USS Vincennes (CG-49)

USS ''Vincennes'' (CG-49) was a 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, and 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. On July 1988, the United States Navy shot down Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian passenger plane with 290 people on board, all of whom were killed. The victims included 66 children, and an entire family of 16 who were on their way to a wedding in Dubai.
The incident took place during the war between Iran and Iraq, which was led by Saddam Hussein and backed by the US. It followed a catalogue of errors, including the naval officer in charge of firing the missile aboard the USS Vincennes hitting the wrong key no fewer than 23 times before it eventually fired. The US military then claimed that the Vincennes was rushing to defend a merchant vessel under attack from Iran when an aircraft outside the commercial air corridor was descending in "attack mode" towards the ship – which was false on all three counts. They also tried to claim the ship was in international waters, and naval officials even deleted an Iranian island from the map they showed to Congress. In fact it was in Iranian waters, in clear violation of international law. Meanwhile, the US media backed up the official line, with ''The New York Times'' apportioning blame to the pilot, Mohsen Rezaian, and Iran.

''Vincennes'' was decommissioned in 2005 after attempts to retrofit the cruiser with the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System failed, and 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.

History

1980s

''Vincennes'' was launched on 14 April 1984 and sponsored by Marilyn Quayle, wife of Indiana Senator Dan Quayle. ''Vincennes'' was named for the Battle of Vincennes during the American Revolutionary War, while the previous ''Vincennes'' heavy cruiser and ''Vincennes'' light cruiser were named for the city of Vincennes, Indiana. The cruiser was commissioned at Pascagoula on 6 July 1985, Captain George N. Gee in command. The ship normally carried guided missiles, rapid-fire cannons, and two Seahawk LAMPS helicopters for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, personnel transfers, and other purposes.

''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. The ship served as anti-air warfare commander with the and battle groups, operated with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Navy, and steamed more than in waters from the Bering Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Iran–Iraq War

During the Iran–Iraq War the United States took active measures in the Persian Gulf to protect shipping, mainly oil tankers, that were being threatened by both countries.

Operation Earnest Will

On 14 April 1988, the guided missile frigate hit a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will. Six days later, ''Vincennes'' was re-deployed from Fleet Exercise 88–2, 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 ''Samuel B. Roberts'' through the Strait of Hormuz. One month later, the cruiser entered the Persian Gulf, and in early July, stood guard in the Strait as the damaged frigate was borne out on the heavy-lift ship ''Mighty Servant 2''. The ship made 14 Hormuz transits during its Earnest Will operations.

Iran Air Flight 655

On 3 July 1988, ''Vincennes'', under the command of Captain Will Rogers III, was on patrol when it was reported that Iranian Revolutionary Guard gun boats had attacked a Pakistani merchant vessel. ''Vincennes'' deployed one of her helicopters to investigate. Shortly thereafter Rogers ordered his ship to move off station to the north. The destroyer flotilla commander ordered ''Vincennes'' to return to her original station. ''Vincennes''s helicopter had followed the Revolutionary Guard gunboats into Iranian waters, and while maintaining contact with the boats, came under gunfire from the Iranians.Crist, p. 365

The helicopter crew reported that they had come under fire and with that report, Rogers turned his ship around and, with the frigate , moved to intercept the gunboats. By doing so, ''Vincennes'' crossed into Iranian waters herself. As the US ships approached, the Iranian gunboats maneuvered, in what Rogers claimed was a threatening fashion. Rogers requested permission to fire and permission was granted by command, without knowing that ''Vincennes'' had crossed into Iranian waters. ''Vincennes'' and ''Elmer Montgomery'' commenced fire upon the gunboats at 9:43 a.m., scoring several hits on the gunboats, sinking two and damaging another.Crist, p. 366

While ''Vincennes'' was firing on the Iranian gunboats, confusion reigned aboard the ship as the tracking of aircraft in the area had become muddled, between ''Vincennes'' and other U.S. ships, and on ''Vincennes'' itself.Crist, p.367–368 Crucially, ''Vincennes'' misidentified an Iran Air Airbus A300 civilian airliner, Iran Air Flight 655, as an attacking F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft. The Iran Air Flight 655 was climbing at the time, and her IFF transponder was on the Mode III civilian code rather than on the purely military Mode II, as recorded by ''Vincennes''s own shipboard Aegis Combat System. The naval officer in charge of firing the missile aboard the USS Vincennes hit the wrong key no fewer than 23 times before it was eventually fired. After issuing multiple radio challenges and receiving no response from the aircraft, ''Vincennes'' fired two radar-guided missiles and shot down the Iranian civilian airliner over Iranian airspace in the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 passengers and crew on board. The victims included 66 children, and an entire family of 16 who were on their way to a wedding in Dubai. Meanwhile, the US media backed up the official line, with ''The New York Times'' apportioning blame to the pilot, Mohsen Rezaian, and Iran. The US military then claimed that the Vincennes was rushing to defend a merchant vessel under attack from Iran when an aircraft outside the commercial air corridor was descending in "attack mode" towards the ship – which was false on all three counts. They also tried to claim the ship was in international waters, and naval officials even deleted an Iranian island from the map they showed to Congress. In fact, it was in Iranian waters, in clear violation of international law.

