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Table of contents



History


Early retirement considerations


In light of the Budget Control Act of 2011 requirements to reduce the U. S. Defense Budget for the FY2013 the Navy considered the early decommissioning of some of the Ticonderoga-class cruisers. As a result the U.S. Defense 2013 Budget Proposal was made with plans to decommission seven cruisers in the fiscal years 2013 and 2014.

However these retirements would mean that the U.S. Navy would fall short of its requirements for 94 missile defense cruisers and destroyers beginning in FY2025.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget bill that requires that these cruisers to be refitted to handle a missile defence role rather then being retired1

Design and construction


Vertical Launching System


Upgrades


Naming


Technology


Operational Service


Incidents

Iran Air Flight 655 incident

One major incident in which a ship of this class was involved is the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655. On 3 July 1988 the crew of the USS Vincennes CG-49 mistakenly identified an Iran Air civilian aircraft as an attacking F14A Tomcat fighter and shot it down. All 290 civilian passengers on the aircraft lost their lives.

Ships in class


Name
Number
Builder
Launced
Commissioned
Decommissioned
Status
Ticonderoga CG-47 Ingalls Shipbuilding 25 April 1981 22 January 1983 30 September 2004 Stricken, waiting for scrapping
Yorktown CG-48 Ingalls Shipbuilding 17 January 1983 4 July 1984 10 December 2004 Stricken, waiting for scrapping
Vincennes CG-49 Ingalls Shipbuilding 14 January 1984 6 July 1985 29 June 2005 Scrapped in 2011
Valley Force CG-50 Ingalls Shipbuilding 23 June 1984 18 January 1986 30 August 2004 Sunk as target in 2006
Thomas S. Gates CG-51 Bath Iron Works 14 December 1985 22 August 1987 16 December 2005 Stricken, waiting for scrapping
Name
Number
Builder
Launced
Commissioned
Home port
Status
Bunker Hill CG-52 Ingalls Shipbuilding 11 March 1985 20 September 1986 San Diego, California in active service, as of 2016
Mobile Bay CG-53 Ingalls Shipbuilding 22 August 1985 21 February 1987 San Diego, California in active service, as of 2016
Antietam CG-54 Ingalls Shipbuilding 14 February 1986 6 June 1987 Yokosuka, Japan in active service, as of 2016
Leyte Gulf CG-55 Ingalls Shipbuilding 20 June 1986 26 September 1987 Norfolk, Virginia in active service, as of 2016

See also


Further reading


Guided missile cruiser





List Slides