Cruisers
Ticonderoga Class (CG47-60)
Displacement: 9,600tons
Length: 563 feet
Beam: 55 feet
Speed: 30+ knots
Power: Four gas turbines, two shafts,
80,00 shaft horsepower.
Aircraft: Helicopter platform
Armament: Two 5-inch guns
Two triple torpedo tubes
Two Phalanx anti-missile guns
Tomahawk Cruise missiles
Harpoon Anti-Ship missiles.
Crew: 358
*The Ticonderoga Class cruiser contains the AEGIS radar and defense system which is rated one of the best in the world. However, one AEGIS cruiser, the Vincennes, was responsible for downing an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988, but that was attributed to user error, not computer malfunction. In the Gulf, the cruisers will use their AEGIS radar to oversee the skies in an escort role for the carriers and may be called upon to provide naval gunfire support to troops on the shore.
Iraqi Counterpart-- No comparable vessel
Actions in Desert Storm--
Cruisers in the Gulf were successful in their primary role of protecting the fleet from air attack. Coordinating all incoming intelligence from its own radar and other surface ships, the AEGIS cruisers were central to the fact that no U.S. ships were lost to enemy attack from the air, despite the dreaded threat of Iraqi Exocet and Silkworm missiles. However, one cruiser, the U.S.S. Princeton, one of the newest ships in the fleet, was seriously damaged by a mine and had to be towed out of the region for repairs. Cruisers also played a major role in the blockade of Iraqi shipping, stopping hundreds of suspect vessels.
Shop for other Gulf War Products
Other Gulf War Books and Videos
Aircraft Pins and Flight Jackets and other military supplies.
Search for Other Gulf War Items |