As covered in past posts, the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruisers are not long for us, with Cold Warriors USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) already decommissioned in the past several weeks.
Add to that the USS Bunker Hill (CG-52), wrapping 37 years of naval service during a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on 22 September.
SAN DIEGO (Sept. 22, 2023) – The crew of the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) stands at attention during the ship’s decommissioning ceremony. Bunker Hill was decommissioned after more than 37 years of distinguished service. Commissioned Sept. 20, 1986, Bunker Hill served in the U.S. Pacific Fleet supported Operation Desert Shield, and Operation Desert Storm, and participated in the establishment of Operation Southern Watch. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Claire M. DuBois)
The third warship to carry the name of the famed Revolutionary War battle, important for naval history was the first built with a VLS system and had a very active career.
As noted by the Navy:
Bunker Hill operated in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, supporting 10 Earnest Will convoys in 1987. The ship arrived in its new homeport of Naval Base Yokosuka, Japan the following year. At the end of January 1991, the ship launched its first Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs), a total of 28, against targets in Iraq from its station in the North Arabian Gulf, in support of Operation Desert Storm. It also supported Operations Desert Shield. In 2008, it was one of the Coalition ships from the British-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 maintaining a presence off the east coast of Africa in response to the recent events in Somalia. The following year it was the first guided-missile cruiser to receive a complete set of upgrades as part of the Navy’s Cruiser Modernization program including a new Aegis Weapons System, the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), and SPQ-9B Radar. The guided missile cruiser made full speed from off the coast of Panama to reach Haiti, joining U.S. military efforts on the Caribbean island devastated by a massive earthquake in 2010.
A key moment in my life concerning Bunker Hill, her plankowner skipper, Captain F. Richard Whalen, to me was just “Coach Whalen” as I played on the same soccer team as his son in 6th grade. He hosted us on an unofficial tour of the ship and we attended her departure. The life of a 1980s Pascagoula kid, I guess.
With Bunker Hill gone, and sisters USS Vicksburg (CG-69) and USS San Jacinto (CG-56) slated to join her in mothballs before the end of the year, just 12 of the 27 members of the class will be active going into next year. The Navy plans to put the final Ticos in mothballs by the end of FY 27.
Adios, San Juan
USS San Juan (SSN 751), a late model 688i and the third warship to carry the name, was commissioned on 6 August 1988. Last week, she shifted homeports cross-country from Groton to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and will begin inactivation, decommissioning, and recycling soon, capping a 35-year career.
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN 751), transits the Puget Sound, on Sept. 20, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Commu
Taking her final ride to Bremerton was a group of sailors from the French Navy and Royal Canadian Navy on exchange.
Sailors from the French Navy and Royal Canadian Navy completed a joint exercise with the U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class attack submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751), on Sept. 20, 2023.
Importantly, in 1993 San Juan conducted the first through-ice surfacing for a 688i-class submarine in the Arctic, showing off a key ability of the type.
The once-mighty 62-boat Los Angeles class is currently down to just 26 hulls, counting San Juan, with only 15 of the class slated to still be operational by FY27.
San Juan follows in the footsteps of the more than 140 other U.S. nuclear-powered submarines sent to spend their last days at the nation’s largest public shipyard, her reactor compartment stored, her hull cut up and sold for scrap, with possibly her sail or diving planes retained ashore as a monument.