USS Valley Forge (CG-50)

USS Valley Forge in San Diego on 2 November 2002
History
United States
Name	Valley Forge
Namesake	Valley Forge
Ordered	28 August 1981
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	14 April 1983
Launched	23 June 1984
Christened	29 September 1984
Commissioned	18 January 1986
Decommissioned	30 August 2004
Stricken	30 August 2004
Identification	Call sign: NVFP Pennant number: CG-50
Motto	First In War - First In Peace
Fate	Sunk as target, 2 November 2006
Badge
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 2 × controllable-reversible pitch propellers 2 × rudders
Speed	32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Complement	30 officers and 300 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPY-1A/B multi-function radar AN/SPS-49 air search radar (Removed on some ships) AN/SPG-62 fire control radar AN/SPS-73 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar AN/SQQ-89(V)1/3 - A(V)15 Sonar suite, consisting of: AN/SQS-53B/C/D active sonar AN/SQR-19 TACTAS, AN/SQR-19B ITASS, & MFTA passive sonar AN/SQQ-28 light airborne multi-purpose system
Armament	2 × Mk 26 missile launchers 68 × RIM-66 SM-2 20 × RUR-5 ASROC 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles 2 × 5 in (127 mm)/54 caliber Mark 45 lightweight gun 2–4 × .50 in (12.7 mm) cal. machine gun 2 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried	2 × 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.

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.

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The ship was decommissioned on 31 August 2004, at San Diego Naval Station, the first ship with the Aegis combat system withdrawn from service.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]

• Combat Action Ribbon - (16-28 Feb 1991)
• Joint Meritorious Unit Award - (Dec 1992-May 1993)
• Navy Unit Commendation - (Jan-Feb 1991, Jan-May 2003)
• Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - (Dec 1994-May 1995, Jun-Dec 1998)
• Navy E Ribbon - (1989, 1995, 1998)
• Navy Expeditionary Medal - (Jun-Jul 1987)
• Special Operations Service Ribbon - (Apr-May 1993)

 This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Valley Forge (CG-50).

• Naval Vessel Register - CG50
• USS Valley Forge webpage

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