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NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive

BB-16 USS NEW JERSEY

Radio Call Sign: November - Mike - Foxtrot

Virginia Class Battleship: Displacement 14,948 Tons, Dimensions, 441' 3" (oa) x 76' 3" x 26' (Max). Armament 4 x 12"/40 8 x 8"/40, 12 x 6"/50 12 x 3"/50, 4 21" tt. Armor, 11" Belt, 12" Turrets, 3" Decks, 9" Conning Tower. Machinery, 19,000 IHP; 2 vertical, inverted, triple expansion engines, 2 screws. Speed, 19 Knots, Crew 812.

The following analysis is by historian Chuck Haberlein, formerly of the Naval Historical Center:
According to "Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990" (by Stephen S. Roberts & K. Jack Bauer), three of the BB-13 class had their names changed on 7 March 1901 (before any of them were laid down). Battleship # 13 was originally named New Jersey. Battleship # 14 was originally to be Pennsylvania, and Battleship # 16 was to be Virginia. After the renamings, Virginia and New Jersey had swapped places, Nebraska (originally intended for Armored Cruiser # 4 ) swapped ships with Pennsylvania. Again, according to that book: "The construction of the first two ships (ie BBs 13 & 14) was delayed because of Congressional limitations on the price that could be paid for armor plate and because of lengthy debates within the navy on the arrangement of the guns" (presumably the superposed 8"/12" turrets). (my comments are in parentheses). Same book's Armored Cruiser # 4 class entry states: "The refusal of manufacturers to sell armor within the price limits set by Congress delayed the ships' construction." Both classes (BB-13 & ACR-4) were originally authorized in Fiscal Year 1900, but the first of them were not laid down until 7 August 1901 (Pennsylvania, as Armored Cruiser # 4) and 31 August 1901 (Georgia, as Battleship # 15). It looks to me like there may have been some political log rolling involved in the renamings. PERHAPS (this is purely a guess) some Pennsylvania politicos wanted "their" name on a ship ASAP, so it was given to the first available keel. Then again, maybe builder location had something to do with it. Cramp built Armored Cruiser # 4, while none of the Virginia class battleships were built in Pennsylvania.

Operational and Building Data: Laid down by Fore River, Shipbuilding, Quincy MA., 2 April 1902. Launched 10 November 1904. Commissioned 12 May 1906. Decommissioned 6 August 1920. Stricken 12 July 1922. Transfered to War Department, 6 August 1923.
Fate: Sunk as Target by Army Air Corps off Diamond Shoals, North Carolina, 5 September 1923.
Click On Image
For Full Size		 Size Image Description Source
Keel Laying / Commissioning
1902 - 1906
BB-13 VirginiaNRBIGGEST OF ALL BATTLESHIPS: The Pennsylvania.
When Completed Will Be by Far the Most Dangerous War Vessel in the World.
DECK PLAN OF THE BATTLESHIP PENNSYLVANIA, SHOWING THE HEAVY AND LIGHT BATTERIES.
Two 12 and Two 8-Inch Guns in Each Turret. With One Coaling Could Steam to London and Return.
....Of the new battleships there will be three. The Georgia (BB-15) and the New Jersey (BB-16) will be the other two ships built upon the same model.		Image and text provided by Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN.
Photo from The Saint Paul Globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 14 January 1900, Image 19, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
ARKANSAS NR THE UNITED STATES MUST BUILD MORE MEN-OF-WAR.
WARSHIPS TO BE BUILT BY THE UNITED STATES, ILLUSTRATION SHOWING THE $250,000,000 ADDITION TO THE NAVY
Name and Type. knots.
1 Kearsarge, battleship, 17
2 Kentucky, battleship, 17
3 Georgia, battleship, 19
4 New Jersey, battleship, 19
5 Pennsylvania, battleship, 19
6 Illinois, battleship, 17
7 Wisconsin, battleship, 17
8 Alabama, battleship, 17
9 Missouri, battleship, 18
10 Ohio, battleship, 18
11 Maine, battleship, 18
12 Plunger, submarine torpedo boat, 8
13 West Virginia, armored cruiser, 22
14 Nebraska, armored cruiser, 22
15 California, armored cruiser 22
16 Arkansas, monitor, 12
17 Connecticut, monitor, 12
18 Florida, monitor, 12
19 Wyoming, monitor, 12
20 Albany, sheathed protected cruiser, 20
21 Denver, sheathed protected cruiser, 17
22 Des Moines, sheathed protected cruiser, 17
23 Chattanooga, sheathed protected cruiser, 17
24 Galveston, sheathed protected cruiser, 17
25 Tacoma, sheathed protected cruiser, 17
26 Cleveland, sheathed protected cruiser, 17
27 Unnamed gunboat for lake service
28 Stringham, torpedo boat, 30
29 Goldsborough, torpedo boat, 30
30 Bailey, torpedo boat, 30
31 Bagley, torpedo boat, 28
32 Barney, torpedo boat, 28
33 Blakely, torpedo boat, 26
34 De Long, torpedo boat, 26
35 Nicholson, torpedo boat, 26
36 Blddle, torpedo boat, 28
37 O'Brien, torpedo boat, 26
38 Shubrick, torpedo boat, 26
39 Stockton, torpedo boat, 26
40 Thornton, torpedo boat, 26
41 Tingey, torpedo boat, 26
42 Wilkes, torpedo boat, 26.5
43 Dahlgren, torpedo boat, 30
44 T. A. M. Craven, torpedo, boat, 30
45 Chesapeake, training vessel for naval academy
46 Bainbridge, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
47 Barry, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
48 Chauncey, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
49 Dale, torpedo boat destroyer, 28
50 Decatur, torpedo boat destroyer, 28
51 Paul Jones, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
52 Perry, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
53 Preble, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
54 Stewart, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
55 Truxton, torpedo boat destroyer, 30
56 Whipple, torpedo boat destroyer, 30
57 Worden, torpedo boat destroyer, 30
58 Hopkins, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
59 Hull, torpedo boat destroyer, 29
60 Lawrence, torpedo boat destroyer, 30
61 Macdonough, torpedo boat destroyer, 30
 Image and text provided by Washington State Library; Olympia, WA,
Photo from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 06 May 1900, Image 26, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-13 Virginia577kTHE NEW BATTLESHIP PENNSYLVANIA.
ONE OF FIVE TO BE BUILT FROM IDENTICAL PLANS AND FOR WHICH BIDS HAVE BEEN ASKED.		Image and text provided by Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo from The Star.(Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 19 December 1900, Image 7, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
FORE RIVER NR NEW JERSEY (BB-16) TO BE THE LARGEST BATTLESHIP IN THE NAVY—WORK BEGUN ON HER AT FORE RIVER
THE BEACH AT FORE RIVER, WHERE THE NEW JERSEY IS TO BE BUILT.
