Field Trip to Battleship New Jersey

You know that game Battleship with its famous phrase, “You sunk my battleship!?” Well, I’m here to tell you Hasbro has that one wrong. It is not that easy to sink a battleship. And how, you ask, do I know this? Because I spent over two hours aboard one, walking up and down levels and in and out steel doors. It’s not only a giant, solid ship, but it’s seriously armed. 

The Battleship New Jersey, the nation’s most decorated battleship, peeks out above the buildings along the Camden waterfront. Its giant, 11-story gray mass looms large and complicated as you approach from the parking lot. Because you have to walk a bit of a distance to approach the ship, its stature gets more and more impressive with each step. And each step was lovely. My boys, Salem and Finn and I picked a fine September day to hop in the car and go in search of history. And tomahawk missiles. We found both and had an incredible couple hours living like we were in the Navy.

The boys and I invited MomMom to go along with us that day. After all, she lives in Philadelphia and is a clutch person to have on hand when you are trying to wrestle kids around. Before we walked the gang plank onto the wooden floorboards, we learned the BB62 (the Battleship) was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and launched on December 7, 1942. If this date feels familiar, it should. It was only one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

There are several guides or docents on board the ship with one greeting us as soon as we began our tour. All we encountered that day were men, which I found a little odd, until I realized further in the trip that these were no ordinary men. At least a few had served in the military, for sure, and I’m willing to wager that nearly all of them did. Our greeter told us we were taking a self-guided tour around the ship, following the red and yellow lines all around.

“Wow,” I thought, “This is easy living. What a nice field trip, no stress, no nothing, just walking. I can do that.” And fate laughed out loud, because it only took about three seconds before danger became instantly clear. And danger has a name: steps. Believe me, these were no ordinary steps. These were the steepest I’ve ever seen.

On the entry deck were the giant turrets. They were intimidating and cool at the same time, especially for the boys. All were menacing, but we didn’t realize how much until we went further into the tour. From that deck you can climb up into the small space that had a periscope, and peer into the windows to see the inside of them. They were 16-inch gun turrets used to fire six foot long projectiles at targets 23 miles away. That small room also had a few telephones. There were many all over the ship, in the captain’s quarters (and even in his bathroom!). Bob, our guide in that room told us the phones were there because the captain, while aboard the ship, is on duty 24 hours a day. 

As we climbed down into the bowels of the ship, we were shown sailors’ beds and living areas. The battleship has life-size figures set up to demonstrate life on the boat. We were shocked at how tight the quarters were, though I was impressed by the organizational skills they must have had. During this time of weaving in, out, up and down, we saw tables for the sailors to play chess and backgammon (the boards painted on the tabletops), pipes, tubes, hooks, coils, missiles, and various other scary looking things. Since it is an actual battleship, you feel like you are there for a reason, and perhaps you should look through that periscope or turn that dial. Lives could be at stake! Seriously though, the USS New Jersey, with its sheer size of over three football fields in length, is a force to be reckoned with. During the tour, it was hard not to imagine all the men walking with purposeful strides through the narrow halls. There were some 2,500 men aboard the ship at any given time. 

During our walking tour, MomMom kept wondering where they fired the guns and missiles. She got her answer and we got one of our favorite spots on the tour, when we walked into what we referred to as the control room. In this dark, sort of spacious room, are lots of chairs (they looked like barber chairs, only set up higher) and computers. It was here that the launching happened. The first call to action was the chaff firing. If an enemy was spotted, they blew the chaff, which erupted and surrounded the ship in a protective cloud of sorts. What? We were blown away by that. Then, offensive moves were launched. In addition to the 16-inch guns, the ship also has tomahawk cruise missiles, which can hit a target 1,500 miles away, and can harpoon anti-ship missiles. 

With all these weapons, people and equipment to handle, it’s no wonder that the captain’s quarters were pretty special. They were large and comfy and ritzy. The captain had use of Tiffany silver pieces too. Most were still on board.  The remaining pieces are in Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion in Trenton. 

As we climbed our last staircase, and placed our feet on those teak floorboards once again, we were all in amazement at the battleship. It’s a floating city that was built to do some serious damage to America’s enemies. The USS New Jersey is a living museum, filled with awesome sights and amazing tour guides, who enriched the experience by making it personal.  

The Battleship New Jersey is located at 100 Clinton Street, Camden. Across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge from Philadelphia, it’s about 90 miles from Cape May. But if you’re coming from Pennsylvania, it’s a great stop on your road trip and will give you plenty of fodder for the remaining trip south. Lots more details can be found online at battleshipnewjersey.org.