Anti-aircraft gun to return to Battleship New Jersey after removal 50 years ago

It is unlikely most Americans have ever heard of a Quadruple 40 mm Bofors Mount.

But they undoubtedly have seen it in action — in World War II movies or documentaries — firing multiple rounds per second from U.S. ships at enemy aircraft.

Fifty years ago when all 20 of these World War II anti-aircraft guns were removed from the battleship USS New Jersey during its 1967 overhaul at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for Vietnam War service, only one mount was salvaged.

The gun had been rusting for 50 years on a concrete pedestal in front of what was the commandant’s quarters at the shipyard, now the Navy Yard business center under continuing development by the nonprofit Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC).

Recently, a crane lifted the 23,000-pound, four-barreled historic artifact off its concrete base to begin the first leg of a rescue journey that will end soon with the mount's return to the Battleship, moored as a museum on the Camden waterfront across the Delaware River from Philadelphia for 16 years.

“We are excited about getting it back to the battleship where it belongs after 50 years. It will be a great addition to a tour of the world’s greatest battleship!” said Jack Willard, vice president of marketing for the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial.

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This surviving 75-year-old gun mount that once fired up to 160 rounds per minute was donated to the museum by the PIDC. Called a Quad 40 for short, the mount was lifted onto a flatbed tractor trailer and trucked to the Mahan Collection museum of vintage American trucks and mechanical history in Basking Ridge, Somerset County. There historic preservation experts are restoring the armament for the battleship museum.

The ship itself was built at the Philadelphia shipyard and launched on Dec. 7, 1942, for World War II service, later becoming the most militarily decorated battleship in Navy history after fighting in subsequent wars and conflicts.

“We are delighted to support the Battleship New Jersey by having the reconditioned Quad 40 added to the museum across the river, where it can be seen by people from around the world,” said Prema Katari Gupta, PIDC Senior Vice President, of Navy Yard Planning & Development.

Ship museum CEO Phil Rowan said the reconditioned weapon is expected to arrive home sometime in August. It will be mounted on the pier alongside the ship's starboard side and directly below an upper deck where one like it operated.



"We want to have all the gears working so visitors will be able to swing the guns from side to side and to elevate them," Rowan said.

The Quad 40 cannot be remounted on a ship because the Navy has a strict requirement the New Jersey be displayed in its deck configuration at the time of its last decommissioning in 1991. At that time Quad 40s were no longer on board though steel remnants of their base on decks and gun tub shields that protected them and their gunners are still evident on the main and other decks.

"The Quad 40mm Bofors Mount was one of 20 that were on the battleship during World War II and saw action battling Japanese bombers and Kamikaze attacks against the fleet in the Pacific. They were also used in the Korean War,” said Richard Thrash, a seasoned volunteer on the battleship museum.

He had challenged the museum board to push for a public fundraising campaign for the return of the Quad 40 as well as the ship’s original main turret gun barrels still available from the Navy.

On June 19-20, 1944, during the Battle of the Philippines Sea, also known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot, Quad 40s and the gunners of the New Jersey's 5-inch gun turrets helped to shoot down 400 enemy planes.

The Quad 40s were removed from the ship because they were rendered obsolete with the advent of jet planes, which are capable of flying at much greater speeds than propeller aircraft.

Efforts also are underway to obtain from the Navy the last of the nine main gun turret barrels removed from the New Jersey at the shipyard in 1954 after the battleship fought in the Korean War. Only three barrels are still available.

The museum continues to raise money on its website for the Quad 40 move and for removal and transportation of the gun turret barrels. A little more than $106,000 of a $200,000 goal has been donated so far.

The barrels, each 68 feet long and weighing 120 tons, have been stored outside for many decades in a muddy field at the St. Juliens Creek Naval Annex in Chesapeake, Virginia.

When operating, the ship's largest gun turrets hurled ammunition 16 inches in diameter and more than five feet long a maximum range distance of 23 miles.

“The three gun barrels also are historic artifacts that fired countless rounds in shore bombardments at places like Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa in support of Marine amphibious landings in the Pacific during World War II,” Thrash said.

Later the same guns provided critical heavy naval gunfire support to United Nations troops during the Korean War at places like Wonsan, Kosong, Songjin and Hungnam.

“The Navy has said it will cut up these historic treasures for scrap if groups don’t come forward and agree to restore them and place them on public display,” Thrash said. “Just saying that makes me cringe to think that such historic artifacts as these could be lost forever.”

The battleship museum has applied for one of the original barrels and has helped the PIDC and the Mahan Collection apply for the others. They would be lifted by crane and transported via rail together to save on cost.

The PIDC plans to display the gun barrel on the Marine Parade Grounds at the Navy Yard if the Navy approves its application.

“We are grateful that Battleship New Jersey and the U.S. Navy are working with PIDC to bring a historic gun turret barrel to the Navy Yard, where it will be on public display for our employees and visitors to learn about the ship and Navy Yard’s rich history,” Gupta said.

The Mahan museum hopes to display one of the barrels at its Basking Ridge museum on a truck with an extended flatbed like those that use to haul similar gun barrels during World War II for coastal defense.

“It’s been a collective effort the battleship museum started and we hopped on board this year. We are helping out with the Quad 40 restoration process because we have the tools to do it," said Kathryn Mahan, collection vice president and daughter of the truck collection founder.

Rowan said moving the gun barrels will be the greatest expense. He estimated the cost of cranes, rail transportation to New Jersey and display at $75,000 for each of the two barrels.

"We are not using our state grant or foundation grants for the gun projects," the CEO emphasized.



Rowan personally has donated $10,100 to the project.

"I believe that you should not ask others for money if you don't contribute yourself," Rowan said. "I am committed to the preservation of the New Jersey and all artifacts related to her service to this nation's defense."

There are donor incentives ranging from a free tour ticket to a museum membership, a plaque, sculpture and knife, all made from steel or teak removed from the ship during restoration efforts.

Thrash, who makes a five-hour roundtrip from his Virginia home on Saturdays as head of the New Jersey's brass polishing team and who has been involved in many of the ship's restoration projects, also donated $5,000.

A number of other museum volunteers also have contributed considerable amounts. Among them are photographer Richard Zimmerman, $10,000; Nanette La Corte, the ship's bugler and brass team member and museum board of trustees chairman Walter Urban, $5,000 each. Board trustee Marshall Spevak and his family donated $7,000, trustee Ernest Posner, $5,000, and trustee Perry Levine, $5,000.

USS New Jersey Lodge No. 62, F&AM, donated $2,500, USS New Jersey Veterans, Inc., $5,000 and former service members or their families also donated. Among defense contractors donors, Lockheed Martin of Moorestown donated the most — $10,000.

To donate, visit battleshipnewjersey.org/40

Carol Comegno: (856) 486-2473; ccomegno@gannetnj.com





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