Showing the Des Moines (C-15), now in course of construction. 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 15 September 1901, Image 17, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
FORE RIVER NR HOW WAR VESSELS ARE BUILT AT THE FORE RIVER WORKS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
WOODEN PATTERN FOR THE THIRTY-SIX-TON STEEL CASTING WHICH IS TO FORM THE LOWER PART OF THE STEM OF THE NEW JERSEY (BB-16). 		Image and text provided by University of Utah, Marriott Library.
Photo from Desert Evening News. (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 28 September 1901, Image 10, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-13 Virginia666kDEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN NAVY.
The final and up to date picture of the series shows the first class battleship Pennsylvania of the Virginia class, the designs for which are being completed by the Bureau of Construction and Repair.		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from The Washington Times.(Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 09 March 1902, Magazine Features, Image 36, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Fore River
011667		 2.97k Post card of the building slips, Quincy, Mass. U.S.A.Photo courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org.
Fore River
011668		 1.88k Post card of the crane at Fore River Shipyard, Quincy Point, Mass.Photo courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org.
Fore River
011647		 2.24k New Jersey (BB-16) and the Rhode Island (BB-17) being built. Photo courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org.
Fore River
011649		 1.04k Fore River Ship Yards, dock front with giant lifting crane, U.S. battleship at end of dock under crane, Quincy, Mass. New Jersey (BB-16) and the Rhode Island (BB-17) being built.
Note the turrets in the foreground.		Photo courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org.
Fore River
011650		 1.29k The shipyard from Weymouth, Fore River, Quincy, Mass.,1905.New Jersey (BB-16) and the Rhode Island (BB-17) being built. Photo courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org.
BB-16 New Jersey NR THE FORE RIVER SHIP AND ENGINE COMPANY'S YARD SEVERAL WARSHIPS ARE IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Five months after construction started, the New Jersey (BB-16) appears here at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts.		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 17 August 1902, Image 19, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB 17
011753		 1.34k Either the New Jersey (BB-16) or Rhode Island (BB-17) being built. Photo courtesy of Fore River Shipyard Postcard Collection digitalcommonwealth.org.
BB-16 New Jersey NR AMERICAN BATTLESHIPS THE MOST FORMIDABLE OF NEW WAR VESSELS
BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY (BB-16) UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOR THE UNITED STATES. IT IS ONE OF A NUMBER OF WAR CRAFT SUPERIOR IN ARMAMENT TO VESSELS OF THE SAME CLASS BEING BUILT FOR OLD WORLD NAVIES. 		Image and text provided by University of California, Riverside.
Photo from The San Francisco Call. (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 06 October 1902, Image 4, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
FORE RIVER NR BUILDING UNCLE SAM'S BATTLESHIPS.
Two first-class battleships for the United States Navy, the New Jersey (BB-16) and the Rhode Island (BB-17) are being built side by side from the same designs and at the same time at the new Fore River shipyard, down in the southeastern corner of Boston harbor. The like is not being done in any other American shipyard, so that the visitor who takes pleasure in watching his white navy in actual process of construction may find here a suggestion of the formidable power of this new class of fighting ships that he can hardly look for elsewhere. 		Image and text provided by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
Photo from Omaha Daily Bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 18 January 1903, Image 24, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
BB-10 Maine
011060		 5.62k A modern battleship, with every part numbered and named, circa 1904.Photo from the Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-DIG-ppmsca-58681.
Photo courtesy of loc.gov.
BB-18 Connecticut NR SAFEGUARDING A BATTLESHIP
Since the Mysterious Attempt to Destroy the Connecticut (BB-18) the Ship Has Been Guarded Night and Day. The Picture Shows the Extreme Care Now Taken of the Ship Afloat.
ARMED MEN GUARD NEW WARSHIPS, Owing to the three determined efforts to destroy the new battleship Connecticut at the Brooklyn navy yard, other constructors of war vessels throughout the country have become nervous over the safety of the great vessels now building, and two yards, that of the Bath Iron Works and the Fall River Shipbuilding Company, have taken measures to protect, the battleships Georgia (BB-15) and New Jersey (BB-16), nearly finished, at these respective plants.		Insert Image and text provided by University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA.
Link by The San Francisco Call. (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 11 October 1904, Image 1, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Image and text provided by Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN.
Photo from The Saint Paul Globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 08 October 1904, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
FORE RIVER 405k LAUNCHED NOVEMBER 10 Image and text provided by University of Hawaii at Manoa; Honolulu, HI.
Photo from The Hawaiian Star. (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 21 November 1904, SECOND EDITION, Image 5, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey1.88kMRS. KINNEY SMASHING BOTTLE ON BOW OF THE NEW JERSEY (BB-16)Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 16 February 1908, Image 18, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New JerseyNR LAUNCHING PARTY FOR THE NEW JERSEY (BB-16) Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 16 February 1908, Image 18, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
FORE RIVER 221k Installing a 12"/40 main turret gun for the New Jersey (BB-16). Photo courtesy of Fore River Shipyard Postcard Collection digitalcommonwealth.org
FORE RIVER 267k Stern of the Rhode Island (BB-17) on left, main mast of the New Jersey (BB-16) lying alongside pier prior to installation. Photo courtesy of Fore River Shipyard Postcard Collection digitalcommonwealth.org
FORE RIVER 294k New Jersey (BB-16) behind the Rhode Island (BB-17) fitting out & missing her main mast.Photo courtesy of digitalcommonwealth.org
BB-17 Rhode Island150kColor-tinted postcard published by A.C. Bosselman & Co., New York, and printed in Germany showing the Rhode Island (BB-17) fitting out at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, circa 1905. The ship fitting out in the background, at right, is probably New Jersey (BB-16). Photo # NH 105667-KN courtesy of USNHC. Collection of Colonel W.T. Bigger, USMC (Retired).
BB-16 New Jersey NR SILVER SERVICE FOR THE BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY (BB-16) Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from The Washington Times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 08 October 1905, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey
011607		746k New Jersey (BB-16) being assisted by tugs, exact date and location unknown. The tug on the right has a T on her stack, which would make this a Boston Towboat Co. tug. I think given the background this is the Cape Cod Canal around the time of commissioning in 1906. Photo courtesy of LeRoy Gilbert Ridehome via David Wright.
BB-16 New Jersey 81k Fitting out at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, early in 1906. Courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Company, Skerritt Collection / Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 45480.
Fore River
011648		 1.15k New Jersey (BB-16) returning to Fore River after trial. Photo courtesy of Fore River Shipyard Postcard Collection digitalcommonwealth.org.
BB-16 New Jersey NR SKEETER OF NAVY SKIMS THE SEAS
Battleship New Jersey (BB-16) Goes for Endurance Trip. 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from The Washington Times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 29 March 1906, Last Edition, Image 8, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Oyster Bay1.20kAN IMPOSING SPECTACLE
Birds-eye View Showing Position of Fleet in Naval Review at Oyster Bay.		Image and text provided by University of Utah, Marriott Library.
Photo & text by The Salt Lake Herald. (Salt Lake City [Utah) 1870-1909, 04 September 1906, Image 7, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey 477k Main battery of the New Jersey (BB-16),1906 . Photograph PR-3-Box 85-1, by Enrique Muller Jr.,courtesy of the Library of Congress & National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com.
