| USS Cape St. George (CG-71) | |
|---|---|
 USS Cape St. George (CG-71) launches a Tomahawk missile. | |
| Career (USA) |  |
| Namesake: | Battle of Cape St. George |
| Ordered: | 25 February 1988 |
| Builder: | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 19 November 1990 |
| Launched: | 10 January 1992 |
| Acquired: | 13 April 1993 |
| Commissioned: | 13 June 1993 |
| Homeport: | San Diego California |
| Motto: | Always Victorious |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2024[update] |
| Badge: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class & 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) |
| Draught: | 34 feet (10.2 meters) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph) |
| Complement: | 33 officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers, and approx. 340 enlisted |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters. |
USS Cape St. George (CG-71) is a Ticonderoga-class cruiser laid down by the Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi on 19 November 1990, launched on 10 January 1992 and commissioned on 12 June 1993. Cape St. George operates out of San Diego, California, and administratively reports to Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific.
Cape St. George is named for the World War II Battle of Cape St. George near New Ireland in Papua New Guinea where a US Navy destroyer force led by Captain Arleigh Burke defeated a Japanese destroyer force on 25 November 1943.
In March 2003 she was assigned to Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight,[1] and was operating with the US Atlantic Fleet.
In May 2005, Cape St. George became the first surface warship certified to use only digital nautical charts (DNC), instead of paper charts using the Voyage Management System (VMS). About 12,000 paper charts have been replaced by 29 computer discs. VMS is part of the Smart Ship Integrated Bridge System, which has been under development since 1990.
On 18 March 2006, she was involved in a firefight with suspected pirates, along with USS Gonzalez.[2] The two US warships exchanged fire with the suspected pirates about 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) off the coast of Somalia. Initial reports indicated that one suspected pirate was killed and five others wounded while Cape St. George took superficial damage from small arms fire during the action.
In March 2007, Seaman Richard Mott slashed the throat of Seaman Jose Garcia from behind as the 18-year-old ate breakfast on the berthing barge nested aside the ship while she was pierside at BAE Shipyards Norfolk, VA for repairs. Garcia was seriously injured but survived. On 7 November 2008, Mott was found guilty of attempted murder and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[3]
In July 2007, Cape St. George departed Norfolk, VA in transit to her new homeport of San Diego, CA [4] to support the realignment of naval forces following the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review.[5]
On 17 October 2010, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and Cape St. George arrived off the coast of Pakistan to support the coalition troop surge in landlocked Afghanistan.[6]
On 31 January 2011, Cape St. George responded to a distress call from a sinking Iranian dhow by dispatching a rescue team via a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB). The rescue team attempted to repair the dhow's dewatering pumps, but they were unable to stop the flooding. The Iranian fishermen were brought aboard Cape St. George where they were examined by the medical staff before being transferred to an Iranian customs vessel.[7]
References[]
- ↑ "World Navies Today: US Navy Aircraft Carriers & Surface Combatants". 10 March 2003. http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/usa/surface.htm. Retrieved May 2012.
- ↑ "U.S. Navy Ships Return Fire on Suspected Pirates". Navy News Service. 18 March 2006. NNS060318-01. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=22784/.
- ↑ Wiltrout, Kate (8 November 2008). "Navy Fails To Notify Reporters, Holds Trial Out Of Public View". http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/navy-fails-notify-reporters-holds-trial-out-public-view.
- ↑ USS Cape St. George (CG 71)
- ↑ "Quadrennial Defense Review Report". Department of Defense. 6 February 2006.
- ↑ "Lincoln Arrives in 5th Fleet Ready to Support Afghanistan Surge". Navy News Service. 17 October 2010. NNS101017-07. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=56654.
- ↑ "Cape St. George Assists Iranian Mariners". Navy News Service. 2 February 2011. NNS110202-04. http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=58328.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
External links[]
- "Official USS Cape St. George (CG-71) web site". http://www.cape-st-george.navy.mil/.
- "USS Cape St. George (CG 71)". http://www.navysite.de/cg/cg71.html.
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