USS Cowpens (CG-63)
_during_Annual_Exercise_(ANNUALEX_21G).jpg) The Cowpens in November 2009 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | January 8, 1986 |
| Keel laying | December 23, 1987 |
| Launch | March 11, 1989 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | March 9, 1991 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
9750 tons |
| length |
173 meters |
| width |
16.80 meters |
| Draft |
10.2 meters |
| crew |
approx. 390 |
| drive |
Four gas turbines, two shafts together 80,000 hp |
| speed |
30+ knots |
| Armament |
2 launchers for anti-ship missiles, 2 triple torpedo launchers, 2 guns 127 mm, 122 VLS cells |
The USS Cowpens (CG-63) is a guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy and belongs Ticonderoga-class cruiser to. It is named after the Battle of Cowpens .
history
The contract for CG-63 was awarded to Bath Iron Works in 1986 . At the end of 1987 the Cowpens was laid down there. After a construction period of 16 months and a final equipment and testing phase, the ship was officially put into service in 1991.
In 1996 the cruiser was transferred to the Persian Gulf as part of the combat group around the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) . After target practice with USS Valley Forge (CG-50) and USS Jarrett (FFG-33) off the coast of California in 1997, the Cowpens returned to the Persian Gulf in 1998. The turn of the year from 1999 to 2000, the ship finally spent in the shipyard of Southwest Marine , where an overhaul was carried out for 8.7 million dollars. She was then moved to Yokosuka .
In 2000/2001 the Cowpens visited several ports of the Pacific and Indian coast and took part in the International Fleet Review in India . She later participated in Operation Enduring Freedom . In 2003, the Cowpens fired 37 BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets in Iraq.
As a ship stationed in Yokosuka, the Cowpens drove regular missions with the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk based there . The cruiser took part with the carrier in the Valiant Shield exercise in 2006 and 2007. In 2009, the Cowpens moved for the first time to the side of the USS George Washington (CVN-73) in the Pacific after the Washington had replaced the Kitty Hawk in Yokosuka. After the bombing of Yeonpyeong , the cruiser sailed into the Yellow Sea alongside the Washington .
The ship was supposed to be decommissioned on March 31, 2013. The Navy later decided against it and kept the Cowpens .
As part of the modernization of the US cruiser fleet, General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company received the order to overhaul and modernize the Cowpens on August 14, 2018. In addition to the overhaul of weapons and sensors, the superstructures and deckhouses made of aluminum are a problem as they are more prone to cracking.
Incidents
On December 5, 2013, in the South China Sea , the Cowpens was forced to stop and change course by a Chinese escort ship from the aircraft carrier Liaoning .
Web links
- Entry in the Naval Vessel Register (Engl.)
- Official Homepage (Engl.)
- USS Cowpens Veterans (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sam Fellman: Navy budget request avoids deep cuts. NavyTimes.com, February 13, 2012, accessed April 30, 2013 .
- ↑ US Navy to retain four Ticonderoga-class cruisers in service. naval-technology.com, September 28, 2012, accessed April 30, 2013 .
- ↑ USN awards cruiser USS Cowpens modernization contract | Jane's 360. Retrieved August 26, 2018 .
- ↑ n-tv.de: Provocation in the South China Sea
- ↑ South China Sea: US and Chinese warships almost collided