BB-16 New Jersey NR Men and Ships Who May Be Destined to Play Leading Parts in Impending Cuban War Drama Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from The Washington Times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 23 September 1906, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey 86k New Jersey's football team, circa 1906. Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 45484.
Almost Unknown592kCirca 1907 photograph of US Navy battleships of the Maine, Virginia & Connecticut -classes & other units of the Atlantic fleet at a Naval Review off Old Point Comfort.
Photographed by William H. Rau, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, courtesy of the Library of Congress & National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com.
BB-13 VirginiaNRGREATEST AMERICAN FLEET
EVER ASSEMBLED IN TIME OFPEACE OR WAR UNDER ONE COMMANDER
Great Fighting Sea Monsters At Anchor in Hampton Roads for Spectacular Contrast of U S Engines of War With Foreign Countries Death - Dealing Machines and for Most Powerful and Terrible Peace Plea. 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from The Washington Times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 21 April 1907, Magazine Section, Image 47, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Hampton Roads
011557		1.45k U. S. Naval display, Hampton Roads, Jamestown, Virginia.
Postcard shows battleships in the Great White Fleet surrounded by smaller craft at Hampton, Virginia. Ships include the Georgia (BB-15), Maine (BB-10), Indiana (BB-1), Rhode Island (BB-17), New Jersey (BB-16), Virginia (BB-13), Ohio (BB-12), Minnesota (BB-22), Alabama (BB-8), Louisiana (BB-19), Iowa (BB-4), Tennessee (ACR-10), Connecticut (BB-18), Kearsarge (BB-5), Illinois (BB-7) and Kentucky (BB-6). 		Photo & Copyright 1907 by W. N. Jennings, Phila., via Library of Congress. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ds-02684 (digital file from left half of original item) LC-DIG-ds-02744 (digital file from right half of original item)
BB-16 New Jersey
011607s		 NR BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY (BB-16) RECEIVES STATE’S SILVER GIFT Image and text provided by Rutgers University Libraries.
Photo from The Evening Star and Newark Advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 14 August 1907, LAST EDITION, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
KIMBALL 820k CAPTAIN WILLIAM WIRT KIMBALL
The commander of the battleship New Jersey (BB-16), one of the warships composing the fleet which is to cruise in the Pacific, is William Wirt Kimball. He is the son of an officer in the navy, was born in Maine and entered the naval service in 1865.		Image and text provided by Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; Phoenix, AZ.
Photo from Daily Arizona Silver Belt. (Globe, Gila County, Ariz.) 1906-1929, 15 October 1907, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Great White Fleet Cruise
BB-16 New Jersey
011613		5.72k Broadside view prior to sailing with the Great White Fleet. Photo courtesy of Bob Canchola.
Great White Fleet112kChart from a contemporary newspaper, showing the route to be taken by the Atlantic Fleet's battleships and their associated Torpedo Flotilla, from their December 1907 departure from Hampton Roads, Virginia, until their planned arrival at San Francisco, California, in the spring of 1908. Text below the chart indicates that it was published in mid-December 1907.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106219. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, D.C. Collection of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis.
BB-15 Georgia 3.96k U.S. battleships saluting the Mayflower, Hampton Roads, Va.
Photo shows the "Great White Fleet", which sailed from Hampton Roads on 16 December 1907, after being reviewed by President Theodore Roosevelt on board the presidential yacht Mayflower.
Appropriately, all the battleships in the immeadiate view are of the Virginia class. The Georgia (BB-15) is off to the left. The one in the middle is either New Jersey (BB-16), or Rhode Island (BB-17). At this stage of their careers, they were hard to tell apart and smoke is obscuring much of the bridge. The one at right is even more difficult to ID. A clearer photo is necessary to pinpoint which one this was.		 Photo & text i.d. courtesy of Richard M. Jensen.
Photo LC-DIG-det-4a15932 courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
Great White Fleet 15.4k The "Great White Fleet" steaming in column, probably while departing Hampton Roads, Virginia, at the start of their cruise around the World, December 1907. Kansas (BB-21) is at left, followed by Vermont (BB-20). USN photo # N-0000X-001 courtesy of navy.mil. Photographed by C.E. Waterman, Hampton, Va. via Bob Canchola
BB-13 Virginia class236kStarboard side view of a Virginia class (BB-13 / 17) battleship and other ships all decked out with flags flying, possibly in Hampton Roads, Virginia, at the start of the "Great White Fleet" cruise around the world in December 1907. USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri. Photo i.d. courtesy of Erich Coiner.
Hard-Hat Diver 72k "Hard-Hat" Diver descending from the stern of a launch alongside a battleship, circa 1907-1908. Note the 6"/50 broadside gun mounted in the battleship's hull side.
This ship is either Indiana class (BB-1 / 3) or Maine class (BB-10 / 12) or Virginia class (BB-13 / 17) battleship.
This view may have been taken during the "Great White Fleet" World cruise.		 U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106072. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold.
BB-18 Connecticut99kCommanding officers of most of the fleet's ships, photographed in 1908. Those present include (Seated, left to right): Captain Hugo Osterhaus, of Connecticut (BB-18); Captain Kossuth Niles, of Louisiana (BB-19); Captain William P. Potter, of Vermont (BB-20); Captain John Hubbard, of Minnesota (BB-22); Captain Joseph B. Murdock, of Rhode Island (BB-17); Captain Charles E. Vreeland, of Kansas (BB-21).
Standing, left to right): Captain Hamilton Hutchins, of Kearsarge (BB-5); Captain Frank E. Beatty, of Wisconsin (BB-9); Captain Reginald F. Nicholson, of Nebraska (BB-14); Captain Thomas B. Howard, of Ohio (BB-12); Captain William H.H. Southerland, of New Jersey (BB-16); Captain Walter C. Cowles, of Kentucky (BB-6); Captain John M. Bowyer, of Illinois (BB-7); Captain Alexander Sharp, of Virginia (BB-13); Lieutenant Commander Charles B. McVay, of Yankton.		Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 59552.
Great White Fleet112kChart from a contemporary newspaper, showing the route of the Atlantic Fleet's battleships from their 29 January 1907 departure from Trinidad until their arrival at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 12 January 1908. It emphasizes the offshore course taken to avoid strong westerly currents off the northeastern coast of South America.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106221. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, D.C. Collection of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis.
G. Dall'aros1.39kU.S. Atlantic Fleet Battleships at Anchor. Painting by G. Dall'aros, 1908, depicting three battleships of the "Great White Fleet" in a Brazilian anchorage, January 1908. One of the battleships has a collier alongside. The Brazilian cruiser Almirante Tamandare is in the left foreground. Courtesy of Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf, 1977.
USN photo # NH 85503-KN courtesy of the Library of Congress, from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, courtesy of flickr.com.
