USS Antietam (CG-54)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Antietam.

USS Antietam underway after leaving her homeport of San Diego, California in 2004
History
United States
NameAntietam
NamesakeBattle of Antietam
Ordered20 June 1983
BuilderIngalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Laid down15 November 1984
Launched14 February 1986
Commissioned6 June 1987
HomeportPearl Harbor, HI
Identification
MottoPower to Prevail
Statusin active service
BadgeCoat of arms
General characteristics
Class and typeTiconderoga-class guided missile cruiser
DisplacementApprox. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full load
Length567 feet (173 m)
Beam55 feet (16.8 meters)
Draft34 feet (10.2 meters)
Propulsion
Speed32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Complement30 officers and 300 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS Mk III helicopters.

USS Antietam (CG-54) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy. Antietam was named for the site of the 1862 Battle of Antietam, Maryland, between Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee and Union forces under Major General George McClellan, during the American Civil War. Antietam earned the 2007 and 2008 Battle Efficiency awards, also known as the "Navy E" or "Battle E" award, for the John C. Stennis Strike Group.

Construction[edit]

Antietam was laid down by the Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 15 November 1984, launched on 14 February 1986, and commissioned on 6 June 1987 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Public relations[edit]

From 1988 to 1991, the ship was assigned to Naval Surface Group, Long Beach, which was part of Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific, and available for tours.[citation needed]

The ship was featured in Visiting... with Huell Howser Episode 327, filmed in 1995.[1]

Capability[edit]

The ship is armed with guided missiles and rapid-fire guns. She also carries two Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS helicopters, capable of multiple missions, but primarily equipped for antisubmarine warfare (ASW).

Ship history[edit]

Antietam was one of the first vessels to take part in Operation Desert Shield, along with the rest of the USS Independence Battlegroup in August 1990, in response to the Invasion of Kuwait. Antietam then returned to the United States on 20 December 1990.[2] According to an interview in 2007 BBC documentary, The Last Flight to Kuwait, Lawrence Eddingfield, who was captain at that time stated that the vessel was involved in a helicopter rescue of two British SAS troops who had arrived on BA 149 during the invasion.[3]

In March 2003, Antietam was assigned to Carrier Group Three.[4]

Antietam operated out of her home port of San Diego, California. From February to August 2005, Antietam completed a circumnavigation of Earth, leaving San Diego to the west and returning home by way of the east. During the deployment, she had an extended stay in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. From January to August 2007, Antietam deployed to the Persian Gulf. During that seven-month deployment, she visited Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Pearl Harbor before returning to home port. In 2009, she completed a six-month deployment, leaving San Diego in January 2009, and returning home in July 2009. Stops along the way included Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Guam, and Hawaii.

Antietam underway in the rough seas of the East China Sea in 2003
Antietam makes a hard turn right

In February 2013, Antietam relieved Cowpens in a "hull-swap" at Yokosuka, Japan, in which the two crews swapped ships. Cowpens, previously deployed to Yokosuka, was then homeported at Naval Base San Diego, California, while Antietam took up her new homeport at Yokosuka.[5] On 31 January 2017, Antietam ran aground in Tokyo Bay near her home port of Yokosuka, Japan. Antietam was anchored off the coast in 30-knot (56 km/h; 35 mph) winds and a strong tide when the crew noticed the ship was dragging her anchor. They got the ship underway, but shortly after doing so, they felt the ship shudder as she lost all pitch control in both propellers. They had run aground on a shoal with damage to both propellers and one of the propeller hubs, causing 1,100 US gallons (4,200 L) of hydraulic oil to leak into the water.[6][7] No personnel were injured during the incident.[8] Repairs cost at least $4.2 million.[9]

On 22 October 2018, she transited the Taiwan Strait along with the destroyer Curtis Wilbur.[10] On 24–25 July 2019, she again transited the Taiwan Strait.[11] On 19–20 September 2019 she transited the Taiwan Strait a third time.[12] During at least one of these transits, a Chinese WZ-7 HALE drone as well as Shenyang J-11 strike fighters followed her and warned one of their helicopters that it was flying too close to the mainland.[13]

In December 2020 the U.S. Navy's Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels stated that the ship was planned to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve in 2024.[14]

In May 2022, Antietam was homeported at Yokosuka, Japan. She was part of Carrier Strike Group 5 led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.[15] On 28 August 2022, Antietam along with sister ship Chancellorsville conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait. This was the first such transit to occur since the 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.[16]

On 25 June 2023, Antietam, along with aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and cruiser Robert Smalls, paid a visit to Vietnam. They docked at Tien Sa port, Da Nang and stayed there until 30 June.[17]

On 5 February 2024, the U.S. Navy announced that USS McCampbell (DDG 85) will forward deploy to Yokosuka, Japan. McCampbell will replace USS Antietam (CG 54), which will depart Yokosuka, Japan, in January, after 11 years of forward deployed service and move to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as part of a scheduled rotation of forces in the Pacific.[18]

In March 2024, the Navy announced plans to inactivate Antietam on 27 September 2024.[19]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "USS Antietam – Visiting (327) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University". 28 October 1995.
  2. ^ USS Antietam CG-54 Command Operations Report - 1990 (PDF). United States Navy. 1990.
  3. ^ The Last Flight to Kuwait (2007) - BBC
  4. ^ "World Navies Today: US Navy Aircraft Carriers & Surface Combatants". Hazegray.org. 10 March 2003. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  5. ^ Kelly, Paul (6 February 2013). "USS Antietam and USS Cowpens Complete Hull Swap in Japan". US Navy. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  6. ^ LaGrone, Sam (1 February 2017). "USS Antietam Likely Headed to Dry Dock for Repairs, 1,100 Gallons of Hydraulic Oil Still Missing". usni.org. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  7. ^ Cohen, Zachary (1 February 2017). "USS Antietam guided-missile cruiser runs aground, leaks oil". CNN. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. ^ Larter, David B. (31 January 2017). "Officials: Navy cruiser ran aground near Japan". NavyTimes. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  9. ^ TYLER HLAVAC (1 August 2017). "Navy probe blames captain's judgment in USS Antietam grounding". STARS AND STRIPES.
  10. ^ "Two U.S. Navy warships sail through Taiwan Strait". ABC News. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  11. ^ Ryan Browne (24 July 2019). "US Navy sails warship through contested waterway as Beijing warns Taiwan". CNN. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  12. ^ Matthew Strong (20 September 2019). "US Navy guided missile cruiser sails through Taiwan Strait". Taiwan News. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  13. ^ Axe, David (29 July 2019). "China's Giant Spy Drone Just Tailed a U.S. Navy Cruiser". The National Interest. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels" (PDF). Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. 9 December 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ "USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: May 23, 2022". USNI News. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Taiwan: Two US Navy warships transit through strait amid tensions". DW. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Đoàn tàu hải quân Mỹ vào cảng Tiên Sa, bắt đầu thăm Đà Nẵng" [The US Navy ship entered Tien Sa port, starting to visit Da Nang]. tuoitre.vn (in Vietnamese). 25 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  18. ^ "USS McCampbell to Forward Deploy to Japan, Replace USS Antietam". Seapower. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  19. ^ VADM J. E. Pitts (11 March 2024). "NAVADMIN 050/24 FY24 PROJECTED SHIP INACTIVATION SCHEDULE (UPDATED COPY)". MyNavyHR. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Unit Awards For". United States Navy. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Antietam (CG-54).
  • Official website
  • united-states-navy.com: USS Antietam
  • USS Antietam escorting USS Kitty Hawk in 1997
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