Battleship New Jersey — Attraction in Camden

I've had the distinct privilege of visiting all four of the Iowa-class battleships with the USS New Jersey being the last one I had the chance to go to. Battleships have always fascinated me since I was a kid and ironically the "Big J" was my favorite one of all but I visited the Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin before I could make my way to Camden for the New Jersey. Now that I've been able to see her for real she remains my favorite battleship but now she's also my favorite museum ship - even among her sisters.

First reason for that is the sheer amount of the ship they let you tour freely. While the other three pretty much have similar areas open to regular tours - mainly the bridge areas, main deck, crew berths and mess - many areas remained closed off with you only being able to peek into some of the most fascinating areas like the admiral's and captain's staterooms, the turret interiors, and the CIC (assuming you could look in at all). On the New Jersey you could climb up directly inside Turret 2 right from the start of the tour (for comparison, you can pop your head into the Turret 2 hatch on Wisconsin but you can't climb inside). You could even fiddle with the periscope inside! Later on you can wander through the Admiral's, Captain's, and XO's staterooms - areas on the other Iowas that were pretty much closed off to tours (IIRC on the Missouri you could only peek into the Admiral's quarters though a closed porthole). The CIC and ops rooms also had working displays instead of being dormant. Want to go in a 5-inch gun? Go ahead on the New Jersey! Can't do that on the Iowa or the other sisters! If you're willing to do the walking you can also peek in the engine room, the anchor windlass compartment, and even relieve yourself on board in one of the ship's heads! How's that for being friendly to visitors?

Second reason are the wonderful exhibits on board. USS Wisconsin has the advantage of having the excellent Nauticus museum beside it to provide exhibit space but the New Jersey, Iowa, and Missouri pretty much stand alone. Big J does have a small office building before you enter the ship but it just has a cafe, ticket office, and restrooms - not the massive three-story edifice Nauticus has. To make up for that a large portion of the interior spaces on the ship itself have been converted to fascinating exhibit areas focusing on battleship history and design, Admiral William Halsey's career, the New Jersey's own history as well as that of her namesakes, and so many other interesting topics. I particularly loved the battleship history area where they went into detail about important factors in design and compared the Iowas to other nation's ultimate battlewagons. And yes, they mention the IJN Yamato and objectively point out her strengths and weaknesses versus the Iowas without seemingly playing favorites.

Past the exhibits the museum also thoughtfully included a special play area for kids, something I definitely do not recall the other ships having.

Overall, the museum was so engrossing I spent a lot more time than I expected there and could have stayed for even longer if I didn't have a train to catch back to New York that same evening.

If there are any cons I could point out it would be 1) posted info on the more modern armament like the CIWS, TLAM modules, and Harpoon launchers was lacking versus the other ships, 2) although almost all of the main deck is open the very stern of the ship is closed off so you can't get to the tail of the ship where the old gun tubs are (that's one thing the other Iowas let you do that the NJ doesn't, 3) the gift shop could have had more stuff, 4) food options seem very limited on the Camden waterfront area, and speaking of the Camden waterfront, 5) other than the New Jersey there's not a whole lot else there. There is an aquarium but if you're a naval buff you're going to want to hop a ferry or drive back across the river to Philly and check out the USS Olympia and the other ships at the Independence Seaport Museum if the "Black Dragon" didn't quite fill your need for...

USS New Jersey – Camden, NJ

"She doesn’t sail. She hunts."

Forged in the fires of World War II and reborn for every major conflict until 1991, the USS New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in U.S. history—and it earned that title by being absolutely terrifying.

Armament of Doom 9 × 16-inch (406 mm) Mark 7 guns Each one could fire a shell the weight of a small car—2,700 lbs of pure annihilation—over 20 miles. When they fired, the entire ship recoiled like it was trying to escape its own wrath.

20 × 5-inch (127 mm) guns These weren’t for show. They shredded aircraft, ships, and anything foolish enough to peek over the horizon.

32 × BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile Precision-guided nightmares that could strike targets hundreds of miles away. These weren’t just missiles—they were long-distance hate mail.

16 × RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Designed to sink enemy vessels before they even knew they were being watched. Silent. Swift. Savage.

4 × Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon Systems) Gatling guns that fire 4,500 rounds per minute, designed to vaporize incoming missiles. The sound? Like a chainsaw screaming through a thunderstorm.

Armor: Turrets with 19.5 inches of steel—thicker than most bunkers. A hull so reinforced, it could shrug off torpedoes like mosquito bites. Belt armor, bulkheads, barbettes—all layered like medieval plate mail for a ship that refused to die.

Psychological Warfare: Nicknamed the “Black Dragon”, she didn’t just fight—she intimidated. Her silhouette on the horizon was enough to make enemies rethink their life choices. When she fired her main guns, the shockwave could flatten trees, shatter windows, and rattle...

I came here on a Monday afternoon in late June 2022. I took the metro from Philly into New Jersey and walked all thr way to the Battleship - would NOT recommend it if it's hot or cold. For me, it was hot. I wish I had taken an Uber from Philly instead of getting lost for 30 minutes and taking another 45 minutes to finally get to the battleship. Don't make the same mistakes I did!

This place was cover under the CityPass which was very convenient for me since I was planning to go to a bunch if Philly's other sites. One thing you MUST do before you go is download the audio guides BEFORE getting there. There was very little reception in that area and once you get below deck the reception was completely blocked. Such a shame because I love guided tours. Guide-led tours only happen on the weekend so those audio guides were all that were available to me.

I've been to the other Battleships in California and Hawaii but this one was way better because it's bigger and more of it is opened to the public. In addition to the audio guided tour, there are 3 additional tours that lead further below deck to where the weapons, dining area, and the medical clinic. What's also interesting is that their toilets are actually running so there are plenty of toilets in operation if you need to go. Also, they have a play area for kids under 3 years old on the ship, which is super...