USS Ticonderoga (CG-47)

	USS Ticonderoga in May 1982
History
United States
Name	Ticonderoga
Namesake	Battle of Ticonderoga
Ordered	22 September 1978
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	21 January 1980
Launched	25 April 1981
Sponsored by	Nancy Reagan
Christened	16 May 1981
Commissioned	22 January 1983
Decommissioned	30 September 2004
Stricken	30 September 2004
Identification	Call sign: NTIC; ; Hull number: CG-47;
Motto	First AEGIS Cruiser
Nickname(s)	Tico
Status	Arrived in Brownsville, Texas for scrapping in September 2020
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Ticonderoga-class cruiser
Displacement	Approx. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full load
Length	567 feet (173 m)
Beam	55 feet (16.8 meters)
Draft	34 feet (10.2 meters)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines; 2 × controllable-reversible pitch propellers; 2 × rudders;
Speed	32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Complement	30 officers and 300 enlisted
Sensors and ; processing systems	AN/SPY-1A/B multi-function radar ; AN/SPS-49 air search radar; AN/SPG-62 fire control radar ; AN/SPS-73 surface search radar; AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar; AN/SQQ-89(V)1/3 - A(V)15 Sonar suite, consisting of:; AN/SQS-53B/C/D active sonar ; AN/SQR-19 TACTAS, AN/SQR-19B ITASS, & MFTA passive sonar ; AN/SQQ-28 light airborne multi-purpose system ;
Armament	2 × Mk 26 missile launchers ; 68 × RIM-66 SM-2 ; 20 × RUR-5 ASROC ; 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles; 2 × 5 in (127 mm)/54 caliber Mark 45 lightweight gun; 2–4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) cal. machine gun ; 2 × Phalanx CIWS ; 2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes;
Aircraft carried	2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.

Last updated May 10, 2023

USS Ticonderoga (DDG/CG-47), nicknamed "Tico", was a guided-missile cruiser built for the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the Ticonderoga class and the first U.S. Navy combatant to incorporate the Aegis combat system. Originally ordered as a guided-missile destroyer, she was redesignated as a cruiser after capabilities from the cancelled Strike cruiser program were implemented into the ship's design.^[3] The new AEGIS system allowed Ticonderoga to track and engage many aerial targets more effectively than any previous U.S. Navy warship.

Ticonderoga entered service in 1983 and deployed later that year to the Mediterranean.^[4] Over her first 10 years of service, Ticonderoga deployed multiple times to the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans and the Persian Gulf. During Operation Desert Storm, she was attached to Battle Force Zulu and served as Arabian Gulf Track Coordinator.^[4] Although she was built with a 35-year service life, the limited missile capacity of Ticonderoga's twin Mark 26 missile launch systems rendered her obsolete by the end of the Cold War. As a result, Ticonderoga adopted a primary mission of counternarcotics in the 1990s and 2000s, and made multiple patrols of the Caribbean in that role.

After being decommissioned in 2004, Ticonderoga was stored at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia. She arrived in Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping in 2020.

Design and construction

The contract to build DDG-47 Ticonderoga was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding on 22 September 1978. The ship's design was based on that of the Spruance-class destroyer. While sharing the same hull, the Ticonderoga-class design featured two large deckhouses and the Aegis combat system that together increased the ship's displacement from the Spruance-class baseline of 6,900 tons to 9,600 tons. On each of the two deckhouses were two AN/SPY-1 radars that gave the ship 360° coverage of the surrounding airspace. Following the cancellation of the Strike Cruiser program, flagship capabilities were added to the Ticonderoga class's design and the ship was then redesignated as a guided-missile cruiser, CG-47 on 1 January 1980, shortly before her keel was laid.

Ticonderoga's keel was laid down on 21 January 1980, the 35th anniversary of the devastating kamikaze attack on the Essex-class aircraft carrier Ticonderoga (CV-14). CG-47 was launched on 25 April 1981 and christening on 16 May 1981 with First Lady Nancy Reagan, the ship's main sponsor, in attendance. Ticonderoga was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 13 December 1982 and commissioned in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 22 January 1983 with Captain Roland Guilbault in command.

U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan christened USS Ticonderoga on 16 May 1981. NRCHRISTENSHIP2.jpg — U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan christened USS *Ticonderoga* on 16 May 1981.

Naming

CG-47 is the fifth United States Navy vessel to bear the name Ticonderoga. She was named for the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, the start of the American offensive during the American Revolution.^[5] The name "Ticonderoga" is derived from the Iroquois word tekontaró:ken, meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways".^[6] Most of the ships in the Ticonderoga class are similarly named for significant battles in U.S. history.