John Charles Roach2.12k"Great White Fleet" Painting by John Charles Roach, 1984, depicting U.S. Atlantic Fleet battleships steaming at sea during their 1907-1909 World cruise.USN photo # NH 95513-KN courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph via the Library of Congress, from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, courtesy of flickr.com.
Straits of Magellan290k The "Great White Fleet" in the Straits of Magellan, 1908, from a painting by Henry Reuterdahl.Photograph courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
Great White Fleet129kChart from a contemporary newspaper, showing the movements of the Atlantic Fleet's battleships from their 8 February 1908 passage of the western part of the Straits of Magellan until their arrival at Callao, Peru, on 20 February 1908.U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106227b. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, D.C. Collection of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis.
BB-18 Connecticut185kMAGDELENA BAY, WHERE THE FLEET ASSEMBLES FOR TARGET PRACTICE.
INTENSE RIVALRY OF CREWS IN MAKING NEW RECORDS WITH THE BIG GUNS
Seven inch gun drill aboard the Connecticut (BB-18) in Magdalena Bay, Mexico on 12 March 1908.		PDF Image and text provided by University of California, Riverside;
Photo & text by The San Francisco Call.(San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 29 March 1908, Image 5, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Fleet at Long Beach 507k The fleet at San Diego, Calif., 5, May 1908.
What looks like two Connecticut class (BB-18 / 22 & 25) battleships to the left; a Virginia class (BB-13 / 17) battleship in the center with what might be three other Connecticut class battleships in the immediate distance; two Illinois class (BB-7 / 9) battleships are on the right corner, behind them are the two Kearsarge class (BB-5 / 6) battleships and a Virginia class or Connecticut class battleship in the right corner of the photo. 		Library of Congress photo # pan 6a33626,by W. D. Lambert; submitted by Tom Kermen.
BB-18 Connecticut3.71kUnited States fleet, San Francisco Bay. Photo pan 6a33217 courtesy of loc.gov via Detroit Photographic Company.
BB-5 Kearsarge 573k Atlantic Fleet entering Golden Gate 6th May 1908. Library of Congress photo # pan 6a33669, from the Panoramic View Co., Chas. Z. Bailey, Mgr., Los Angeles, Cal. submitted by Tom Kermen.
BB-16 New Jersey 98k Leading ship of a column of Atlantic Fleet battleships, photographed while steaming through the Golden Gate, en route to an anchorage in San Francisco Bay, May 1908. This ship is either New Jersey (BB-16) or Rhode Island (BB-17). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106095-A. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold.
Golden Gate 58k Atlantic Fleet battleships steaming through the Golden Gate, en route to their anchorage in San Francisco Bay, May 1908. The lead ship is either New Jersey or Rhode Island (BB-17). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106095. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold.
Naval Review in San Francisco Bay, 17 May 1908 155k Panoramic photograph by the Pillsbury Picture Company showing the review of the "Great White Fleet" on 17 May 1908 by Secretary of the Navy Victor A. Metcalf, embarked in Yorktown (PG-1), which is steaming toward the left in the right center of the image. Three destroyers are in the line nearest to the camera (from left to center), with either Hopkins (DD-6) or Hull (DD-7) in the center and Lawrence (DD-8) next astern. Eleven battleships are present, in the rows on the opposite side of Yorktown's course, and seven Pacific Fleet armored cruisers are in the most distant row. Photo # NH 105310, from the collections of the U.S. Naval Historical Center.
BB-16 New Jersey 305k Crew entertainment aboard the New Jersey (BB-16) during the World Cruise of the "Great White Fleet"; three legged race in 1908. Note the initials of the boat on the davits of the New Jersey. USN photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
BB-12 Ohio 82k "Physical culture". Sailors perform calisthenics on a battleship's quarterdeck, during the "Great White Fleet" World cruise, circa 1907-1909. In the background, a Virginia class (BB-13 / 17) battleship is pitching into a swell. She is either Nebraska (BB-14), New Jersey or Rhode Island (BB-17). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106069. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold.
New Jersey 433k New Jersey (BB-16) in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. Photo: Arthur Fox [1866 - unknown], State Library of Victoria [La Trobe Library] accession No. H90/137/85. via Kimberley Dunstan & Fabia Pena & flickr.com.
Great White Fleet 104k Post card welcoming the "Great White Fleet" to Australia, circa August-September 1908. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106181-KN. Courtesy of Mrs. Ruth Mayfield, 1973.
BB-16 New Jersey 143k World Cruise of the "Great White Fleet", 1907-09. New Jersey (BB-16) in Sydney Harbor, Australia, in late August 1908. Photo printed on a stereographic card, copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood, and submitted by Warren McLean.
GWF901kTHE ATLANTIC FLEET OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY
From Official Bulletin of Bureau of Navigation showing the Vessels off the Port of Callao practicing the Gridiron maneuver. This is considered by Naval authorities to be the most dangerous evolution in steam tactics and its improper execution caused the loss of HMS Victoria with 798 men in 1893.
Picture faithfully represents the entire Fleet in official formation and vessels can be identified by numbers corresponding to table appended:
First Division
1. Connecticut (BB-18), Flagship, 2. Kansas (BB-21), 3. Vermont (BB-20), 4. Louisiana (BB-19),
Second Division
5. Georgia (BB-15), Flagship, 6. New Jersey (BB-16), 7. Rhode Island (BB-17), 8. Virginia (BB-13),
18 Torpedo Flotilla
Whipple (DD-15), Truxtun (DD-14), Lawrence (DD-8), Stewart (DD-13), Hopkins (DD-6) & Hull (DD-7)
Third Division
9. Minnesota (BB-22), Flagship, 10. Ohio (BB-12), 11. Missouri (BB-11), 12. Maine (BB-10)
17. Yankton {Special Dispatch Tender}
Fourth Division
13. Alabama (BB-8), Flagship 14. Illinois (BB-7), 15. Kearsarge (BB-5), 16. Kentucky (BB-6)
19. Auxiliaries
Glacier, [refrigerating ship], Panther,[repair ship],Culgoa,[storeship] & Arethusa,[torpedo flotilla tender]. 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo & text by The National Tribune. (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 24 September 1908, Image 3, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Great White Fleet 100k Postcard published in Japan to commemorate the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's visit there in October 1908. This card features pictures of the Fleet's sixteen battleships, plus images of three Japanese ladies, plus flags and symbols of the United States and Japan. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 106114-KN. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold.
BB-16 New Jersey 49k New Jersey (BB-16) in a China Sea typhoon, 1908. Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 45481.
BB-16 New Jersey 390k 1908 postmark of the New Jersey (BB-16). Photo courtesy of Arnold A. Putnam.
Pacific Fleet
011509p		1.20k The Pacific Fleet on its visit to Portland, Oregon showing the Georgia (BB-15), New Jersey (BB-16), Virginia (BB-13), and Rhode Island (BB-17) battleships underway, circa 30 December 1908. Photo contributed by the Keystone View Company via Library of Congress. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-stereo-1s14833.
BB-16 New Jersey 1.44kCUTTING THE SEAS LIKE KNIVES IN HOT BUTTER.
