USS Valley Forge CG 50

cyrusdvirus

While I'm busy at work today (which includes web surfing and not a whole pile else) I've discovered that the USS Valley Forge was sunk during a sinkex. I'm wondering why an Aegis Class cruiser was sunk as a target? She was only 18 years old when decommissioned, and some of her sister ships have a planned 35 year service life.

I know that all 5 of the twin rail Tico's are decommissioned, in favour of the VLS ships, but I wonder why one was sunk? Was it to see the combat survivability of the hull and superstructure or was there damage to the Valley Forge that in some way made it uneconomical to keep her in reserve?

the_syco

Which one? The new one or the old one?

I assume you mean the new one, as it was sunk in target practice, whilst the old one was sold for scrap after the film "Silent Running" was filmed on it in the 70's. Info on the new one, and where it was sunk in 2006.

cyrusdvirus

i meant the new one. That's why i included her hull number in the thread heading... ;):D

I had found that site already, but it doesn't explain why the valley forge was used in the sinkex when all the other 4 are in reserve

the_syco

The CG-50 hasn't had any missiles on board it's last few years, and has been used for drug interdiction. Don't think it's been updated for the last while. Of the few ship breakers left in the US, they have a large backlog, as it's cheaper just to import the steel from the EU. I'd say they didn't see any point in updating it, and so just decided to get rid of it. What better way than as target practice?

cyrusdvirus

Why not sell her? Or do as they did with the other 4 twin rail Tico's and place her in (in-??)active reserve.

I don't see why a 18 year old hull was sunk as a target after 'just deciding' to get rid of her. After all, the Ticonderoga herself is 2 years older and only has capability for a Lamps I helicopter, along with the Yorktown. These 2 ships are regarded as the Baseline ships for the class, as described here http://www.navybuddies.com/cg/cg47class.htm

Why then was one of these not chosen for the sinkex?

Manic Moran

Probably just happened to be in the right ocean: Cost too much money to tow a ship from one side of the country to the other to sink her.

NTM

roundareway

The first five Ticonderoga's have all been stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

Once that happened, the only options for the five were scrapping, museum donation, target, reefing or sale to foreign navies.

The Ticonderoga's likely wouldn't be sold to a foreign navy partly because of the Aegis technology which is still in use on their newer sisters. Also, very few Navies in the world still operate cruisers. Most can't afford to operate and man them.

Reefing, or Sinkex were very likely ends for them. Many of the Spruance class destroyers which are built on the same hull were used as targets or scrapped. So, it's not surprising to me that Valley Forge was sunk and Vincennes was scrapped. Plus, Vincennes wasn't available for donation, probably because of it's role in the downing of an Iranian commercial flight.

Ticonderoga is being held on museum donation hold basically because it is the lead ship of the class. She'll likely be the only one that survives. Thomas S. Gates and Yorktown will probably be scrapped or used as targets or reefs. The Spruance Class destroyer Arthur W Radford was recently sunk off the Atlantic coast as a reef and either of these ships could be used the same way.

Also, ESCO Marine in Brownsville, TX is a major scrapyard in the US that deals with the Navy. They have scrapped many ships ranging from small tenders up to Helicopter Carriers for the Navy. They've scrapped the Vincennes, along with many Spruance destroyers, along with the last mothballed heavy cruiser, Des Moines. So, it's not a major undertaking to scrap a Ticonderoga.

As for why you would get rid of a hull that is only 20 years old, roughly? It's not uncommon at all. Many ships from the World War II era that only saw a year in service before they were decommissioned at wars end wound up being used as targets or being scrapped simply because they were surplus to needs.

Valley Forge and her 4 early sisters are simply surplus. The US Navy has 22 active Ticonderoga cruisers. Most countries don't even use cruisers anymore. The Navy doesn't really need to maintain more than one or at most two Ticonderoga's in reserve for spare parts. Cruisers, like battleships before them, are becoming less and less common on the world's oceans.

Aside from Aircraft Carriers, destroyers are the principle surface combatant at sea.

cyrusdvirus

Valley Forge would have been removed from the register before she was sunk.

I suppose what i was asking 4 years ago was was she damaged or suffering from some sort of failure that it was deemed economical to sink her in a sink ex and not hold onto the hull in reserve.