USS Valley Forge (CG-50)

Last updated
USS Valley Forge (CG 50) passes by the San Diego skyline.jpg
USS Valley Forge in San Diego on 2 November 2002
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameValley Forge
Namesake Valley Forge
Ordered28 August 1981
Builder Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down14 April 1983
Launched23 June 1984
Christened29 September 1984
Commissioned18 January 1986
Decommissioned30 August 2004
Stricken30 August 2004
Identification
MottoFirst In War - First In Peace
Fate Sunk as target, 2 November 2006
Badge USS Valley Forge CG-50 Crest.png
General characteristics
Class & type Ticonderoga-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 &
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS Mk III helicopters.

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.

Contents

Construction and commissioning

The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and was launched on 29 September 1984, by her sponsor Julia Vadala Taft, wife of Deputy Secretary of Defense William H. Taft IV.

Service history

During the 1986 RIMPAC naval exercise, she acted as the plane guard for the aircraft carrier USS Ranger.

She saw action during Desert Storm in the USS Ranger battle group and served as the overall Anti-Air warfare commander for the gulf (Bravo Zulu AAWC).

In March 2003, Valley Forge was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 21. [1]

The ship was decommissioned on 31 August 2004, at San Diego Naval Station, the first ship with the Aegis combat system withdrawn from service. Valley Forge was sunk on 2 November 2006, as part of target practice on a test range near Kauai, Hawaii. [2]

Awards

Combat Action Ribbon.svg Joint Meritorious Unit Award (USMC and USN frame).svg
Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg Battle Effectiveness Award ribbon, 3rd award.svg
Navy Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg
Ribbonstar-bronze.svg
Ribbonstar-bronze.svg
Ribbonstar-bronze.svg
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg
Southwest Asia Service Medal ribbon (1991-2016), 3rd award.svg Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg
Silver-service-star-3d.svg
Ribbonstar-bronze.svg
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.svg
U.S. Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon.svg Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) ribbon.svg Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) ribbon.svg

References

  1. Toppan, Andrew (10 March 2003). "World Navies Today: US Navy Aircraft Carriers & Surface Combatants". Hazegray.org. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  2. Cavas, Christopher P. (17 November 2006). "Aegis ship sunk on target range". Navy Times. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2017.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from Valley Forge (CG-50) at the Naval Vessel Register .