USS New Jersey (BB-16)

New Jersey in a camouflage paint scheme, 1918
History
United States
Name:	New Jersey
Namesake:	State of New Jersey
Builder:	Fore River Shipyard
Laid down:	3 May 1902
Launched:	10 November 1904
Commissioned:	12 May 1906
Decommissioned:	6 August 1920
Struck:	12 July 1922
Fate:	Sunk as target 5 September 1923
General characteristics
Class and type:	Virginia-class battleship
Displacement:	Design: 14,948 long tons (15,188 t) Full load: 16,094 long tons (16,352 t)
Length:	441 ft 3 in (134 m)
Beam:	76 ft 3 in (23 m)
Draft:	23 ft 9 in (7 m)
Installed power:	19,000 ihp (14,000 kW)
Propulsion:	2 × vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines 12 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers
Speed:	19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement:	812
Armament:	4 × 12 in (305 mm)/40 caliber guns 8 × 8 in (203 mm)/45 cal guns 12 × 6 in (152 mm)/50 cal guns 12 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns 12 × 3 pounder guns 4 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 6–11 in (152–279 mm) Barbettes: 10 in (254 mm) Turrets: 12 in (305 mm) Conning tower: 9 in (229 mm)

USS New Jersey (BB-16) was the fourth of five Virginia-class battleships of the United States Navy, and the first ship to carry her name. She was laid down at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts in May 1902, launched in November 1904, and commissioned into the fleet in May 1906. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

New Jersey spent her entire career in the Atlantic Fleet. In late 1906, she took part in the Second Occupation of Cuba, and she participated in the Jamestown Exposition in April – May 1907. At the end of the year, she joined the Great White Fleet for its circumnavigation of the globe, which lasted into 1909. The ship spent the following five years conducting peacetime training. In April 1914, New Jersey took part in the occupied Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution. During World War I, she was used as a training ship, and after the war, she was tasked with transporting American soldiers back from Europe. New Jersey was decommissioned in 1920 and slated for destruction in bombing tests in 1923. Martin NBS-1 bombers sank the ship on 5 September 1923 in a series of bomb attacks.

New Jersey was 441 feet 3 inches (134.49 m) long overall and had a beam of 76 ft 3 in (23.24 m) and a draft of 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m). She displaced 14,948 long tons (15,188 t) as designed and up to 16,094 long tons (16,352 t) at full load. The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at 19,000 indicated horsepower (14,000 kW) and twelve coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers, generating a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). As built, she was fitted with heavy military masts, but these were quickly replaced by cage masts in 1909. She had a crew of 812 officers and enlisted men.