Remarkable new snapshot photograph of three of the giant ships which are approaching Hampton Roads, after 42,227 mile trip round the world. In the picture the New Jersey (BB-16) is leading the Rhode Island (BB-17) and Georgia (BB-15). The estimated speed of the ships, at the time the camera shutter snapped, was 19 knots an hour, or about 22 miles.		Image and text provided by Washington State Library; Olympia, WA.
Photo by The Spokane Press. (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 20 February 1909, Image 1, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey
011609p		 NR GOV. FORT AND SPEAKER PRINCE RECEIVING PENNANT OF BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY (BB-16) IN BEHALF OF STATE Image and text provided by Rutgers University Libraries.
Photo from The Evening Star and Newark Advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 25 March 1909, EVENING EDITION, Image 4, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New JerseyNROFFICERS OF NAVY ARE TRANSFERRED
Lieutenant Commander Hourigan at left and Captain W. H. H. Southerland at right, snapped on the battleship New Jersey (BB-16), with which they have been identified so long.		 Image and text provided by University of Utah, Marriott Library.
Photo from The Ogden Standard. (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 07 June 1909, Image 8, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey 47k Photographed in 1909 by Brown & Shaffer. Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 101506.
Hudson- Fulton Celebration 805k Panoramic view of battleships in the Hudson River for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration, 25 September - 9 October 1909. Photo det pan 6a16597 courtesy of loc.gov via Detroit Photographic Company.
BB-16 New Jersey 928k New Jersey (BB-16) in the Hudson River for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration, 25 September - 9 October 1909. Photo det 4a19508 courtesy of loc.gov via Detroit Photographic Company.
1910's
BB-16 New Jersey 416k Nebraska (BB-14), New Jersey (BB-16), Virginia (BB-13), North Carolina (ACR-12), and Maine (BB-10), circa 1910 - 1915, at anchor, location unknown. Bain News Service, publisher. George Grantham Bain Collection. Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress). This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ggbain.09966. LCCN2104689950, via Robert Hurst.
BB-16 New Jersey 104k New Jersey (BB-16) lies in mid stream off New York City, probably in early October 1911. Digital ID: # LC-B2-2333-3. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, from the George Grantham Bain Collection, courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba62kPanoramic image (made from two individual views), showing U.S. Atlantic Fleet battleships and auxiliaries in Guantanamo Bay, circa early or middle 1910s.
Ships present include (in left half of image): four Virginia class (BB-13 / 17) battleships, one South Carolina class (BB-26 / 27) battleship, one Delaware class (BB-28 / 29) battleship, two unidentified auxiliaries and a collier; (in right half of image): all six Connecticut class (BB-18 / 22 & 25) battleships, both Mississippi class (BB-23 / 24) battleships, two unidentified auxiliaries, hospital ship Solace (AH-2) and a gunboat. 		Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 104537. Photo from the 1909-1924 album of Vice Admiral Olaf M. Hustvedt, USN (Retired). Courtesy of Rick Hauck, 2006.
Atlantic Fleet 1.11k Broadside view of New Jersey (BB-16).National Archives Identifier: 45512805
Local Identifier: 165-WW-335A-050
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
BB-16 New Jersey
011608		 829k Dressed with flags, during a naval review, circa 1911-13. National Archives Identifier: 55171564
Local Identifier: 111-SC-5340
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov
BB-16 New Jersey
011619		3.56kAnd its 1, 2, 3 rings around the smoke stack that identify the New Jersey (BB-16) amidst a large part of the Navy at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Mass., post 1910.
The white cruiser to the left is the Des Moines (C-15), with the Constitution inboard. The one just to the right of center appears to be the Chester (CL-1). 		Photo i.d. courtesy of Richard M. Jensen & Chuck Haberlein.
Detroit Publishing Company photo 4a24017 courtesy of Library of Congress.
Various Views of the 1912 Naval Review on the Hudson
Review
012173m		4.51k Mobilization of Atlantic Fleet at New York, 12 - 15 October 1912. Photo courtesy of David Fisher.
BB-18 Connecticut
011862		 669kThis photo labeled Connecticut (BB-18) firing a salvo during the Naval Review at New York on 14 October 1912 is incorrect.
If you look close enough at the turret, centered, through the smoke, you can see the 8 inch guns of the dual turret; the signature turret of a Virginia-class battleship.
Based on porthole patterns, this is New Jersey (BB-16).		 Digital ID: # ggbain 0795v, LC-B2-2442-7. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, from the George Grantham Bain Collection, courtesy of Tom Kermen.
Initial photo i.d. & text via Kyle Mountney.
Final i.d. by Richard M. Jensen.
Review
012173		1.36k U.S. Battleship Fleet during the 1912 Naval Review on the Hudson.
The nearest ship half visible on the right is the New Hampshire (BB-25) based on the distinctive half-cased stacks. The two sister ships behind her are not clear enough to specifically ID. The fourth ship is one of the Mississippi class, but again, not clear enough to ID.		 Photo i.d. via Richard M. Jensen.
Photo courtesy of David Fisher.
Review
012173d		1.38k Small boats join during the 1912 Naval Review on the Hudson. Photo courtesy of David Fisher.
Almost UnknownNRSCENE OF UNUSUAL BEAUTY WHEN FLEET AND SHORE WERE ILLUMINATED BY MANY THOUSANDS OF FLAMING ELECTRIC BULBS
NEW YORK, Oct. 16—Pen cannot describe and even photography is inadequate in depicting the splendor of the scene at night during the visit of the fleet to this city. Thousands and thousands of electric lights were hung along Riverside drive, which parallels the Hudson river for miles, and all of the vessels in the fleet were outlined by lines of gleaming lamps. In the accompanying picture the soldiers’ and sailors’ monument appears in the foreground with the curved line of Riverside drive at the left. Several battleships are shown in the river, with the lights on the New Jersey shore in the distance. 		Image and text provided by Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH.
Photo by The Democratic Banner.(Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 18 October 1912, Image 1, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16-17-1862kAtlantic Fleet Battleships steaming down Chesapeake Bay after visiting Annapolis, Maryland, circa 1913. Photographed by Sargent, probably from on board Rhode Island (BB-17). Next ship ahead is New Jersey (BB-16), with Georgia (BB-15) ahead of her. Six "Dreadnought" type battleships are leading the column.From the album of Francis Sargent; Courtesy of Commander John Condon, 1986 / Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 101064.
BB-26 South Carolina
012613m		 1.04k Warships in North River on 29 May 1913.
Stern view of the South Carolina (BB-26) and to her right is the Vermont (BB-20) with what might be the New Jersey (BB-16) ahead of her with other battleships in the distance.
Photo shows U.S. battleships in the Hudson River, possibly arriving to participate in the unveiling ceremonies for the memorial to the battleship Maine, which had exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War of 1898. In 1913, the monument was placed at the Columbus Circle and 59th Street entrance to Central Park in New York City. (Source: New York Times, Central Park Web site, and Flickr Commons project, 2009 and 2013).		 Photo by Bain News Service, courtesy of loc.gov..
