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USS New Mexico circa 1920
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(US)
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14 October 1915
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13 April 1917
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20 May 1918
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19 July 1946
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sold for scrap
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32,000 t
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624 ft (190 m)
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97 ft (296 m)
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30 ft (91 m)
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21 knots
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1,084 officers and men
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12 × 14 in (356 mm) guns, <br/>14 × 5 in (127 mm) guns, <br/>2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
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was a
United States Navy Battleship , the
Lead Ship of
Her Class . She was the first Navy ship named in honor of the state of
New Mexico .
''New Mexico'' was laid down
14 October 1915 by the
New York Navy Yard ; launched
13 April 1917 ; sponsored by Miss
Margaret C. DeBaca , daughter of the
Governor Of New Mexico ; and commissioned
20 May 1918 , Capt.
Ashley H. Robertson in command.
After initial training, ''New Mexico'' departed
New York 15 January 1919 for
Brest ,
France , to escort home transport ''George Washington'' carrying President
Woodrow Wilson from the
Versailles Peace Conference , returning to
Hampton Roads 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
9 August . The next 12 years were marked by frequent combined maneuvers with the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet both in the
Pacific and
Caribbean which included visits to
South America n ports and a 1925 cruise to
Australia and
New Zealand .
Modernized and overhauled at
Philadelphia between March 1931 and January 1933, ''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 until
20 May 1941 , Then she sailed to join the Atlantic fleet at Norfolk
16 June for duty on
Neutrality Patrol . When the
Japan ese attacked Pearl Harbor, she returned to the west coast, and sailed
1 August 1942 from San Francisco to prepare in
Hawaii for action. Between
6 December and
22 March 1943 , she sailed
Escort for
Troop Transport s to the
Fiji s, 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
25 October to rehearse the assault on the
Gilbert Islands . During the invasion, begun
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 Carrier s. She returned to Pearl Harbor
5 December .
Underway with the
Marshall Islands assault force
12 January 1944 , ''New Mexico'' bombarded
Kwajalein and
Ebeye 31 January and
1 February , then replenished at
Majuro . She blasted
Wotje 20 February and
Kavieng ,
New Ireland 20 March , then visited
Sydney before arriving in the
Solomons in May to rehearse the
Marianas Operation .
''New Mexico'' bombarded
Tinian 14 June ,
Saipan 15 June , and
Guam 16 June , and twice helped drive off enemy air attacks
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 ,
20 June . ''New Mexico'' escorted transports to
Eniwetok , then sailed
9 July guarding
Escort Carrier s until
12 July , when her guns opened on Guam in preparation for the landings
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 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
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
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
6 January 1945 , and that day took a suicide hit on her bridge which killed her commanding officer, Captain
Robert W. 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, whilst his secretary was killed. Her guns remained in action as she repaired damage, and she was still in action January as troops went ashore.
After repairs at Pearl Harbor, ''New Mexico'' arrived at
Ulithi to stage for the
Invasion Of Okinawa , sailing
21 March with a heavy fire support group. Her guns opened on
Okinawa 26 March , and were not silent until
17 April as she gave aid to troops engaged ashore. Again on
21 April and
29 April she opened fire, and on
11 May she destroyed 8
Suicide Boat s. While approaching her berth in
Hagushi anchorage just after sunset
12 May , ''New Mexico'' was attacked by two suicides; 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 half an hour, 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 15 August , and next day she sailed for Okinawa to join the occupation force. She entered
Sagami Wan 27 August to support the airborne occupation of
Atsugi Airfield , then next day passed into
Tokyo Bay to witness the surrender
2 September .
''New Mexico'' was homeward bound
6 September , calling at Okinawa, Pearl Harbor, and the Panama Canal before arriving at
Boston 17 October .
''New Mexico'' received 6
Battle Star s for World War II service.
The USS ''New Mexico'' was decommissioned
19 July 1946 , in
Boston . She was sold for scrapping
13 October 1947 .
USS ''New Mexico'' (SSN-779) , a
''Virginia''-class Submarine , construction scheduled to begin 2006.
