Photographic history of the design, construction, and deployment of the famed US Iowa-class battleship Chronicles New Jersey's 70+ year history with combat in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Lebanon Profusely illustrated with scarce archival photographs from diverse collections, including previously unpublished images

A Visual Tour of Battleship USS New Jersey is a photographic exploration of the entire ship, from the top of the mainmast to the bottom of the chain locker. It capture areas of USS New Jersey that have never appeared in print before.

The author, a former crew member of the New Jersey, gives an operational history of the only U.S. battleship to participate in three wars and provides an inside perspective of warship life

The Iowa-class battleships were America's--and the world's--last active battleships, serving as recently as 1995. Back in the World War II era, six of the class were ordered, and four completed: Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and Wisconsin. The Missouri rose to fame as the site of the Japanese surrender ending WWII. Each armed with nine 16-inch rifles able to hurl 2,700-lb shells more than 23 miles, the Iowas were capable of combating formidable sea-going foes. In actuality, however, their huge main guns were used instead to shell enemy land positions during WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. In later years their original arrays of 16-inch and five-inch guns were augmented with missiles, including the Harpoon as well as the Tomahawk cruise missiles. Explore the decks and depths of these mighty warships, once home to thousands of sailors, 88 pages packed with over 270 color photos, carefully chosen to show the subtle differences between these four near-identical ships.

(From the introduction) The ensuing chapters will trace the history of one battleship, the USS New Jersey, BB62, in its participation in four wars and duty between wars. The New Jersey story, 1940-91, epitomizes the saga of the American battleship, that versatile, durable dreadnought whose regal bearing made her in any company and any circumstances the Queen of the Sea.