USS Vincennes (CG-49)
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| Career
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| Ordered:
| 28 August 1981
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| Laid down:
| 19 October 1982
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| Launched:
| 14 January 1984
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| Commissioned:
| 3 June 1985
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| Decommissioned:
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| Fate:
| Active in service
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| Struck:
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| General Characteristics
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| Displacement:
| 9,600 tons
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| Length:
| 567 ft
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| Beam:
| 55 ft
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| Draught:
| 33 ft
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| Propulsion:
| 4 x General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp
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| Speed:
| 30+ knots
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| Range:
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| Complement:
| 387 officers and enlisted
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| Armament:
| 2 x Mk 26 missle launchers, 88 x RIM-67 SM-2, 8 x AGM-84 Harpoon missiles
2 x 5 in, 2?4 x 12.7 mm guns, 2 x Phalanx CIWS
2 x Mk 46 triple torpedo tubes
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| Aircraft:
| 2 x SH-2 Seasprite helicopters
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| Motto:
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The fourth USS Vincennes (CG-49) is a United States Navy cruiser that gained notoriety for shooting down an Iranian A300 Airbus on July 3 1988 over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 people on board. (For full discussion of the different versions of the events please see Iran Air Flight 655)
Following an investigation and a report by Admiral William Fogarty, considered by some as flawed and a cover-up, Commander William C. Rogers III and his crew were exonerated and subsequently decorated. The officers involved in the decision to shoot down the Iranian plane, including the radar officer who misidentified the aircraft, were all ultimately promoted. Officially, it was asserted that they reacted appropriately in light of the USS Stark incident the previous year, but unofficially many questions remain regarding the decision-making process employed by the Vincennes' commander and crew.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register.
