USS ''Yorktown'' (DDG-48/CG-48) was a in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1984 to 2004, named for the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Battle of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

History

''Yorktown'' was launched 17 January 1983 and was sponsored by Mrs. Mary Matthews, widow of Nick Matthews, a prominent citizen of

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Co ...

. ''Yorktown'' was commissioned on 4 July 1984 at

, and was designed to take advantage of the American

Aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...

technology. Among its various weapon systems were

surface to air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s (SAMs), anti-ship/anti-submarine missiles,

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

launchers, and a mounted

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

. ''Yorktown''s first deployment was from August 1985 to April 1986 and, among other things, involved the ''

Achille Lauro Achille Lauro (; 16 June 1887 – 15 November 1982) was an Italian businessman and politician. He is widely considered one of the main precursors of modern populism in Italian politics. He was nicknamed by his supporters ''Il Comandante'' ("The ...

'' hijacker intercept, two

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

excursions (in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

), and a trio of operations off the

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

n coast including

Operation El Dorado Canyon The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, consisted of air strikes by the United States against Libya on Tuesday 15 April 1986. The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), U.S. Navy and U.S. M ...

and Operation Attain Document and Prairie Fire. USS Yorktown collision

''Yorktown'' received the Atlantic Fleet's "Top Gun" award for outstanding naval gunfire support in 1987. During the second deployment from September 1987 to March 1988, ''Yorktown'' participated in numerous U.S. and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

exercises, as well as multi-national exercises with

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

, France,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, Tunisia, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It was on this Mediterranean deployment that ''Yorktown'' gained worldwide publicity from operations conducted in the Black Sea as part of

Freedom of Navigation Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states, apart from the exceptions provided for in international law. In the realm of internat ...

program.Campbell, "USS Caron's Black Sea Scrape Furthered International Law, National Interest", ''The Virginian-Pilot'' and the ''Ledger-Star'', 12 June 1988, at C3, col. 1. On 12 February 1988, while ''Yorktown'' was exercising the "right of

innocent passage Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the archipelagic and territorial waters of another state, subject to certain restrictions. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 19 ...

" through Soviet territorial waters, the Soviet ''Bezzavetnyy'' () intentionally collided with ''Yorktown'' with the intention of pushing her out of Soviet territorial waters. The

Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs In the United States, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs or ASD (ISA) is the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD (P)) and the United States Secretary of Defense on internation ...

at the time, Richard L. Armitage, acknowledged that the transit was not operationally necessary, but asserted that it was still a valid innocent passage under international law. In 1991, ''Yorktown'' was awarded the coveted "Old Crow's" award for

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent ...

excellence. In 1992 ''Yorktown'' was honored with the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for superb, sustained combat readiness. ''Yorktown'' conducted her third and fourth Mediterranean deployments as the world watched the end of the Cold War and the coalition victory in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. During the latter of these two deployments ''Yorktown'' participated in the first U.S. military exercises with the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n navies, and played a key role in

Operation Provide Comfort Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern I ...

, which provided humanitarian relief and security for the Kurdish refugees in northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In the summer of 1992, ''Yorktown'' participated in BALTOPS '92. During this cruise, ''Yorktown'' made a highly acclaimed port visit to

Severomorsk Severomorsk (russian: Северомо́рск), known as Vayenga () until April 18, 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is located on the coast o ...

, Russia, becoming the first U.S. ship to visit that port since the end of World War II. In 1993, ''Yorktown'' was awarded the Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic Ship Safety Award for a superior safety record. ''Yorktown'' has also been awarded two

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...

s and a

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

, and is a four-time winner of the coveted Battle Efficiency "E". ''Yorktown'' served as

Flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

for Commander, Task Group 4.1, during counter-drug operations in the Caribbean in May–July 1993. In August 1993, ''Yorktown'' participated in the joint military exercise Solid Stance in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

. ''Yorktown''s operations through the end of 1993 included an October–November excursion to the Caribbean to support the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

embargo of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

. In April–May 1994, ''Yorktown'' returned to the Caribbean as Force Air Warfare Commander during joint Exercise Agile Provider. While in the Caribbean, ''Yorktown'' served as flagship for Commander, Destroyer Squadron Six, coordinating a six-ship, twenty-six

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

exercise. In the summer of 1994, ''Yorktown'' achieved a resounding score of 101 during naval gunfire support qualification. In August 1994 ''Yorktown'' set sail for the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

as flagship for Commander,

Standing Naval Force Atlantic Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability. Hi ...

, in support of the United Nations embargo of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

. During this six-month deployment, ''Yorktown'' served as the Air Warfare Commander for the Adriatic Sea, participating in a joint task force of ships from the United States and eight European nations. In May–June 1995, ''Yorktown'' proceeded south to serve as Air Warfare Commander for the Caribbean Sea in support of counter-narcotics operations. CG-48 firing

In May 1997 ''Yorktown'' (with a reduced crew aboard) completed a five-month counter-narcotic deployment in the Caribbean followed by tests with and her accompanying Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2. During these periods Navy Manpower and Analysis Center (NAVMAC) conducted a detailed review of manpower requirements, and the

Operational Test and Evaluation Force The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) serves as an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, crypt ...

verified the ship's ability to meet all required operational capabilities in the projected operating environment doctrine for ''Ticonderoga''-class cruisers. On 21 September 1997, a

division by zero In mathematics, division by zero is division where the divisor (denominator) is zero. Such a division can be formally expressed as \tfrac, where is the dividend (numerator). In ordinary arithmetic, the expression has no meaning, as there is ...

error on board the USS Yorktown (CG-48) ''Remote Data Base Manager'' brought down all the machines on the network, causing the ship's propulsion system to fail. On 25 September 1999 ''Yorktown'' departed Pascagoula for a four-month counter-narcotic deployment in the Caribbean. Before beginning patrolling efforts, ''Yorktown'' embarked staff members from Commander, Second Fleet. Supported by the helicopter detachment, the Second Fleet staff surveyed and photographed another island being considered as a potential replacement for training exercises if the Navy was unable to continue at

Vieques Island Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. The ship made port calls in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of P ...

