New Mexico (BB-40) USS

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
john sefton
Posts: 1816
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

New Mexico (BB-40) USS

Post by john sefton » Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:17 pm

New Mexico was laid down on 14 October 1915 by the New York Navy Yard; launched on 13 April 1917 and commissioned on 20 May 1918.
The ship was equipped with a turbo-electric propulsion system, where the high-speed steam turbine drove a set of generators providing electricity to electric engines turning the propellor shafts. This was quite unique at the time.
After initial training, New Mexico departed New York on 15 January 1919 for France, to escort the transport George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson from the Versailles Peace Conference to the US, returning to Hampton Roads on 27 February. There on 16 July, she became flagship of the newly-organized Pacific Fleet, and three days later sailed for the Panama Canal and San Pedro, California, arriving on 9 August. Two of the original 14 5 in (130 mm)/51 cal guns were removed in 1922. The next 12 years were marked by frequent combined manoeuvers with the Atlantic Fleet both in the Pacific and Caribbean which included visits to South American ports and a 1925 cruise to Australia and New Zealand. In 1924 the New Mexico was used in the early development of PID controllers for automated ship steering by Russian American naval engineer Nicolas Minorsky; PID controllers have subsequently become ubiquitous in control engineering.
New Mexico was modernized and overhauled at Philadelphia from March 1931-January 1933, including replacement of the turbo-electric drive with conventional geared turbines, and an anti-aircraft battery of eight 5 in (130 mm)/25 cal guns, New Mexico returned to the Pacific in October 1934 to resume training exercises and tactical development operations.
As war threatened, her base was Pearl Harbor from 6 December 1940-20 May 1941. Then she sailed to join the Atlantic fleet at Norfolk on 16 June for duty on neutrality patrol.
On 10 December, while headed to Hampton Roads (en route to the west coast after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor), New Mexico rammed and sank US freighter Oregon south of the Nantucket Lightship.
The original secondary battery of 5 in (130 mm)/51 cal guns was removed beginning in May 1942 to make room for additional anti-aircraft machine guns. On 1 August, she sailed from San Francisco to Hawaii to prepare for action. From 6 December-22 March 1943, she sailed escort for troop transports to the Fijis, then patrolled the southwest Pacific, returning to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the campaign against the Japanese in the Aleutians. On 17 May, she arrived Adak, her base while serving on the blockade of Attu, and on 21 July, she joined in the massive bombardment of Kiska that forced its evacuation a week later.
After refitting at Puget Sound Navy Yard, New Mexico returned to Pearl Harbor on 25 October to rehearse the assault on the Gilbert Islands. During the invasion, begun on 20 November, she pounded Makin atoll, guarded transports during their night withdrawals from the islands, and provided antiaircraft cover during unloading operations, as well as screening aircraft carriers. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 December.
Underway with the Marshall Islands assault force on 12 January 1944, New Mexico bombarded Kwajalein and Ebeye on 31 January-1 February, then replenished at Majuro. She blasted Wotje on 20 February and Kavieng, New Ireland on 20 March, then visited Sydney before arriving in the Solomons in May to rehearse the Marianas operation.
New Mexico bombarded Tinian on 14 June, Saipan on 15 June, and Guam on 16 June, and twice helped drive off enemy air attacks on 18 June. She protected transports off the Marianas while the carrier task force spelled the doom of Japanese naval aviation in its great victory, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, on 20 June. New Mexico escorted transports to Eniwetok, then sailed on 9 July guarding escort carriers until 12 July, when her guns opened on Guam in preparation for the landings on 21 July. Until 30 July, she blasted enemy positions and installations on the island.
Overhauled at Bremerton, Washington August to October, New Mexico arrived in Leyte Gulf on 22 November to cover the movement of reinforcement and supply convoys, firing in the almost daily air attacks over the Gulf, as the Japanese posed desperate resistance to the reconquest of the Philippines. She left Leyte Gulf on 2 December for the Palaus, where she joined a force covering the Mindoro-bound assault convoy. Again she sent up antiaircraft fire as invasion troops stormed ashore on 15 December, providing cover for two days until sailing for the Palaus.
Her next operation was the invasion of Luzon, fought under a sky full of would-be suicide planes, against whom she was almost continually at general quarters. She fired pre-landing bombardment on 6 January 1945, and that day took a kamikaze hit on her bridge which killed her commanding officer, Captain Robert Walton Fleming, British Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden (Winston Churchill's personal military representative to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur), and 29 others of her crew, with 87 injured. Commander-designate of the British Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral Bruce Fraser, another passenger, narrowly escaped injury whilst on the New Mexico's bridge, while his secretary was killed. Her guns remained in action as she repaired damage, and she was still in action as troops went ashore.
After repairs at Pearl Harbor, New Mexico arrived at Ulithi to stage for the invasion of Okinawa, sailing on 21 March with a heavy fire support group. Her guns opened on Okinawa on 26 March, and they were not silent until 17 April, when she gave aid to troops engaged ashore. Again on 21 April and 29 April, she opened fire, and on 11 May she destroyed eight Shinyo suicide boats. While approaching her berth in Hagushi anchorage just after sunset on 12 May, New Mexico was attacked by two kamikazes; one plunged into her, the other managed to hit her with his bomb. She was set on fire, and 54 of her men were killed, with 119 wounded. Swift action extinguished the fires within 30 minutes, and on 28 May, she departed for repairs at Leyte, followed by rehearsals for the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands. Word of the war's end reached her at Saipan on 15 August, and next day she sailed for Okinawa to join the occupation force. She entered Sagami Wan on 27 August to support the airborne occupation of Atsugi Airfield, and next day passed into Tokyo Bay to witness the surrender on 2 September 1945.
New Mexico was homeward bound on 6 September, calling at Okinawa, Pearl Harbor, and the Panama Canal before arriving at Boston on 17 October.
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 Lipsett Division of Luria Bros, for $381,600.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_Mexico_(BB-40)

Marshall Is SG?
Attachments
New Mexico.jpg

Online
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: New Mexico (BB-40) USS

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed May 18, 2022 9:30 pm

Marshall Islands 1997 20c sg 919, Scott 649ae
Attachments
Image (14).jpg
Image (14).jpg (76.4 KiB) Viewed 343 times

Post Reply