Reproduction Number LC-DIG-ggbain-08947.
BB-16 New Jersey 485k Sailors from the New Jersey (BB-16) march in Charlestown, 1913-06-17. Photo # 08_06_003753 courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
Veracruz Incident
BB-16 New Jersey1.26kRebels Are Eyeing Veracruz
Interior View of customs house at Veracruz, Mexico, and battleship New Jersey (BB-16) in Veracruz Harbor.		Image and text provided by Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT.
Photo from The Daily Missoulian. (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 19 November 1913, Morning, Image 3, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey701kGUNS OF UNCLE SAM'S FLEET FROWN ON CITY OF VERACRUZ
Watching the mobilising of U. S. fleet in the harbor of Veracruz, Mexico
American battleships for many weeks have lain in the harbor of Veracruz, Mexico, ready to protect American interests or to seize the city on a moment's notice should intervention on the part of the United States be necessary. Veracruz is Mexico's largest port city. The battleships New Jersey (BB-16), Michigan (BB-27), Virginia (BB-13), Louisiana (BB-19) and Rhode Island (BB-17) are now anchored there.		Photo by Underwood & Underwood.
Image and text provided by University of Utah, Marriott Library.
Photo by The Ogden Standard. Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920, 02 December 1913, 4 o'clock p.m. City Edition, Image 1.
Insert PDF Image and text provided by Washington State Library; Olympia, WA.
Photo from The Tacoma Times. (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 12 December 1913, Image 7, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
U.S. Atlantic Fleet battleships1.15k U.S. Atlantic Fleet battleships steaming toward Mexican waters in 1914. Photograph copyrighted in 1914 by E. Muller, Jr., and Pach.
OUR POWERFUL NORTH ATLANTIC FLEET
This is to considered be the most powerful battle fleet in the world. Recently it returned from the Mediterranean and left Hampton Roads for the south. During the last battle practice each of the vessels made a record for herself while the flagship Wyoming (BB-32) broke the world's record at target practice. The photograph shows the nine ships in the order in which they usually sail. The Wyoming is in the lead at the right, and is followed by the Florida (BB-30), Utah (BB-31), Delaware (BB-28), North Dakota (BB-29), South Carolina (BB-26), Rhode Island (BB-17), Georgia (BB-15),and New Jersey (BB-16).
The following battleships that were dispatched to Mexican waters included the:
Ohio (BB-12), Virginia (BB-13), Nebraska (BB-14), Connecticut (BB-18), Louisiana (BB-19), Vermont (BB-20), Kansas (BB-21), Minnesota (BB-22), Mississippi (BB-23), Idaho (BB-24), New Hampshire (BB-25), Michigan (BB-27), Arkansas (BB-33), New York (BB-34) & Texas (BB-35).
In insets are (left to right):
Rear Admiral Henry T. Mayo,
Rear Admiral Frank F. Fletcher,
Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger. 		Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 60322.
Insert PDF image and text provided by Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA.
Photo by The Madison Journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 07 February 1914, Image 3, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-18 Connecticut489kMARINES LAND AT VERACRUZ
Badger's Ships Ordered to Blockade Harbor of Veracruz
Five of the Battleships Which Will Participate in Blockade		 Image and text provided by University of Oregon, Knight Library; Eugene, OR.
Photo courtesy of The Evening Herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906- 1942, 21 April 1914, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New JerseyNRVIEWS OP TWO BIG BATTLESHIPS WHICH WILL PLAY PROMINENT PARTS IN OUR TROUBLES WITH MEXICO.
Washington—The battleships New York (BB-34) and New Jersey (BB-16) will play prominent parts in whatever violent troubles arise between the United States and Mexico. The New Jersey went south with Rear Admiral Badger's fleet....		Image and text provided by State Historical Society of Iowa.
Photo from Evening Times-Republican. (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 22 April 1914, Image 5, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey738kCAPTAIN J. L. JAYNE.
Captain Joseph L. Jayne is in command of the battleship New Jersey (BB-16) of the Third division of the Atlantic fleet.		Image and text provided by University of Vermont.
Photo by Burlington Weekly Free Press. (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 14 May 1914, Image 10, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Virginia class 387k Big guns on Virginia class (BB-13 / 17) battleship, Navy Yard. Photo #08_06_022796 from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
Mid- Late 19 Teens / Early 20's
BB-16 New Jersey 1.95k New Jersey (BB-16), and the destroyer Flusser (DD-20), underway circa 1915 - 1920. Bain News Service, publisher. George Grantham Bain Collection. Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress). This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ggbain.09966. LCCN2104689950, via Robert Hurst.
BB-16 New Jersey 423k Four sailors of the ship's landing party, with cartridge belts and M1903 rifles, March 1915. They are identified as (left-to-right): Bell, Johnson, Thomas and Marshall. Note base of one of New Jersey's (BB-16) "cage" masts behind them. Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 91202.
BB-16 New Jersey 428k Overhead view of the New Jersey (BB-16). underway off the Brooklyn Navy Yard ca. 1915-1920. Source: Library of Congress, Photos No. LC-B2-3941-11 / 12, courtesy of Mike Green.
BB-16 New Jersey 4.50k Ship's Officers and Crew pose alongside, at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 24 April 1915. Panoramic photograph by H.J. Darley Co., Malden, Massachusetts. Note the group of African-American Sailors (in the upper center) and the ship's boats. Among the latter are several pulling boats and a steam launch. Photo # NH 106722, from the collections of the U.S. Naval Historical Center via Robert Hurst.
Atlantic Fleet250kOUTLINED AGAINST A CURTAIN OF DARKNESS
A fleet of destroyers and torpedo-boats has now arrived at New York to join the heavy ships of the line. Altogether, about 50 vessels will be assembled when the ceremonies began next Monday. It is promised that the strained international relations will have no effect on the parade. 		Photo by International News Service.
Image and text provided by Penn State University Libraries; University Park, PA.
Photo & text by Evening Public Ledger. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 13 May 1915, Night Extra, Image 16, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-32 Wyoming539k"Ships of the Atlantic Fleet playing their searchlights at night along the Hudson River."USN photo by Underwood & Underwood, courtesy of memory.loc.gov.
Text courtesy of N.Y. Times 16 May 1915, Page 1.
BB-16 New Jersey1.56kTHE MOST VALUABLE PAINTING IN THE WORLD
What may perhaps be considered the most valuable and at the same time the most travelled painting in the world, forms part of the United States battleship New Jersey (BB-16). It was painted by Henry Reuterdahl, the well known American marine artist, some years ago on the metal plates of the wardroom of the battleship New Jersey. Inasmuch, the New Jersey cost some millions of dollars to build, and the painting is part of the ship, it may be said to be the most costly painting in the world. It has travelled everywhere that the ship has travelled, which comprises many thousand miles, therefore it has travelled more than any other painting in existence. The painting depicts an American battleship fleet in action, the ships in line of battle formation, each one firing its starboard broadside. Near the ships in the middle foreground are great jets of water thrown up by the ricochet of the shells from the enemy fleet. 		Image and text provided by The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation.
