USS Vincennes (CG-49)

USS Vincennes in San Diego on 24 October 1988
History
United States
NameVincennes
NamesakeBattle of Vincennes
Ordered28 August 1981
BuilderIngalls Shipbuilding
Laid down19 October 1982
Launched14 April 1984
Sponsored byMarilyn Quayle
Acquired3 June 1985
Commissioned6 July 1985
Decommissioned29 June 2005
Stricken29 June 2005
Identification
MottoFreedom's Fortress
FateScrapped, 2011
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeTiconderoga-class cruiser
DisplacementApprox. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full load
Length567 feet (173 m)
Beam55 feet (16.8 meters)
Draft34 feet (10.2 meters)
Propulsion
Speed32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Complement30 officers and 300 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS Mk III helicopters.

USS Vincennes (CG-49) was a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser outfitted with the Aegis combat system that was in service with the United States Navy from July 1985 to June 2005. She was one of 27 ships of the Ticonderoga class constructed for the United States Navy and one of five equipped with the Mark 26 Guided Missile Launching System.

Vincennes was commissioned in 1985. She saw service in the Pacific before being dispatched to the Persian Gulf in 1988 in support of Operation Earnest Will during the Iran–Iraq War, which was led by Saddam Hussein and backed by the U.S. On July 3, 1988, during the Iran–Iraq War, Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian passenger plane with 290 people on board, all of whom were killed. The incident followed a catalog of errors.

Vincennes was decommissioned in 2005 after attempts to retrofit the cruiser with the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) failed. She was initially laid up in a reserve fleet at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. In 2010 the vessel was towed to Texas for scrapping, which was completed in 2011.


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