USS New Mexico (BB-40)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS New Mexico.

USS New Mexico (BB-40) in 1921
History
United States
NameNew Mexico
NamesakeNew Mexico
BuilderBrooklyn Navy Yard
Laid down14 October 1915
Launched13 April 1917
Commissioned20 May 1918
Decommissioned19 July 1946
Stricken25 February 1947
Honors and
awards		6 ×
battle stars, World War II
FateScrapped 1948
General characteristics
Class and typeNew Mexico-class battleship
Displacement
Length624 ft (190 m)
Beam97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft30 ft (9.1 m)
Installed power
  • 9 ×
    Babcock & Wilcox boilers
  • 27,500 shp (20,500 kW)
Propulsion
Speed21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Complement1,084 officers and men
Armament
Armor
  • Belt: 8–13.5 in (203–343 mm)
  • Barbettes: 13 in (330 mm)
  • Turret face: 18 in (457 mm)
  • Turret sides: 9–10 in (229–254 mm)
  • Turret top: 5 in (127 mm)
  • Turret rear 9 in (229 mm)
  • Conning tower: 11.5 in (292 mm)
  • Decks: 3.5 in (89 mm)

USS New Mexico (BB-40) was a

turbo-electric transmission
, which helped her reach a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).

Shortly after completing initial training, New Mexico escorted the ship that carried President

Pacific campaign and was present in Tokyo Bay for Japan's formal surrender
on 2 September 1945. Four days later, she sailed for the United States and arrived in Boston on 17 October.

New Mexico was decommissioned in Boston on 19 July 1946 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 February 1947. She was sold for scrapping to the Lipsett Division of Luria Bros in November 1947, but attempts to bring her to Newark, New Jersey for breaking up were met with resistance from city officials. City fireboats were sent to block the passage of the battleship and the Lipsett tugboats, while the United States Coast Guard declared intentions to guarantee safe passage. The Under Secretary of the Navy Department was sent to defuse what the media began to call the "Battle of Newark Bay"; the city agreed to break up New Mexico and two other battleships before scrapping operations in Newark Bay ceased, while Lipsett was instructed to dismantle the ships in a set timeframe or suffer financial penalties. Scrapping commenced in November and was completed by July 1948.

Description

Main article: New Mexico-class battleship

New Mexico was 624 feet (190 m)

armored belt was 13.5 in (343 mm) thick, while the main armored deck was up to 3.5 in (89 mm) thick. The main battery gun turrets had 18 in (457 mm) thick faces on 13 in (330 mm) barbettes. The conning tower had 16 in (406 mm) thick sides.[1]

The ship was armed with a

3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns. In addition to her gun armament, New Mexico was also fitted with two 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes, mounted submerged in the hull, one on each broadside.[1]

Service history

USS New Mexico (BB-40), c. 1935, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

On 30 June 1914, New Mexico was authorized by the

San Pedro on 9 August.[3] Two of her 5-inch/51 caliber guns were removed in a later overhaul, in 1922.[5]

The next twelve years consisted of training exercises and maneuvers in the Pacific and the Caribbean, with the Pacific and the

PID controllers. Invented by the Russian-American engineer Nicolas Minorsky for the automated steering of ships, the devices have since become widespread in control engineering.[6] After that, in 1925, she took a cruise to Australia and New Zealand.[7]

After her training exercises in the Atlantic and the Pacific were finished, New Mexico was overhauled and modernized at the Philadelphia Harbor by the Navy from March 1931 to January 1933. The overhaul included the replacement of her turbo-electric drive with more conventional geared turbines, which were made by Curtis. In addition, New Mexico received eight

5-inch/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns, replacing the four 3-inch/50 caliber guns that had been previously installed. After the overhaul, she returned the Pacific to continue training exercises and the development of tactical operations.[4][8] New Mexico's performance during these exercises garnered numerous awards, particularly in gunnery, engineering, and battlefield efficiency; she subsequently became known as the "Queen" or "Queen of the Fleet" by her crew.[9]

During the 1936 Fleet Problem XVII, she had a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), in line with most U.S.