Photo by The Sun. (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 20 June 1915, FOURTH SECTION PICTORIAL MAGAZINE, Image 33, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New JerseyNRWARLIKE SCENE AT CHARLESTON NAVY YARD
The commanders of the forty U.S. war vessels now lying in the Charleston navy yard are somewhat agitated by orders from Washington. These orders direct that none of the ships be laid up for repairs requiring more than 12 hours. All the officers have been ordered back to duty and orders have been issued to the enlisted men that they must remain within their home port.
In the group which shows the flag of three admirals are the Salem (CL-3), Chester (CL-1), Smith (DD-17) (torpedo boat), Patterson (DD-36) (torpedo boat) New Jersey (BB-16), Virginia (BB-13), Rhode Island (BB-17) Vestal (AR-4) (fleet tender) and Nebraska (BB-14).		 Image and text provided by University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR.
Photo from East Oregonian: E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 10 May 1916, DAILY EVENING EDITION, Image 9, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New JerseyNRSHIP AHOY! CIVILIANS EMBARK ON BATTLESHIP
Here is one of 1000 civilians, from every walk of life, who are embarking on the battleships Maine (BB-10), Kentucky (BB-6) and New Jersey (BB-16), at the Brooklyn navy yard, for the naval practice cruise along the Atlantic coast. The cruise, lasting a month, is in charge of Rear Admiral Helm, commander of the Atlantic reserve fleet. 		Image and text provided by Washington State Library; Olympia, WA.
Photo by The Tacoma Times. (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 22 August 1916, Image 4, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey572kMOSQUITO FLEET IN NIGHT DRILL WARS ON FAKE "SUB" WITH DUMMY PERISCOPES
SECTION OF MOSQUITO FLEET & MOTHER SHIP NEW JERSEY (BB-16)		Image and text provided by University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR.
Photo by Daily Capital Journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919, 16 September 1916, Image 6, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
MacKay Camouflage 488k Experimental WW I camouflage, port side view of the New Jersey (BB-16), circa 1918. It was called a MacKay "disruptive low-visibility pattern" and the photo was taken while the Navy was testing it against range finders. Note that even the ship's boat alongside is camouflaged in the same pattern.
The Battleship off the stern of the New Jersey is most likely the Rhode Island (BB-17).		 NARA FILE #: 1165-WW-335A-48. Photo # HD-SN-99-02137, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
BB-16 New Jersey 65k Experimental WW1 camouflage, starboard view, circa 1918. Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 100409.
Atlantic Fleet261kTruck-load of hospital supplies for the Battleship New Jersey (BB-16), made by the Neward Chapter of the American Red Cross, about to start from Newark, N.J., 10 April 1918.Photographer: Newark, N.J. Evening News.
Photo courtesy of Record Group 165, ARC Identifier 20803150, National Archives Catalog.
BB-28 Delaware 514k Stern view of the New Jersey (BB-16) loaded with troops of the 26th Division, 23 April 1919. Photo # 08_06_014208, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey 667k New Jersey (BB-16) steams into Boston with the last of the 26th Division, 23 April 1919. Photo # 08_06_014289, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey 480k New Jersey (BB-16) arrives with the last of the 26th Division, 1,178 troops aboard, 23 April 1919. Photo # 08_06_014210, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey 592k 26th Division troops aboard the New Jersey (BB-16) wait to disembark. Photo # 08_06_032607, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey 549k At Boston, Massachusetts, 3 May 1919. Photographed by Crosby, Boston, using a wide-angle camera. Naval History and Heritage Command # NH 73781 via Robert Hurst.
BB-16 New Jersey 129k Starboard side view 1919. USN photo courtesy of Larry Bonn.
BB-16 New Jersey 1.59k 4 photo PDF of deck scenes & life aboard the New Jersey (BB-16), circa 1919. Photos courtesy of Mary Stone via Carl Werner & Fred Willshaw.
BB-16 New Jersey 172k After the Armistice, she began the first of four voyages to France from which she had brought home 5,000 members of the AEF by 9 June 1919. Text courtesy of DANFS.
Photo courtesy of Arnold A. Putnam.
Almost UnknownNRSTRANGE MASCOTS OF THE FLEET
Coxswain Caulkett and his goat mascot Shooter, on board the Kentucky (BB-6). Redhead and 14 Bore, parrot mascots belonging to C. B. M. Rolenhagen and Coxswain Curtis of the New Jersey (BB-16). Goat mascots Caliber and Anchor of the Wyoming (BB-32). Boatswain's Mate B. P. Holloway and a close-up of Frisky, the Panama sugar bear mascot of the battleship Alabama (BB-8). Seaman Du Bois and his Panama squirrel Creeper aboard the Maryland (BB-46). 		Image and text provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Photo from Evening Star. (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 07 September 1919, Image 80, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey 405k Starboard view of the New Jersey (BB-16) coming into dry dock at Navy Yard. Photo # 08_06_032626, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey 319k Tied up and waiting. Photo # 08_06_022769, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey 419k In dry dock at Navy Yard. Photo # 08_06_022772, from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16
011620s		NRSailors from the New Jersey (BB-16) exchanging junk for thrift stamps. They're starting a bank account and simultaneously helping Uncle Sam pay off America's War Debt. Image and text provided by University of Vermont.
Photo by The Manchester Journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 01 January 1920, Image 8, courtesy of chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
BB-16 New Jersey 92k Launching of the Neches (AO-5) at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 2 June 1920. Panoramic photograph, taken by the Chester Photo Service, 39 Court Street, Boston.
Neches is in the center of the image. The U.S. Army Transport George Washington is at right, and New Jersey (BB-16), is at left.
Note the crowd of onlookers on the ships, piers and buildings flanking Neches, and the large number of double-ended lifeboats in the right foreground. 		Photo # NH 105178, from the collections of the U.S. Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Donation of O.J. Hemphill.
BB-16 New Jersey 992k Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA., circa mid 1922.
From bottom up: Unknown tug boat, Floating Derrick # 35, Floating Workshop YR-16 , Constitution, receiving ship Southery (IX-26), unknown Armored Cruiser, battleship of the Virginia class {either the Virginia (BB-13) or the New Jersey (BB-16)}, nest of destroyers, identifiable is the Lamson (DD-328) and what appears to be Kalk (DD-170); the battleship Delaware (BB-28) is at the top of the photo. 		Photo i.d. courtesy of David Wright.
Photo 08_06_016847 from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-13 & 16
011316		 1.80k Three views of the Boston Navy Yard, 1921. From left: sailing frigate Constitution, two submarines and a Bird class minesweeper, scout cruiser Chester (CS 1), battleships Virginia (BB-13) and New Jersey (BB-16), two unidentified auxiliaries, four destroyers, a tanker, two Denver class cruisers, and three more destroyers.NARA photo from Record Group 18: Records of the Army Air Forces
Series: "Airscapes" of American and Foreign Areas
File Unit: Massachusetts - Boston
Local ID: 18-AA-72-52
NAID: 23941505
Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov courtesy of Theodore Leverett.
