A Tour of the Bridge of the Most Decorated American Battleship In History

In this episode we're taking a tour of the navigation bridge of the battleship New Jersey

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[mrkeiths]

Great video, gave me a flashback to the mid eighties. We pulled into Sasebo, Japan a few days before the New Jersey arrived. As a nuclear powered fast attack sub, we arrived with little fanfare and were moored in the middle of the harbor. When New Jersey arrived everybody and their brother showed up. Greenpeace and quite a few protesters were there and it was quite the show. I believe this was right around the time that the USN started saying they could not confirm or deny that warships were carrying nuclear weapons. It was a thrill to see the mighty battleship arrive from our vantage point. What a sight!

[b.thomas]

Seeing this, its obvious that modernizing NJ would be... expensive, if not utterly impractical. She was built for a different war and a different time and managed to outlive all expectations.

[tonyInPA]

Like the gleaming ships wheel? That’s Ed’s great work…along with the brass team. You’ll see their work all over the ship.

[eddieb]

We were just there a little over two weeks ago and after watching this video it feels like Ryan was our personal tour guide. It is wonderful to re-live the experience through this awesome video tour and we can’t wait for the opportunity to visit BNJ again and maybe spring for a curator’s tour!

[ryanlimbaugh]

I think a video on the starting procedure for the battleship would be awesome. As in switching from shore power to internal power. Enjoyed this video a lot as well

[DonnyHooterHoot]

I got to go on the bridge of an ore hauler on Lake Superior. I remember it being larger and more "luxurious", with carpets and wood paneling. They had all the modern electronic navigation devices. Great video!

[IrishCarney]

9:55 "we've got a set of these ship's alarms." Glad to see that unlike the crew on Red Dwarf, if they have to go to red alert, they don't have to change the bulb

[ronswinford]

You have shown parts of the bridge before, and it always surprises me how small it was. I would have thought where the captains at-sea cabin was would be more for the next watch officer in war time. So they could get some rest, but still be right there if needed. Great look at everything Ryan. Thanks for all the videos you do they are very helpful to those of us not neat the New Jersey.

[clayp]

I seriously appreciate these videos, the time and effort that is put into them. These ships are amazing and should be preserved forever.

[wdcjunk]

I was definitely not aware of how tight the bridge was outside the conning tower. I figured it had at least 2x the space outside the conning tower. I know I've watched a ton of your videos and seen the bridge before but it just never sunk in. Good job showing just what the real conditions are and pointing out something and subtle as that.

[robertlian]

Couple of fun facts that I’m reasonably sure you have covered before. There is no magnetic compass in the citadel. It wouldn’t work, but if you are used to conning the ship the helmsman has no “check course” to repeat back to the OOD. It takes some getting used to. Also all of the bridge windows roll down to prevent them from breaking when the 16 inch guns are fired.

[naldahide]

It would be quite the sight to see her sail the high sea's again! The Iowa's are my absolute favorite! It really pains me to see them just sitting..
Thank you for all of yours and your crew's hard work in keeping these historical ships in great shape so future generations can appreciate what our naval heritage was and still is!

[rynohorn]

That's a lot different than what I expected. The ship I was on was commissioned in 93 or 94. It was way more spacious. Very cool tour Thank you Sir!

[guaposneeze]

I find it interesting that the NJ bridge is contrasted with sci fi and LCS bridges collectively. Apparently modern real bridges are closer to the fictional ones than the the battleship.
That said, the Star Trek Bridge is partly designed that way to have enough room for a ton of equipment. Not just the starfleet consoles but the camera dolly track, light stands and grip gear, etc. In that sense, it can be just as cramped as the NJ's bridge if you see some behind the scenes photos when they do close ups. Another funny point of analogy is that the Starfleet crew generally walked in from "outside the ship" just like that exterior ladder on New Jersey. The turbolift door was an entrance for the fictional characters within the show, but not a working entrance for the actors. The actors and film crew mostly entered the set by walking in through the main viewscreen which was just a big hole in the set.

[normbond]

I was stationed on the aircraft carrier Franklin D Roosevelt CVA42 in 1963 & was commissioned at the end of WW2. As I watch your tour so much comes flooding back to me of everything painted battleship grey or navy pea green & the equipment looks like it came from the 1920’s/30’s. I was then & still today amazed at the engineering & the complexity of the build of these old girls & what it took to complete in manpower at the shipyards. They really were/are modern day wonders war machines. Thanks.🙏👍🇨🇦

[hughgreentree]

I remember touring a Nimitz class carrier and going up on the bridge. I was surprised at how compact it was. I’ve seen bridges on other warships; I’ve forgotten what the bridge on USS Massachusetts was like. I hope to see it again. I look forward to seeing USS North Carolina. We toured USS Iowa in November 2021, it is all a blur now. I remember only 1 door into the conning tower. The weather bridge was rather tight.

[mikelgrillo]

I've always especially enjoyed the walk-throughs but even more so since I toured the ship in October.
On that topic, a special shout out to the volunteers who were all knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.

[nielsenricky]

Thanks for all the great content Ryan & crew!

[garyallsebrook]

I was an IC2 on the USS Dixie, which was in continuous service from 1940-1982, and I worked on all of the bridge stuff. When I was onboard, in the late 60's, she was in continuous service longer than any other ship in the Navy (except for the USS Constitution)

[marianaldenhoevel]

I just can't justify travelling half a planet to visit New Jersey in person. Watching you guide a tour for a video like this is the next best thing.

Thank you!