USS Arkansas (CGN-41)
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USS Arkansas underway in 1985
| |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Arkansas |
Namesake | State of Arkansas |
Ordered | 31 January 1975 |
Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company |
Laid down | 17 January 1977 |
Launched | 21 October 1978 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Dale Bumpers |
Acquired | 29 September 1980 |
Commissioned | 18 October 1980 |
Decommissioned | 7 July 1998 |
Stricken | 7 July 1998 |
Identification |
|
Motto | Defender of Opportunity |
Fate | Disposed of by the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, completed on 1 November 1999 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Virginia-class cruiser |
Displacement | 9,473 short tons |
Length | 585 ft (178 m) |
Beam | 63 ft (19 m) |
Draft | 30.5 ft (9.3 m) |
Speed | 30+ knots |
Range | Nuclear |
Complement | 473 officers and enlisted men |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
Armament |
|
Armor | none |
Aircraft carried | none |
USS Arkansas (CGN-41) was a
With her
For her short-range self-defense, especially for defense against enemy anti-ship missiles, Arkansas carried two automated
After USS Arkansas was decommissioned and all of her weapons, computers, sensors, communication equipment and other complex components, removed, her hulk was sent into the Navy's nuclear ship recycling program for the removal, recycling, and disposal of all of her fuel and other radioactive equipment, and this task was completed in Washington state on 1 November 1999, with the rest of her hulk sold as scrap metal.[citation needed]
Construction
The
History
USS Arkansas spent the first months following her commissioning in the area of
April brought a series of underway qualifications and certifications. On 28 April, Arkansas steamed out from
The warship did not get underway again until three weeks into 1982. She put to sea on 22 January and then steamed south to
Upon her return to Norfolk in mid-October, Arkansas began preparations for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. The guided-missile cruiser embarked upon that assignment on 10 November 1982. She completed the transatlantic voyage on 30 November, then set out across the Mediterranean bound for the coast of troubled Lebanon. She arrived on station near Beirut on 6 December. Though Arkansas spent most of her time supporting the multinational force ashore in its efforts to keep peace in Lebanon, she left the eastern Mediterranean occasionally for port calls and to participate in some of the 6th Fleet's freedom-of-navigation maneuvers into the Gulf of Sidra off the coast of Libya. The warship completed her final tour on station near Lebanon on 4 May 1983 and laid in a course for Gibraltar. After a two-day visit to the "Rock," Arkansas got underway for Norfolk on 10 May.[citation needed]
The cruiser stood into her home port again at the end of the third week in May. Norfolk, however, remained her home port only for the duration of her post-deployment stand-down period. On 8 July, Arkansas began the long voyage to her new base of operations at
Normal operations at sea resumed during the second week of September and occupied the guided-missile cruiser for the remainder of 1983 and the first six weeks of 1984. Between 12 and 14 February 1984, Arkansas made the passage from Alameda to
From there, Arkansas headed for the Indian Ocean. The guided-missile cruiser served almost three months in the Indian Ocean, primarily in that portion known as the
Post-deployment stand-down kept her in port at Alameda through the end of 1984 and into February 1985. Between 17 and 19 February, Arkansas steamed north to Bremerton for a four-month restricted availability during which she was armed with
The usual year-end holiday leave and upkeep period interrupted her efforts to get ready for the upcoming deployment, but the guided-missile cruiser put to sea as scheduled on 15 January 1986. Again she participated in exercises during the passage, stopped at Pearl Harbor, and spent only a brief period of time in the western Pacific. By mid-March, after visits to Subic Bay and Singapore, she made her way across the Indian Ocean to Karachi, Pakistan. The guided-missile cruiser called at Karachi between 15 and 20 March then resumed her voyage to the Arabian Sea. Once more, Arkansas patrolled the waters of the troubled Middle East.[citation needed]
However, her sojourn in the Arabian Sea lasted only until late April. On 29 and 30 April, she transited the Suez Canal and headed for another hot spot. During the month of May and June, Arkansas served with the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the guided missile cruiser USS Truxtun off the coast of Libya in the wake of the air strikes launched on that country by the United States in reprisal for terrorist activity against Americans. During her stay in the Mediterranean, she paid visits to Monaco and Gaeta, Italy. Arkansas left the Mediterranean at the end of June and shaped a course for Australia. On 4 July, the same day as the Centennial re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty, she held another line-crossing ceremony, somewhere west of Africa. She stopped at Fremantle between 18 and 22 July and then headed for Subic Bay where she laid over for two days at the end of the month. From there, the warship headed for Pearl Harbor, where she paused overnight on 8 and 9 August. She arrived back in her home port on 13 August. Arkansas remained at Alameda until late September for the leave and upkeep period that usually follows an extended tour of duty overseas. Early in October, the warship resumed local operations along the west coast. She remained so occupied for the rest of 1986.[citation needed]
1990s
In 1990 Arkansas conducted extended counter-drug operations off the west coast of Central America. Vigilance was rewarded at the conclusion of that deployment as MV Nordkapp carrying 14 tons of cocaine was interdicted near Clipperton Island. Nordkapp was set afire and scuttled by her crew. Arkansas delivered the crew to the US Coast Guard in San Diego where they were subsequently tried and convicted in federal court.[citation needed]
In May 1991, Arkansas deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of the Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group. While en route to the Persian Gulf, Arkansas made a port call at Subic Bay, RP just as Mount Pinatubo erupted in June 1991. Arkansas participated in Operation Fiery Vigil making two voyages from Subic Bay to Cebu transporting military and dependent personnel evacuating from Clark AFB escaping the volcanic activity.[citation needed]
In 1996, Arkansas was part of the
Early decommissioning
The decision had been made in 1993 to cancel the mid-life refueling overhauls of the Virginia-class cruisers. With the end of the Cold War, the extra costs of the nine
Artifacts from Arkansas, including the ship's bell and anchor, are on public display at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock, Arkansas.[citation needed]
Her 16,000 pound bow anchor is on display at the Craighead county courthouse, in Jonesboro Arkansas.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ e-yearbook.com (tm) (1982). "Arkansas (CGN 41) - Naval Cruise Book, Class of 1982, Page 6 of 107 | E-Yearbook.com has the largest online yearbook collection of college yearbooks, university yearbooks, high school yearbooks, middle school yearbooks, military yearbooks, and naval cruise books | Yearbook pictures | Yearbook photographs | Yearbook photos | Yearbook images". e-yearbook.com. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- OCLC 1330888409.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.