Franklin CV-13 in 1944 and 1945 and the dates they lost their lives. She was the Navys featured attraction at New Yorks Armed Forces Day that May. The Navy accepted the Home Port Alliances application on January 20, 2000. The New Jersey headed back to her homeport of Norfolk via Long Beach and the Panama Canal. The length of the hull is divided with 4-foot frame section spacings into a total of 216 frames. Select the period (starting by the reporting year): precomm 1956 Japan committed to the attack all its modern battleships, including for the first time its treaty-busting battleships, Yamato and Musashi, with displacement exceeding 64,000 tons and 18.1-inch guns both the largest ever for a battleship. The New Jersey and the other fast battleships bombarded Saipan and Tinian on June 13, the older battleships did so June 14, and the troops landed on mountainous Saipan on June 15. These records are not available online. World War II at Sea, A Global History, by Craig L. Symonds, @ 2018 Craig L. Symonds, Published by Oxford University Press, New York, NY. The cover is a little worn ie. In 1955, after a shakedown cruise to Cuba and the Dominican Republic, USS New Jersey took the midshipmen on a summer cruise to Spain, England, and Cuba. He was the only sailor ever killed in action on the New Jersey throughout the many conflicts in which she participated over her four commissionings. That same day, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died. They had just attacked the Bonin Islands, where Navy aviator and future President George H.W. REPEAT: STRIKE! 1989 signaled the victorious conclusion of the Cold War. Although she had been deployed for much longer than planned, she could not be relieved as she was still the only active battleship; Iowa would not be reactivated until April 28, 1984. After reactivation and training in the Caribbean, USS New Jersey sailed through the Panama Canal on April 20, 1951, passing the homeward-bound Missouri. In April 1937, the allied powers invoked the escalator clause in the Second London Naval Treaty which enabled them again to build battleships with 16-inch guns. Following an overhaul at Long Beach, USS New Jersey returned to the Western Pacific in 1988 for naval exercises. The guns had a lifespan of 300 full charge shots per barrel before the shells wore the rifling away and made the gun inaccurate. Beginning in the 1880s, armored, turreted battleships became the capital ships of the worlds major naval powers. At 0705, Halsey replied from the New Jersey: NEGATIVE. It truly was an awsome ship, it was an honor to be a part of the decom crew. Free shipping for many products! The Guinness Book of World Records awarded USS New Jersey the title as the fastest battleship in history. By 1912, America pioneered the innovative all or nothing armor scheme to protect vital areas more heavily by leaving other areas unarmored. Taffy 3s few destroyers and destroyer escorts exhausted their torpedoes in desperate charges and then closed to point-blank range to use their 5-inch guns against the impenetrable armor of the powerful Japanese ships. Descend to Broadway and walk inside fire and boiler rooms of our nation's largest battleship. USS New Jersey arrived in Japan on May 12, 1951 and became the flagship of the Seventh Fleet under Admiral Harold Martin, who had commanded a carrier at Leyte Gulf. Equipment was coated with preservative grease like cosmoline, and non-moving parts were preserved under layers of paint. On June 7, 1947, the New Jersey set off on the training cruise carrying over 500 Naval Academy midshipmen. There he and Carney remained for an hour of undisclosed drama, while the New Jersey and the rest of Halseys force continued to speed north toward Admiral Ozawa, and away from Taffy 3. In 1982, the New Jersey received updated systems to protect against incoming missiles. 1957 1968 The Rhees and Eighth Army commander General Maxwell Taylor attended USS New Jerseys 10th anniversary celebration at Incheon on May 23. This is a blast. Bush ordered them to the Persian Gulf after Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. By the late 1990s two distinct groups had emerged as potential stewards of the historic warship. The New Jersey is the only one of Spruances flagships still in existence. at: As Admiral Halseys flagship, she led the Third Fleet as it supported General MacArthurs difficult, two-month struggle to take Leyte from the reinforced Japanese Army. The Commandant of the Marine Corps, General P.X. This database contains U.S. Navy muster rolls and associated reports of changes for U.S. Navy enlisted personnel who served on U.S. Navy ships or in other naval activities between 31 January 1938 and 31 December 1949. Perry Levine This site's Ships Log nearly This database contains an index to U.S. Marine Corps muster rolls from 1798-1958. For another layer of defense, eight sextuple Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures Chaff and Decoy Launching Systems were installed. During the 1950s, a version of the W19 nuclear artillery shell was developed specifically for the 16-inch guns, making them the worlds largest nuclear artillery, and making the Iowa-class battleships the only US Navy ships ever to have nuclear projectiles designed for them. Nishimura encountered torpedo-firing PT boats, and then faced massed torpedo attacks by destroyers.