USS Bunker Hill (CG-52)
 USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) underway |
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| Career (USA) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Bunker Hill |
| Namesake: | Battle of Bunker Hill |
| Operator: |  United States Navy |
| Ordered: | 15 January 1982 |
| Builder: | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 11 January 1984 |
| Launched: | 11 March 1985 |
| Commissioned: | 20 September 1986 |
| Homeport: | Naval Base San Diego |
| Motto: | Determination, Deterrence |
| Nickname: | "Bravo" |
| Honors and awards: |
7 Battle "E" Awards |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012[update] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and 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) |
| Draft: | 34 feet (10.2 meters) |
| Propulsion: |
4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines, 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h); 3,300 nmi (6,100 km) at 30 kn (56 km/h). |
| Complement: | 33 officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers, and approx. 340 enlisted |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
AN/SPY-1A/B multi-function radar
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| Armament: | 2 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems 122 × Mix of RIM-66M-5 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB, RIM-156A SM-2ER Block IV, RIM-161 SM-3, RIM-162A ESSM, RIM-174A Standard ERAM, BGM-109 Tomahawk, or RUM-139A VL-ASROC 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles 2 × Mk 45 Mod 2 5 in / 54 cal lightweight gun 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 gun 2–4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun 2 × Phalanx CIWS Block 1B 2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes for lightweight torpedoes |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters. |
USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) is a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser laid down by Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi on 11 January 1984, launched on 11 March 1985 and commissioned on 20 September 1986. Bunker Hill is homeported at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, California.
Bunker Hill was the first Ticonderoga-class cruiser to be equipped with the Mk. 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) in place of the previous ships' Mk. 26 twin-arm missile launchers, greatly improving the flexibility and firepower of the ships by allowing them to fire RGM-109 Tomahawk missiles.
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[edit] 1980s
After commissioning, the Bunker Hill entered the Pacific Fleet via the Panama Canal and began short notice work-ups to deploy to the U.S. Seventh Fleet. She made her first deployment in July 1987, nearly one year ahead of schedule during which she provided an anti-air warfare umbrella inside the Persian Gulf for USS Missouri (BB-63) and other US-flagged tankers and ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
In August 1988, Bunker Hill's homeport was shifted from San Diego to Yokosuka, Japan joining the USS Midway (CV-41) Carrier Battlegroup for a four month deployment in the Seventh Fleet, for which she was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation. She was also awarded her first Battle Efficiency Award.
[edit] 1990s and 2000s
In November 1990, Bunker Hill sailed in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and served as the multinational Air Warfare Commander (AAWC) and as one of the first ships to launch a Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile against Iraqi targets. Following the conclusion of the Persian Gulf War, Bunker Hill participated in organizing and establishing Operation Southern Watch, the complex enforcement of the United Nations established no-fly zone over southern Iraq. Bunker Hill made a historical visit to the Russian city Vladivostok in 1993, and then one year later she made a port visit to Qingdao in the People's Republic of China.
In March 1996, during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, she took station south of Taiwan to monitor missile tests by the People's Liberation Army.
In July 1998, Bunker Hill's homeport was shifted from Yokosuka, Japan back to San Diego. In Late 2000, Bunker Hill deployed with the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Battle Group. She again participated in Operation Southern Watch and conducted boardings and inspections of over 40 merchant vessels in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. Bunker Hill also escorted the USS Tarawa (LHA-1) Amphibious Ready Group while conducting humanitarian operations off East Timor and training exercises in Kuwait. Bunker Hill acted as Air Defense Commander for the ARG where she designed and implemented innovative procedures for CG integration into an Amphibious Ready Group. Following the attack on USS Cole (DDG-67), Bunker Hill sortied from Bahrain to provide support and protection to seven USN and USNS ships based there and subsequently remained at sea for 67 consecutive days. Bunker Hill returned from deployment in February 2001.
Since her commissioning, Bunker Hill has deployed six times to the Persian Gulf and has earned fifteen Battle "E" Awards, including the Golden Battle "E" in 1996 and 2006 which is given when a ship receives five such awards consecutively.
In March 2006, it was announced that Lockheed Martin will upgrade the Aegis system on 22 navy vessels; the Bunker Hill is the first slated to receive the upgrade.
In January 2007, the Bunker Hill was sent to the coast of Somalia to conduct antiterrorist operations as part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) task force. She was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for this role.
On 28 February 2008, Bunker Hill was awarded the 2007 Battle "E" award, her 6th consecutive Battle "E". [1]
From 1 October 2009, Bunker Hill was assigned to Carrier Strike Group One, whose flagship was the USS Carl Vinson.[1]
[edit] 2010s
In January 2010, the USS Bunker Hill headed toward Haiti, part of the US Navy's enlarging sea base directed at implementing disaster relief for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[2]
In February 2011, the USS Bunker Hill along with the USS Momsen broke up a pirate attack on a tanker while patrolling the Gulf of Oman. The ships chased away two skiffs, eventually sinking both after they had returned to their mothership.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Navy Establishes Carrier Strike Group 1". NNS091002-03. Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs. November 2, 2009. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=48674. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Fuentes, Gidget (16 January 2010). "Bunker Hill en route to help Haiti mission". Navy Times. http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/01/navy_bunkerhill_011610/. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "U.S. Navy disrupts pirate attack". CNN. 4 February 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/04/arabian.sea.pirates.thwarted/index.html?iref=obinsite#. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) |
- Official site
- U.S. Navy Story Archive, USS Bunker Hill (CG-52)
- USS Bunker Hill webpage
- USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) command histories – Naval History & Heritage Command
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
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