, Cartagena, Rodman,

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta'' Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications * Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Bri ...

and

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucat� ...

. During this deployment the USS Yorktown was the last U.S. warship to transit the Panama Canal prior to it being turned over to Panama.

Fate

''Yorktown'' was decommissioned and struck on 10 December 2004. As of 2008, ''Yorktown'' was scheduled to be dismantled in the next five years along with her sisterships and . Since her decommissioning, ''Yorktown'' has been berthed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. On 16 September 2022, she was removed from the port and started the journey to a breaker's yard in Brownsville, Texas. ''Yorktown'' arrived in Brownsville on 29 November 2022, where she will be dismantled and recycled for scrap.

Smart ship testbed

From 1996 ''Yorktown'' was used as the testbed for the Navy's Smart Ship program. The ship was equipped with a network of 27 dual 200 MHz

Pentium Pro The Pentium Pro is a sixth-generation x86 microprocessor developed and manufactured by Intel and introduced on November 1, 1995. It introduced the P6 microarchitecture (sometimes termed i686) and was originally intended to replace the original ...

-based machines running

Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It is the direct successor to Windows NT 3.51, which was released to manufacturing on July 31, 1996, and then to retail ...

communicating over fiber-optic cable with a Pentium Pro-based server. This network was responsible for running the integrated control center on the bridge, monitoring condition assessment, damage control, machinery control and fuel control, monitoring the engines and navigating the ship. This system was predicted to save $2.8 million per year by reducing the ship's complement by 10%. On 21 September 1997, while on maneuvers off the coast of

Cape Charles, Virginia Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,009 as of the 2010 Census. History Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on Virginia's Eastern Shore, ...

, a crew member entered a zero into a database field causing an attempted

in the ship's Remote Data Base Manager, resulting in a

buffer overflow In information security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomaly whereby a program, while writing data to a buffer, overruns the buffer's boundary and overwrites adjacent memory locations. Buffers are areas of memo ...

which brought down all the machines on the network, causing the ship's propulsion system to fail. Anthony DiGiorgio, a civilian contractor with a 26-year history of working on Navy control systems, reported in 1998 that ''Yorktown'' had to be towed back to

Norfolk Naval Station Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...

. Ron Redman, a deputy technical director with the Aegis Program Executive Office, backed up this claim, suggesting that such system failures had required ''Yorktown'' to be towed back to port several times. In the 3 August 1998 issue of ''Government Computer News'', a retraction by DiGiorgio was published. He claims the reporter altered his statements, and insists that he did not claim the ''Yorktown'' was towed into Norfolk. ''GCN'' stands by its story. Atlantic Fleet officials also denied the towing, reporting that ''Yorktown'' was "dead in the water" for just 2 hours and 45 minutes. Captain Richard Rushton, commanding officer of ''Yorktown'' at the time of the incident, also denied that the ship had to be towed back to port, stating that the ship returned under its own power. Atlantic Fleet officials acknowledged that the Yorktown experienced what they termed "an engineering local area network casualty". "We are putting equipment in the engine room that we cannot maintain and, when it fails, results in a critical failure," DiGiorgio said. Criticism of operating system choice ensued. Ron Redman, deputy technical director of the Fleet Introduction Division of the Aegis Program Executive Office, said that there have been numerous software failures associated with NT aboard the Yorktown.

Awards

* 3x

Joint Meritorious Unit Award The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritor ...

s – (02-30 Nov 1990, 05-16 Apr 1991, 1997)(1 for

Operation Fiery Vigil Operation Fiery Vigil was the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) emergency evacuation of all non-essential military and U.S. Department of Defense civilian personnel and their dependents from Clark Air Base and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay dur ...

) * 4x

s * 1x

s (as a unit of Mediterranean Carrier Battle Group 3-91) * 7x Battle Efficiency (Navy E) Ribbons – (1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002) * 1x

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

* 2x

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

* 1x

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (inclu ...

– (Sep-Oct 1998)(as element of Navy Construction Battalion Center Gulfport 20th Naval Construction Regiment) * 1x

Armed Forces Service Medal The Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM) is a military award of the United States military that was created on January 11, 1996, by President Bill Clinton under . The AFSM is a deployed service medal that is presented to those service members who ...

* 2x Coast Guard

Special Operations Service Ribbon The Special Operations Service Ribbon is a service award of the United States Coast Guard which was first created 1 July 1987 by order of Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul A. Yost Jr. The award is authorized for certain acts of non-com ...

– (1990, 2002) *

Sea Service Deployment Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a U ...

(multiple awards) * Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award – (1992) * James F. Chezek Memorial Gunnery Award – (1987) * "Old Crow's" award for Electronic Warfare excellence – (1991)

Notes

External links