USS Vella Gulf (CG-72)
9750 tons
173 meters
16.80 meters
10.2 meters
About 390
Four gas turbines, two shafts together 80,000 hp
30 nodes
2 starter for anti-ship missiles, 2 triple torpedo launchers, 2 guns 127 mm, 122 VLS cells
The USS Vella Gulf (CG- 72) is a guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy and is a member of the Ticonderoga class. It was named in World War II after the Battle of Vella Gulf.
History
Construction
CG -72 was commissioned in 1988 and set in 1991 at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Kiel. 1992 was the cruiser from the stack and was christened by Mrs. Mary Ann McCauley on the name Vella Gulf. In July 1993, the official commissioning ceremony took place in the fleet of the U.S. Navy.
Inserts
In 1998, the Vella Gulf participated in the exercise BALTOPS in the Baltic Sea. From the Adriatic, the cruiser began in 1999 cruise missiles against land targets as part of Operation Allied Force. After the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the cruiser cruised on the USS George Washington ( CVN -73) side off the coast of New York. Just a few days later moved the Vella Gulf with the USS Theodore Roosevelt ( CVN -71) under the first phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2003, the ship again took part in the exercise BALTOPS. 2004 drove the Vella Gulf with Washington, the battle group moved through the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the ships sailed in the Persian Gulf. In 2006, the cruiser for the third time on the Baltic exercise BALTOPS in part, in the following year he was appointed as an escort of the USS Bataan (LHD- 5 ) were used.
In 2008, the Vella Gulf moved to the USS Iwo Jima (LHD -7) page. During this voyage of the cruiser pursued occupied by Somali pirates cargo ship Faina, which is charged among other things with battle tanks of type T -72. On 12 and 13 February 2009 the cruiser prevented each a pirate attack on cargo ships and took a total of 16 suspected pirates firmly. These are further transferred to the USNS Lewis and Clark (T- AKE -1), which brings the people to Kenya, where they should be put on trial. In May 2009, the Vella Gulf participated in the New York Fleet Week. In the second half of 2010, the cruiser drove under the National Missile Defense in the Mediterranean.