Standard-type battleship of that time, but only 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h; 1.7 mph) faster than Japan's slowest battleships. This led to the development of the faster North Carolina-class battleship and South Dakota-class battleship.[10] In 1937, she arrived in Hawaii to sail to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where she and several other ships were sent to help the Navy evaluate fighting in sub-arctic conditions.[11]

World War II

1940–43

As the prospect of war grew, New Mexico was based at

Nantucket Lightship off Boston Harbor.[4][13] The owner of Oregon sued the federal government for the loss of the ship, but the courts found New Mexico blameless in the collision.[14] She managed to reach the Panama Canal by 17 January 1942.[15]

During an overhaul in May 1942, at the

Kiska on 21 July, which preceded the Japanese evacuation of the island a week later.[4][18]

After the Aleutian Islands Campaign, a refit was undertaken at the Puget Sound Navy Yard. On 25 October, New Mexico returned to Pearl Harbor to practice for the invasion of the

Makin Atoll. During the fighting on the islands the ship was tasked with guarding transports at night when they retreated from the islands, providing anti-aircraft fire for the unloading of supplies and troops, and providing screening fire for the aircraft carriers. After U.S. troops captured the Gilbert Islands on 5 December, New Mexico returned to Pearl Harbor.[4][18][19]

1944

New Mexico was part of the

Wotje, and then the following month also shelled New Ireland and Kavieng. After that, she sailed to the Solomon Islands to practice the attack on the Mariana Islands, stopping at Sydney, in Australia, on the way.[4][20]

In mid-June, New Mexico joined the shelling of

Eniwetok. On 9 July, she sailed to guard escort carriers until 12 July. Her guns later hit Guam on 21 July and kept on shelling the island until 30 July.[4][20]

After the invasion of the Mariana Islands, she received an overhaul at

Palaus, where she later joined a Mindoro-bound convoy. She provided anti-aircraft fire for the convoy and provided cover fire for invading forces. She provided cover for two more days before retiring to the Palaus.[4][21]

1945

New Mexico is struck by a kamikaze aircraft, 12 May 1945
New Mexico, with Mt. Fuji in the background, August 1945.

New Mexico's next task in the Philippines was the liberation of

Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden, the British representative to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Lumsden was the most senior British Army combat fatality of World War II. A further 87 of her crew were wounded. Bruce Fraser, the commander of the British Pacific Fleet, narrowly escaped death while on her bridge, although his secretary was killed. The guns remained in action as the ship's crew repaired the damage while the invasion troops were landing on the beaches.[4][20]

More extensive repairs were completed at Pearl Harbor, after which New Mexico sailed to the island of

Shinyo suicide boats.[4][20]

While she was approaching her berth in the

Sagami Wan on 27 August to support the airborne occupation of Atsugi Airfield. The next day New Mexico passed into Tokyo Bay to witness the Japanese surrender, which took place on 2 September. She departed Tokyo Bay on 6 September, passing Okinawa, Hawaii, and the Panama Canal, before arriving at Boston on 17 October.[4][20][22]

Postwar

New Mexico was decommissioned in Boston on 19 July 1946 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 February 1947. On 9 November 1947, she was sold for scrapping to the Lipsett Division of Luria Bros, for $381,600.[4][23]

Lipsett decided to tow New Mexico for scrapping at Newark, New Jersey. The proximity of Newark to rail lines made it an ideal location for dismantling the ship and hauling away the steel. In early November 1947 New Mexico departed Boston, towed by two tugs. On 12 November, while off the coast of New York, the tugs pulling the battleship encountered heavy weather and were forced to cut the tow lines. Running lights were kept on aboard New Mexico along with three crewmembers, but the tugs eventually lost sight of the battleship.[24] New Mexico then drifted as a derelict until spotted by a Coast Guard plane the next day, 35 miles off the coast. The two tugs then secured tow lines and continued the journey to the scrapyard.[25][26]