Service history

1980s

Departing for her new homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, soon after her commissioning in Pascagoula, Ticonderoga completed exercises in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. She arrived in Norfolk on 3 June 1983, and then deployed on 20 October to the Mediterranean with the Independence carrier strike group. Although stopping in Portsmouth, England, for a brief port visit, Ticonderoga was dispatched to the coast of Beirut following the bombing of U.S. Marine barracks on 23 October 1983. During her 48 days on station, she fired her five-inch guns at hostile artillery units attempting to shoot down two F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft performing a reconnaissance mission over Lebanon.^[7]Ticonderoga made a port stop in Haifa, Israel, for the New Year and then returned to Norfolk, arriving on 4 May 1984.

On 8 September 1984, while Ticonderoga was conducting exercises east of Mayport, Florida, a fire broke out in her aft main engine exhaust uptake. The At-Sea and General Quarters fire parties eventually put the fire out and Ticonderoga returned to Norfolk under her own power in early October.^[4]

On 23 March 1986, Ticonderoga, while conducting a Freedom of Navigation exercise in the Gulf of Sidra, moved south of the "Line of Death" in Libya, covered by fighter aircraft. Libya responded by unsuccessfully attacking battle-force aircraft. Ticonderoga responded by destroying several Libyan patrol boats. For her participation in the operation, Ticonderoga received her second Navy Unit Commendation and Navy Expeditionary Medal. During joint Navy-Air Force air strikes on Libyan targets on 15 April, she received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.^[4]

In the late 1980s, she served in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Earnest Will while under the command of Captain James M. Arrison III, USN.

1990s

For a time in the late 1990s, she was based at Pascagoula, Mississippi, as part of Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic's Western Hemisphere Group.

2000s

On 4 May 2004, she completed transit of the Panama Canal and then moved to cross the equator. Her ship crew engaged in the rites and rituals of the crossing, inducting the captain of the ship and many of the crew in to "Shell-Backs". She completed her final deployment on 3 August 2004. Ticonderoga then made liberty port visits to Cozumel, Mexico (15-17 March); Colon (27-28 March); Mayport (1-9 April); Guantánamo Bay (12-13 April); Cartagena, Colombia (27-29 May); Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Panama (6-7 May); and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala (17-19 May). She conducted counter-narcotics operations in conjunction with Colombian military authorities from April–June. Ticonderoga successfully intercepted five cigarette-shaped “go-fast” smuggling boats, and one fishing vessel, netting over 14,000 pounds of cocaine, and detaining 25 suspects in the process. She was decommissioned on 30 September of that year. After her decommissioning, she was towed to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia. In 2010, she was offered for museum donation by the Navy. An effort was made to bring Ticonderoga to Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she was built, to serve as a museum ship.^[8] In May 2013, the vessel was formally stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, for disposal.^[9] In October of the same year, The Ticonderoga Historical Society reported that the US Navy was going to scrap the ship after a number of potential museum sites were unable to add her to their collections.^[10] In June 2014, NAVSEA released a disposal reporting letter declaring the ex-Ticonderoga to be available for inspection by bidders and ready for disposal by scrapping or sinking.^[11] In September 2020, she arrived at Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping.^[2]

Deployments

Start	End	Areas of Operation
20 October 1983	4 May 1984	North Atlantic,
20 April 2001	28 August 2001	Caribbean, Eastern Pacific
10 March 2004	4 August 2004	Caribbean

Awards

1x Joint Meritorious Unit Award - (1997)^[12]
6x Navy Unit Commendations - (May 1982-May 1984, Mar-Apr 1986, Aug 1987-Apr 1988, Sep 1987-Mar 1989 BATTLESHIP BATTLE GROUP 1-87, Mar-Sep 1990, Sep 1991-Apr 1992) ^[12]
5x Meritorious Unit Commendations (3 to the ship, two as part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) Battle Group, 1990-1992)^[12]
3x Battle Efficiency (Navy E) Ribbons - (1994, 1998, 2001)^[12]
1x Navy Expeditionary Medal - (Mar-Jun 1986)^[12]
2x National Defense Service Medal ^[12]
4x Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals ^[12]
1x Southwest Asia Service Medal - (Oct 1991-Feb 1992)^[12]
2x Armed Forces Service Medals ^[12]
2x Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbons ^[12]
(multiple) Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
2x Secretary of the Navy Letters of Commendation (one to the ship, one as part of Battleship Battle Group 1-87, 1987-1988)^[12]
1x Chief of Naval Operations Letter of Commendation^[12]
Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy - (2003)

In popular culture

Ticonderoga was featured in the 1986 Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising , defending the USS Nimitz and USS Saratoga combined battlegroups against, and getting seriously damaged by, the saturation antiship missile attack in the Norwegian Sea by Soviet Tu-22M bombers.