The Iranian government has maintained that ''Vincennes'' knowingly shot down the civilian aircraft. Iran Air Flight IR655 flew every day out of Bandar Abbas—a civil as well as military airport—on a scheduled passenger flight to Dubai using established air lanes. The Italian navy and another U.S. warship, the frigate , confirmed that the plane was climbing—not diving to attack—at the time of the missile strike. The U.S. radio warnings were only broadcast on 121.5 MHz, not air traffic control frequencies and mistakenly identified the altitude and position of the plane, so the Airbus crew, if they were monitoring "guard," could have misinterpreted the warnings as referring to another aircraft. Captain David Carlson of ''Sides'' later said that the destruction of the airliner "marked the horrifying climax to Rogers' aggressiveness".

1990s

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 Detachment 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 .

In August 1991, ''Vincennes'' departed for a fourth western Pacific deployment. Steaming with the aircraft carrier , ''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 Republic of Singapore Navy 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 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, with SH-60B helicopters from HSL-49 Detachment 8G embarked, then steamed to the South Pacific and took part in Exercise Valiant Usher 98–1 with the amphibious ready group and the Royal Australian Navy destroyer . 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 1998, to 2 November 1998, in conjunction with the exercise, Foal Eagle, a regularly scheduled exercise that simulates the military defense of South 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.

2000s

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 her submarine detection, sonar range testing, and use of sonobuoys, 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.

''Vincennes'' took part in a 23 August 2001 to 27 August 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. The ship returned on 18 December 2001 after more than three months at sea.

In March 2003, ''Vincennes'' was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15.

Decommissioning

While there had been several proposals through the 1990s to retrofit the vertical launch system into ''Vincennes'' and her four sister ships to extend their service life, none were funded, and all five ships were instead decommissioned; ''Vincennes'' herself on 29 June 2005 at San Diego, California and was stricken later that day. She was mothballed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Naval Base Kitsap, in Bremerton, Washington. In 2008, ''Vincennes'' was slated for scrapping within the next five years along with her sister ships and .

On 9 July 2010, a contract to scrap ''Vincennes'' was issued to International Shipbreaking, Brownsville, Texas. On 21 November 2010, ''Vincennes'' arrived via the Panama Canal to International Shipbreaking in Brownsville, Texas, and was completely scrapped by 23 November 2011. After the completion of the scrapping of ''Vincennes'' in 2011, the United States presented pieces of the forward missile launcher used in the shoot down to the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States.

Awards and decorations

''Vincennes'' has been awarded the Combat Action Ribbon (3 July 1988),
*Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (16 January 2 February 1987)
* Battle Efficiency "E" three times (1990, 1993, 2001)
*National Defense Service Medal
*''Vincennes'' also received a Meritorious Unit Commendation, along with the entire ''Kitty Hawk'' battle group, for 9 July 1994 9 December 1994.
*''Vincennes'' also received two Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals for Persian Gulf service, 22 May 1988 21 August 1988 and 5 May 1990 1 June 1990.

Image gallery

File:USS Vincennes (CG-49) Aegis large screen displays.jpg, The Combat Information Center on board ''Vincennes'' in January 1988.
File:US Navy 050415-N-8157F-106 The guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes (CG 49) heads toward the entrance of Pearl Harbor.jpg, ''Vincennes'' pulls into port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 15 April 2005. is visible in the background.
File:USS Vincennes CG-49 at commissioning.jpg, ''Vincennes'' at commissioning on a rainy 6 July 1985, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
File:USS Vincennes (CG-49) marker.jpg, A marker plaque sits in Patrick Henry Square, Vincennes, Indiana, commemorating ''Vincennes'' on 25 February 2008.
File:CAPT Will C. Rogers III with CG-49 behind.jpg, Captain Will C. Rogers III, the then-commanding officer of USS ''Vincennes'' speaks during the welcome home ceremony held for the crew at San Diego, California, on 24 October 1988. The ship returned from a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.

References

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

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WebArchive.org – Archive of Official ship's history page from 2005


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dod.mil – Investigation Report for the downing of Iran Air 655

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincennes (Cg-49)
Ticonderoga-class cruisers
Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi
1984 ships
Cold War cruisers of the United States