USS Vincennes (CG-49)
The fourth
USS Vincennes (CG-49) is a
U.S. Navy Ticonderoga class AEGIS guided missile cruiser. In 1988, the ship shot down
Iran Air Flight 655 over the
Persian Gulf.
The ship carries guided missiles, rapid-fire cannons, and two
Seahawk LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters for anti-submarine warfare.
Vincennes was named for the
Battle of Vincennes,
Indiana, during the
Revolutionary War, as were an older U.S. Navy heavy cruiser and a light cruiser.
Vincennes was the first of the
Ticonderoga-class cruisers to enter the
Pacific Fleet. Upon commissioning in 1985,
Vincennes helped test the
SM-2 Block II surface-to-air missile. In May 1986,
Vincennes participated in the multinational exercise
RIMPAC 86, coordinating the anti-aircraft warfare efforts of two
aircraft carriers and more than 40 ships from five nations.
Vincennes was deployed in August 1986 to the Western Pacific and
Indian Oceans, a first for a Tico cruiser. The ship served as anti-air warfare commander with the
Carl Vinson and
New Jersey battle groups, operated with the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the
Royal Australian Navy, and steamed more than 46,000 miles (74,000 km) in waters from the
Bering Sea to the Indian Ocean.
On
14 April 1988, the guided missile frigate
USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) hit a mine in the Persian Gulf during
Operation Earnest Will. Six days later,
Vincennes was yanked from Fleet Exercise 88-1, sent back to
San Diego, California and told to prepare for a six-month deployment. The reason for the haste: Navy leaders decided that they needed an Aegis ship to protect the exit of the damaged
Roberts through the
Strait of Hormuz. One month later, the cruiser entered the Gulf, and in late July, stood guard in the Strait as the damaged frigate was borne out on the
Mighty Servant 2 heavy-lift ship. The ship made 14 Hormuz transits during its Earnest Will operations.
On
3 July 1988,
Vincennes, under the command of Captain
William C. Rogers III, shot down an
Iran Air Airbus A300B2 over the
Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 aboard. See
Iran Air Flight 655.
In February 1990,
Vincennes was deployed on a third six-month tour of the western Pacific and Indian oceans, with
SH-60 helicopters from
HSL-45 Det 13. The ship coordinated all battle group air events and served as the command-and-control
flagship during Harpoon-Ex-90. In July 1990,
Vincennes returned home after steaming nearly 100,000 miles (160,000 km).
In August 1991,
Vincennes departed for a fourth western Pacific deployment. Steaming with
Independence,
Vincennes performed duties as the anti-air warfare commander for Battle Group Delta until detaching to participate as the United States representative in MERCUBEX 91, a joint United States and
Singaporean exercise. Over the next three months,
Vincennes participated in the bilateral exercise Valiant Blitz with the
South Korean Navy, the bilateral exercise Annualex 03G with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, and ASWEX 92-1K with the South Korean Navy before reaching
Hong Kong to act as the U.S. representative for the Navy Days ceremonies.
Vincennes returned from deployment on
21 December 1991.
In June 1994,
Vincennes departed on a fifth western Pacific deployment with the
Kitty Hawk Battle Group.
Vincennes performed duties as anti-air warfare commander for the battle group. During deployment,
Vincennes conducted an anti-submarine exercise, PASSEX 94-2, with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the bilateral exercise MERCUB 94-2, a joint U.S. and Singaporean Navy exercise of the
Malaysian peninsula, the bilateral exercise Keen Edge, with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Tandem Thrust, a larger-scale joint exercise which
Vincennes participated as the area air defense coordinator for the entire joint operating area.
Vincennes returned from this deployment on
22 December 1994.
In August 1997,
Vincennes changed homeport from San Diego to
Yokosuka, Japan, then steamed to the South Pacific and took part in Exercise Valiant Usher 98-1 with the
Belleau Wood amphibious ready group and the Royal Australian Navy destroyer
Perth. The combined exercise took place near
Townsend Island, Australia.
Vincennes also took part in the
U.S. Seventh Fleet's Fleet Battle Experiment Delta (FBE-D) from
24 October to
2 November 1998, in conjunction with exercise Foal Eagle, a regularly scheduled exercise that simulates the defense of the
Republic of Korea. Sponsored by the
Navy Warfare Development Command, FBE-D was the fourth in a series of experiments that tested new combat systems and procedures at sea.
On
12 August 2000,
Vincennes completed Sharem 134, a bilateral exercise with several Japanese ships and other U.S. participants. The exercise included a week of undersea warfare training and data collection in the
South China Sea. The ship tested its submarine detection, sonar range testing, and sonobuoy employment and developed new submarine prosecution procedures. The final Sharem events included a "freeplay", which allowed the cruiser to detect and prosecute other submarines, combining many of the tactics and systems tested during Sharem.
In mid-November 2000, the cruiser fired missile batteries at remote-controlled aerial drones provided by Fleet Activities Okinawa during MISSILEX 01-1.
On
23 March 2001,
Vincennes, as part of the
Kitty Hawk Battle Group, cruised into
Changi Naval Base, the first time a U.S. carrier had moored pierside in Singapore. The
Vincennes took part in a
23 August-27, 2001, military training exercise called Multi-Sail, which was designed to provide U.S. and Japanese forces interoperability training in multiple warfare areas.
Vincennes departed from Yokosuka on
17 September 2001, to conduct operations in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, and the ship returned on
18 December 2001 after more than three months at sea.
Vincennes has been awarded the
Navy Meritorious Unit Citation, the Battle Efficiency "E" three times, the
Combat Action Ribbon, the
National Defense Medal, and the
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with four stars.
Vincennes was decommissioned on
29 June 2005 at San Diego, and is scheduled to be towed to
Bremerton, Washington, where inactive ships are mothballed.
*In the
Tom Clancy novel
Red Storm Rising,
Vincennes is one of three missile cruisers sent to protect U.S. forces fighting to liberate
Iceland. When Soviet aircraft fire anti-ship missiles at U.S.
amphibious assault ships,
Vincennes unleashes anti-missile missiles at the incoming "vampires".
*
Official web site*
USS Vincennes webpage