Ticonderoga was mentioned in the Tom Waits song "Shore Leave" on his 1983 album Swordfishtrombones .

Related Research Articles

USS Port Royal (CG-73) was a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser that served in the United States Navy. She was commissioned on 9 July 1994, as the 27th and final ship of the class. Port Royal was named in honor of the two naval battles of Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, one during the American Revolutionary War, the other during the American Civil War. She was decommissioned on 29 September 2022. The ship is the second to bear the name, with the first being a steam-powered, side-wheel gunboat, from New York City, in commission from 1862 to 1866.

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.

USS Dale (DLG-19/CG-19) was a Leahy-class cruiser in service with the United States Navy from 1963 to 1994. She was sunk as a target in 2000 off the East Coast of the United States near Maryland.

USS Antietam (CG-54) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy. Antietam was named for the site of the 1862 Battle of Antietam, Maryland, between Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee and Union forces under Major General George McClellan, during the American Civil War. Antietam earned the 2007 and 2008 Battle Efficiency awards, also known as the "Navy E" or "Battle E" award, for the John C. Stennis Strike Group.

USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy constructed by Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi and launched on 11 March 1985. The Ticonderoga-class cruisers are equipped with the Aegis Combat System and Bunker Hill is the first of the class to be equipped with the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) in place of the previous ships' twin-arm Mark 26 missile launchers, which greatly improved the flexibility and firepower of the ships by allowing them to fire BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for land attack missions. Other missions include ballistic missile defence and capital ship escort for anti-aircraft defense. The ship was commissioned on 20 September 1986 and is homeported at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, California.

USS Barry (DDG-52) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, commissioned in 1992. Barry is the fourth United States Navy ship named after the "Father of the American Navy", Commodore John Barry (1745–1803). Her homeport is Naval Station Everett, Washington. Several improvements over Arleigh Burke exist on this ship and all following Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, such as the ability to refuel a helicopter.

USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser that served with the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for the Battle of Vella Gulf, a naval engagement in the Solomons campaign of World War II, the first being USS Vella Gulf (CVE-111), an escort carrier commissioned in 1945. The ship's keel was laid down on 22 April 1991 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding, then a division of Litton Industries. She was launched on 13 June 1992, sponsored by Mary A. McCauley, wife of Vice Admiral William F. McCauley (Ret.), and commissioned on 18 September 1993 at Naval Station Norfolk.

USS Yorktown (DDG-48/CG-48) was a Ticonderoga-class cruiser in the United States Navy from 1984 to 2004, named for the American Revolutionary War Battle of Yorktown.

The Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. The class uses passive phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis Combat System and the AN/SPY-1 radar system, together with the capability of operating as a flagship, were used to justify the change of the classification from DDG to CG shortly before the keels were laid down for Ticonderoga and Yorktown.

USS Valley Forge (CG-50) was a Ticonderoga-class cruiser in the United States Navy. She was named for Valley Forge, where the Continental Army camped during one winter in the American Revolution.

USS Thomas S. Gates (CG-51) was a flight-I Ticonderoga-class cruiser that was used by the United States Navy. The warship was named after Thomas S. Gates, Secretary of Defense in the last years of the Eisenhower Administration (1959–1961).

USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) is a Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. She is named for the naval Battle of Mobile Bay during the American Civil War in 1864.

USS San Jacinto (CG-56) is a Ticonderoga-class cruiser in the United States Navy. She is named for the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.

USS Princeton (CG-59) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. Armed with naval guns and anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine missiles, plus other weapons, she is equipped for surface-to-air, surface-to-surface, and anti-submarine warfare. She was previously home to two SH-60B LAMPS Mk III Seahawk helicopters and now carries a pair of the MH-60R version of the Seahawk. This warship is named for the Revolutionary War victories over the British by George Washington in and around the town of Princeton, New Jersey.

USS Cowpens (CG-63) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser in service with the United States Navy. The ship is named after the Battle of Cowpens, a major American victory near Cowpens, South Carolina, in the American Revolution. She was built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine. Cowpens is stationed at Naval Base San Diego.

