Another famous incident occurred when USS NEW JERSEY joined the ships on the gun line off Vietnam in 1968.  That incident concerned a North Vietnamese-infested chunk of rock off the 17th Parallel Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) called "Tiger Island."

 

Tiger Island was probably the most bombed chunk of rock in  Vietnam.  Navy and Air Force jets returning from raids in North Vietnam would habitually return with one or two bombs that they would "deposit" on Tiger Island.  In short order, it became apparent to the North Vietnamese they could not stay above ground on the island.  They began digging tunnels throughout the island, similar to the Japanese fortifications during the island campaigns of the Second World War.  Tiger Island became honeycombed with tunnels to shelter the North Vietnamese troops.  And then they installed 100mm guns as shore batteries.

 

In late September or early October 1968, an American destroyer was set to conduct Harassment and Interdiction (H&I) fire with her 5-inch guns on Tiger Island.  Suddenly, the destroyer found herself with 100mm shell splashes close aboard.  Having stirred-up a hornet's nest, the destroyer pulled out of range and called for heavier firepower. 

 

The first ship to answer the call was TORNADO [USS SAINT PAUL (CA-73)], an 8-inch gun cruiser.  Then, on the radio net, came the voice of the biggest and nastiest newly-arrived ship on the gun line:  "TORNADO, this is ONRUSH.  We will take the fire mission."  [ONRUSH was the radio call for USS NEW JERSEY.]

 

All aircraft around Tiger Island that might be threatened by the NEW JERSEY's projectiles were cleared out and a small O-1 "Bird Dog" observation plane was on station to adjust the fall of shot.

 

USS NEW JERSEY fired nine 2,700 pound AP projectiles onto Tiger Island.  The ship waited for the O-1 pilot to call-in adjustments.  When the smoke and dust finally cleared, the O-1 pilot advised NEW JERSEY that no further adjustment was necessary; they had just sunk one-third of the island into the South China Sea!  The NEW JERSEY's projectiles had burrowed over 40 feet into the island before they detonated.  They had collapsed the island on top of the North Vietnamese and their 100mm guns.  Like the bottom blown out of a paper bag, the hollowed-out island collapsed into the sea.

 

USS NEW JERSEY left the gun line off Vietnam about 1 April 1969 and returned to the U.S.  The ship's company expected to go through an upkeep and work-up period for another tour on the gun line, but the decision was made to mothball the battleship.  So, NEW JERSEY went into mothballs for about a decade until the Reagan administration/  NEW JERSEY was re-commissioned on 28 December 1982 and joined the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.

 

In 1983, the country of Lebanon had been engulfed in a civil war between Lebanese Christians and Muslim factions.  USS NEW JERSEY arrived off the coast of Lebanon on 25 September 1983 to support the U.S. Marine peacekeeping forces.  On 23 October 1983, a Muslim faction blew-up the U.S. Marine barracks with a truck bomb and killed 283 sailors and Marines.

 

USS NEW JERSEY fired 11 rounds of 16-inch ammunition against the Muslim militia positions inland from Beirut on 28 December 1983.  On 8 February 1984, NEW JERSEY fired 300 rounds against Druze and Syrian positions in the Bekka Valley east of Beirut.  Thirty of the massive projectiles rained down on Syrian headquarters, killing the general commanding Syrian forces in Lebanon and several other high ranking officers.  Again, the punishing firepower of the 16-inch guns provided a lot of work for the Navy's Quartermasters.

 

IOWA-Class Battleship Specifications

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Dimensions:

            Length (overall)                      887 feet, 3 inches (270.4 meters)

            Length (waterline)                 860 feet, 0 inches (262.7 meters)

            Beam (maximum)                 108 feet, 2 inches (32.9 meters)

            Draft @ 43,675 tons             28 feet, 8 inches (8.7 meters)

            Draft @ 59,331 tons             37 feet, 2 inches (11.3 meters)

Displacement

            Light Load (1943)                 43,944 tons (44,649 metric tons)

            Battle Load (1943)                45,649 tons (56,542 metric tons)

            Full Load (1943)                    57,215 tons (58,134 metric tons)

            Full Load (1968)                    57,124 tons (58,030 metric tons)

            Light Load (1983)                 45,280 tons (46,007 metric tons)

            Full Load (1983)                    57,353 tons (59,274 metric tons)

Armament

            9    16�?50 (406mm/L50) Mk 7 Guns (1943, 1968, 1983)

            20  5�?38 (127mm/L38) Mk12 Dual Purpose Guns (1943, 1968)

            12  5�?38 (127mm/L38) Mk12 Dual Purpose Guns (1983)

            80  40mm/L56 Mk 2 Heavy AA Guns (1943)

            49  20mm/L70 Mk 10 AA Guns (1943)

            4    20mm Mk 15 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) (1983)

            32  BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles (1983)

            16  RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles (1983)
 

Armor

            Main Side Belt                       12.1 inches @ 19 degrees (307mm)

            Main Deck                             1.5 inches (38mm)

            Second Deck                        4.75 + 1.25 inches (121mm + 32mm)

            Splinter Deck                         0.625 inches (16mm)

            Barbette                                 17.3 to 11.6 inches (439 to 295mm)

            Turret Face                            17.0 inches (432mm)

            Turret Roof                             2.7 inches (63mm)

            Turret Side                             9.5 inches (241mm)

            Conning Tower                      17.5 inches (444mm)

Machinery

            Boilers                        Babcock & Wilcox three drum, 565 psi @ 850°F (39.72 kg/cm² @ 454.4°C)

            Turbines                     Four sets of geared steam turbines �?nbsp; General Electric (BB-61, BB-63); Westinghouse (BB-62, BB-64)

            Shaft Horsepower     212,000 shp

            Speed                         33 knots @ 202 rpm

            Endurance                 18,000 nautical miles @ 12 knots (1945)

            Propellers (Inner)       Two - 17 feet, 0 inches (5.182mm) five-bladed

            Propellers (Outer)     Two �?18 feet, 3 inches (5,563mm) four-bladed

            Rudders                     Two �?340 feet² (31.6 meters²)
Manning

            Officers �?117, Enlisted �?1,804 (1943 as designed)

            Officers �?152, Enlisted �?2,637 (1945, IOWA)

            Officers �?169, Enlisted �?2,503 (1949, WISCONSIN)

            Officers �?70, Enlisted �?1,558 (1968, NEW JERSEY)

            Officers �?74, Enlisted �?1,579 (1968, NEW JERSEY)

Sources:

            Wikipedia.org

            FAS.org

            Battleship.org

            Iowa Veteran’s Association

            Association of Gunner’s Mates