BB-30/31 578k Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA., circa 1923.
From left to right: Utah (BB-31), battleship of the Virginia class {either the Virginia (BB-13) or the New Jersey (BB-16)}, and what might be the Birmingham (CL-2). 		Photo i.d. courtesy of Aryeh Weterhorn. (USN & Israeli Navy, Retired).
Photo # 08_06_016895 from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection, courtesy of Kate Monea, Archivist, USS Constitution Museum.
BB-16 New Jersey390kFour photo PDF of the New Jersey (BB-16) sinking after use as a bombing target, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 5 September 1923.Photos courtesy of wordforge.net via Austin Oliver.
(NISMF)376kA guest studies a painting depicting the history of battleships. The artwork was painted by George Skybeck and presented to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association during their annual banquet at Honolulu, Hawaii, on 8 December 1991. USN photo # DN-SC-92-05391, by PHC Carolyn Harris, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
BB-16 New Jersey 447k Article on the finding of the New Jersey (BB-16) in 1994 and a 80th year flyover on the day of her sinking that took place on 5 September 2003.
"Bombs screamed as they descended on the New Jersey, sinking it off Cape Hatteras, N.C.
The bombing was no accident and the enemy was the friendly fire of American bombers led by flying legend Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell.
On September 5, 1923 - 80 years ago today - those early bombers sank the armored New Jersey and its sister ship, the Virginia (BB-13) in one of the first demonstrations of air power over naval power.
The military will commemorate the anniversary with a flyover today at Hatteras.
The ships, once part of the Great White Fleet of President Theodore Roosevelt, were doomed to destruction because of a disarmament agreement after World War I.
Now they are relegated to the great blue deep.
It would be 70 years before anyone would see the New Jersey again.
In 1994, two divers descended 340 feet to the submerged wreck, which rests upside down and is partially buried in silt.
"It's a dangerous dive because of the depth and the current, but we could not have asked for better diving conditions. It was ideal, and the view was stunning," said diver Michael Boring, a federal government worker who now lives in Germany.
They described the 441-foot-long New Jersey as remarkably different in appearance from the hundreds of other wrecks off the treacherous Carolina coastline.
"While other wrecks are covered with sea life and take on a ghostly appearance, the New Jersey was clean and its hull intact and not even rusted," said Douglas Buckley of Maryland, the other diver.
"We just happened to pick a spectacular day to view the ship but could only stay down 12 minutes because a storm was approaching," Boring said. "Unfortunately, we don't have any video or pictures.
"It was our first dive to over 300 feet so Doug and I were more interested in trying to stay alive."
They were surprised to find little hull damage.
Because the water was so unexpectedly clear and the ship so clean, Buckley could see it well even 100 feet above it.
The hull is devoid of sea life such as anemones, sponges and barnacles because of the silt carried by the swiftly moving warm water of the Gulf Stream and the colder Labrador Current, which converge where the New Jersey lies.
"The two propellers are huge and gleam like shining yellow bronze because the silt sandblasts their surfaces as it is pushed along by the Gulf Stream," said Buckley, who was the first recreational diver to go down to the Civil War ironclad Monitor not far from the New Jersey.
Art Kirchner, a dive boat captain from Rockaway, Morris County, who took them out to the ship, said he does not believe any other divers have ever seen the New Jersey, though others have gone to the Virginia.
"Nobody has been back. They were the first and only ones to ever go down and see it without a doubt," said the sea captain, who takes divers out every summer off Hatteras in Margie II, his specially equipped 36-foot boat.
He said the New Jersey is three miles east of Diamond Shoals Light and about 16 miles from the barrier island of Hatteras.
It also rests about five miles northeast of the spot where the Monitor, one of the first two Civil War ironclads, lay until it was raised recently.
The divers said it took only eight minutes to descend along the dive boat's anchor line even with extra tanks filled with a mixture of helium, nitrogen and oxygen strapped under their arms. They need the extra tanks on their 90-minute ascent, which was necessary to achieve proper decompression of their lungs.
The new Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras has a special exhibit on the bombings. It is part of North Carolina's "First in Flight" celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers.
William Schwarzer, project director and author of a new book, The Lion Killers: Billy Mitchell and the Birth of Strategic Bombing, said the ship was target practice for biplane bombers, the Martin MB-2 and lighter DeHaviland DH4.
They took off from two locations, a special airfield built at Hatteras for the bombardment and Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. He said the bombings also marked the first use of the newly developed bomb sight known as the Mark 2, or DeSeversky.
It didn't take long for the ships to sink.
"The New Jersey and the Virginia each took less than an hour, which was pretty quick," he said. An Army Air Service video at the museum shows the New Jersey being hit by a number of bombs weighing between 600 and 2,000 pounds.
The final blow was at the rear mast of the ship. Air bubbles were visible in the water after the final bomb struck, indicating the hull was penetrated. The vessel, still fairly intact, listed to port then capsized and sank." 		Courtesy of courierpostonline.com. & Ron Reeves (of blessed memory).
Commanding Officers
01CAPT. Kimball, William Wirt, USN (USNA 1869)12.05.1906 - 22.07.1907
02CAPT. Southerland, William Henry Hudson, USN (USNA 1872) :RADM00.00.1908 - 15.05.1909
03CAPT. Coffman, DeWitt Clinton, USN (USNA 1876)15.05.1909 - 05.10.1910
04CAPT. Kellogg, Frank Woodruff, USN (USNA 1879)05.10.1910 - 00.00.1911 same time also CA-12
 Decommissioned00.00.1911 - 15.07.1911
05CAPT. Kellogg, Frank Woodruff, USN (USNA 1879)15.07.1911 - 17.02.1914
06CAPT. Jayne, Joseph Lee, USN (USNA 1882) :RADM17.02.1914 - 02.01.1915
07CAPT. Wiley, Henry Ariosto, USN (USNA 1888) :ADM02.01.1915 - 17.06.1916
08CAPT. Kaiser, Louis Anthony, USN (USNA 1889)17.06.1916 - 15.07.1917
09LT. Lorsbough Walter William, USN (USNA 1906)15.07.1917 - 06.08.1917
10CAPT. McVay Jr., Charles Butler, USN (USNA 1890) :ADM06.08.1917 - 30.09.1918
11CAPT. Morton, James Proctor, USN (USNA 1895)30.09.1918 - 11.03.1919
12CAPT. Gherardi, Walter Rockwell, USN (USNA 1895)11.03.1919 - 06.08.1920
Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
Additional New Jersey Images
5 General Views Of New Jersey From The Library Of Congress Server.
USS NEW JERSEY BB-16 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray & Underway Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Not Applicable To This Ship
Additional Resources
Hazegray & Underway Battleship Pages By Andrew Toppan.
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To The Battleship Photo Index Page

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