USS Vicksburg (CG-69) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. She is named for the Siege of Vicksburg fought during the American Civil War.

USS Lake Erie (CG-70) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy, commissioned in 1993. She was named after the U.S. Navy's decisive victory in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The cruiser was the first U.S. Navy ship to be commissioned in Hawaii.

USS California (CGN-36), the lead ship of the California-class of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers, was the sixth warship of the United States Navy to be named for the State of California.

USS Fox (DLG-33/CG-33) was a Belknap class cruiser of the United States Navy, named after Gustavus V. Fox, President Abraham Lincoln's Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The keel for DLG-33 was authenticated and laid in ceremonies at Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California on 15 January 1963.

USS Richmond K. Turner was a Leahy-class cruiser destroyer leader in the United States Navy. The ship was named for Admiral Richmond K. Turner, who served during World War II.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.The entry can be found here.

↑ Cushman Jr., John H. (19 December 1987). "Navy Puts Its 'Spotter' Near the Gulf". New York Times . Retrieved 13 March 2009.
1 2 "The Navy's First Aegis Warship USS Ticonderoga Is Being Scrapped". thedrive.com. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
↑ Friedman, Norman (1984). U.S. CRUISERS An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 419–422.
1 2 3 4 Nasuti, Guy J. (21 November 2019). "Ticonderoga V (CG-47)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Naval History & Heritage Command . Retrieved 23 November 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
↑ GlobalSecurity.org USS Ticonderoga (CG-47).
↑ Afable, Patricia O.; Beeler, Madison S. (1996). "Place Names". In Sturtevant, William C.; Goddard, Ives (eds.). Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 17 Languages. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 193. ISBN 9780874741971.
↑ "Two U.S. ships pounded anti-aircraft positions east of Beirut..." UPI. 18 December 1983. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
↑ "USS Ticonderoga to be floating museum". Ships Monthly . April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
↑ "Ticonderoga (CG-47)". Naval Vessel Register. May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
↑ "USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) To be Scrapped?". Ticonderoga Historical Society website. 20 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
↑ "Disposal Reporting Letter for Ex-Ticonderoga (CG-47)" (PDF). 17 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Naval Vessel Historical Evaluation CG-47 Final Determination" (PDF). US Navy NAVSEA. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

External links

Byington, Stacey (1 October 2004). "USS Ticonderoga Decommissioned". Navy News Service. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Cushman1987-1] Cushman Jr., John H. (19 December 1987). "Navy Puts Its 'Spotter' Near the Gulf". New York Times . Retrieved 13 March 2009.

[scrap1-2] 1 2 "The Navy's First Aegis Warship USS Ticonderoga Is Being Scrapped". thedrive.com. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

[3] Friedman, Norman (1984). U.S. CRUISERS An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 419–422.

[Dictionary-4] 1 2 3 4 Nasuti, Guy J. (21 November 2019). "Ticonderoga V (CG-47)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Naval History & Heritage Command . Retrieved 23 November 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

[5] GlobalSecurity.org USS Ticonderoga (CG-47).

[6] Afable, Patricia O.; Beeler, Madison S. (1996). "Place Names". In Sturtevant, William C.; Goddard, Ives (eds.). Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 17 Languages. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 193. ISBN 9780874741971.

[7] "Two U.S. ships pounded anti-aircraft positions east of Beirut..." UPI. 18 December 1983. Retrieved 1 March 2021.

[8] "USS Ticonderoga to be floating museum". Ships Monthly . April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}

[9] "Ticonderoga (CG-47)". Naval Vessel Register. May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2014.

[10] "USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) To be Scrapped?". Ticonderoga Historical Society website. 20 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

[11] "Disposal Reporting Letter for Ex-Ticonderoga (CG-47)" (PDF). 17 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

[NVHE-12] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Naval Vessel Historical Evaluation CG-47 Final Determination" (PDF). US Navy NAVSEA. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

v t e Ticonderoga-class cruisers
Mark 26 twin-arm missile launcher ships	Ticonderoga Yorktown Vincennes Valley Forge Thomas S. Gates
Mark 41 vertical launching system ships	Bunker Hill Mobile Bay Antietam Leyte Gulf San Jacinto Lake Champlain Philippine Sea Princeton Normandy Monterey Robert Smalls Cowpens Gettysburg Chosin Hué City Shiloh Anzio Vicksburg Lake Erie Cape St. George Vella Gulf Port Royal
Preceded by: Virginia class Followed by: CG(X) (planned), Flight III Arleigh Burke-class (actual), DDG(X) (actual)
List of cruisers of the United States Navy