The Battleship New Jersey to Depart Camden Waterfront In March - The United States Navy's former Iowa-class battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) has called the Camden, N.J., waterfront home for more than three decades, but the ship will be on the move this coming March. It won't be returning to action.

Despite the hope of battleship enthusiasts, there is absolutely zero chance the United States Navy will see the old warship back in service. Built during the Second World War – and modernized for service in the 1980s – time has taken its toll on the aging battle wagon. U.S. Navy regulations require that decommissioned vessels head to dry dock for maintenance every 20 years, but it has been over three decades that the USS New Jersey has been a museum ship.

To preserve the historic vessel, she will be towed to the Philadelphia dry dock, the same one that built the battleship and many other warships in the 1940s, to go under much-needed repairs including a coating to protect and seal its hulls. Workers will further inspect and replace many of the 1,200 zinc anodes that are meant to protect the hull from corrosion, and any leaks will be replaced.

The work is expected to cost $10 million.

The exact departure date depends on the availability of the shipyard, the Courier Post reported. Though it will be a short journey, it will still require some effort. Moving a battleship even a few miles takes planning and precision!

Already workers have removed BB-62's mast and radar array, granting just enough space – about five to 10 feet of clearance in total – to allow it to pass under the Walt Whitman Bridge on its way down the Delaware River.

The good news is that the repairs to the USS New Jersey will take only around two months, allowing the famous fighting ship to be back for the busy summer tourist season. During the maintenance period, dry dock tours will also take place on weekends.

USS New Jersey: Saving The Big J

Known as the "Big J" or "Black Dragon," the USS New Jersey has the distinction of being one of the most decorated battleships to have served in the U.S. Navy, while she was also among the largest warships ever built.

The second of the Iowa-class, like her sister vessels, she was designed as a "fast battleship" that could travel with a carrier force and take the fight to the Japanese during World War II. Launched on December 7, 1942 – a year after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor – the New Jersey was commissioned in May 1943 and began her career as the flagship of the 5th Fleet under Adm. Raymond A. Spruance.

USS New Jersey also served as the flagship of Adm. William F. Halsey's Third Fleet, and took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf; and as part of Rear Adm. Oscar C. Badger II, commander of Battleship Division 7, supported the assault on Iwo Jima and then Okinawa.

After the Second World War, many of the U.S. Navy's majestic battleships were broken up and sold for scrap. Fortunately, the USS New Jersey avoided such a fate. While she was decommissioned, she remained in the reserve fleet and was returned to duty during the Korean War, where BB-62 served as the flagship for Vice Admiral Harold M. Martin. On May 20, 1951, she fired her first short bombardment in the conflict and took part in multiple subsequent seaborne sorties against Communist targets.

USS New Jersey remained active until 1957 when she was decommissioned a second time. However, she was briefly called up during the Vietnam War – becoming the only battleship to take part in the conflict in Southeast Asia, from 1967-69. During that time, the warship fired more than 5,600 rounds from her 16-inch guns and nearly 15,000 from the five-inch guns. While preparing for a second Vietnam tour, she was ordered inactivated and decommissioned in December 1969.

Back to Service a Final Time

In the early 1980s when President Ronald Reagan called for a 600-ship U.S. Navy, all four Iowa-class battleships were reactivated and upgraded. That included new combat systems that replaced many of the ships' smaller five-inch guns with launchers for Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 32 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and four Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS). USS New Jersey and her sister battleships were rearmed for the threats of the late Cold War.

The battleship again fired her big guns in combat during the Lebanon crisis of 1983-84 and later deployed to the western Pacific in 1986 and 1989-90, with the latter cruise extending to the Persian Gulf area.

In 1991 she was decommissioned for a final time, and eight years later USS New Jersey was towed from Bremerton to Philadelphia in preparation for final berthing as a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey.  In October 2001, the "Big J" was opened to the public as a museum ship on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. Since that time the old warship has continued to preserve the warship's history while also being among the most interactive museums in the country.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].