One year earlier the U.S. Navy and the nation were reeling from the devastating attack at Pearl Harbor and the destruction of the Pacific battleship fleet, on Dec. 7, 1942 the newest battleship New Jersey BB-62 was launched at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. One year later on Dec. 7, 1943 they would also launch Wisconsin BB-64. The four Iowa class battleships would be the last built by the U.S.A. and would actively serve well into the 1990's.