Newark city officials decided they did not want any more ships scrapped along the city's waterfront. Newark was implementing a beautification plan for the waterfront, and had allocated $70 million for improvements.[25] As such, the city declared that any attempt to bring New Mexico to Newark would be blocked. Two city fireboats, Michael P. Duffy and William T. Brennan, were dispatched and were prepared to use their fire hoses and chemical sprayers to halt Lipsett and New Mexico.[25] In response, Lipsett organized its own force of four tugs, and the United States Coast Guard declared it would guarantee safe passage of New Mexico, provided legal entry was permitted. This showdown was dubbed by the press as the "Battle of Newark Bay", while the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce announced it would protest Newark's "slur" of New Mexico's namesake, through its refusal to admit the battleship.[24]

As New Mexico awaited suitable tidal conditions to make the final tow into Newark, the Navy Department sent Under Secretary W. John Kenney to negotiate. After several sessions, he arranged a tenuous agreement between the City of Newark and Lipsett. Newark would allow New Mexico and two other battleships, Idaho and Wyoming, to be scrapped at Newark, but there would be no permanent ship dismantling facility. Lipsett had nine months to dispose of the three ships, or would be subjected to a fine of $1,000 per day after the deadline.[25]

New Mexico finally entered Newark Channel on 19 November, and was greeted by the same Newark fireboats that had earlier been sent to oppose the ship. Newark also arranged to have school children honor the old battleship dockside, with a marching band. New Mexico was subsequently joined by Idaho and Wyoming, where all three were finally dismantled. Scrapping of New Mexico began on 24 November and was completed by July 1948.[2]

Two ship's bells from the battleship were donated to the state of New Mexico. The larger 1,100-pound (500 kg) bell was on display at the Santa Fe Plaza from 1948 until the early 1970s and is now part of the New Mexico History Museum collection.[27] The smaller 800-pound (360 kg) bell[28] was sent to the University of New Mexico, where it hung in Scholes Hall from 1948 to 1964 and subsequently in its own freestanding tower near Smith Plaza.[29]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Friedman 1986, p. 117.
  2. ^ a b NavSource 2009.
  3. ^ a b Wiper, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m DANFS.
  5. ^ a b Breyer 1973, p. 219.
  6. ^ Bennett 1986, pp. 142–148.
  7. ^ Driscoll 2009, p. 97.
  8. ^ a b Turner Publishing 2002, p. 16.
  9. ^ "USS New Mexico Collections". www.nmhistorymuseum.org. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  10. ^ Nofi 2010, p. 37.
  11. ^ Nofi 2010, p. 220.
  12. ^ Rowher 2005, p. 79.
  13. ^ Cressman 2000, p. 97.
  14. ^ 4th Circuit 1949.
  15. ^ Rowher 2005, p. 135.
  16. ^ Friedman 1985, pp. 362.
  17. ^ Sturton 2008, p. 209.
  18. ^ a b Turner Publishing 2002, p. 18.
  19. ^ Rowher 2005, p. 289.
  20. ^ a b c d e Turner Publishing 2002, pp. 21–23.
  21. ^ Driscoll 2009, p. 138.
  22. ^ Rowher 2005, p. 431.
  23. ^ Bonner 1997, p. 109.
  24. ^ a b The Evening Independent 1947.
  25. ^ a b c d Bonner 1997, p. 114.
  26. ^ Ellensburg Daily Record 1947.
  27. ^ Nelson, Kate (16 November 2012). "USS New Mexico's Bell Finds a Permanent Home". New Mexico History Museum. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  28. ^ "State can get two New Mexico bells". Albuquerque Journal. 3 December 1947. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "New veterans bell tower". Albuquerque Journal. 12 November 1964. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

References

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