USS Princeton (CG-59)

USS "Princeton" (CG-59) is a "Ticonderoga"-class cruiser guided-missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. Armed with naval guns and anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine missiles, plus other weapons, she is equipped for surface-to-air, surface-to-surface, and anti-submarine warfare. She also is the home of two "Seahawk" LAMPS III helicopters. This warship is named for the Revolutionary War victories over the British by George Washington in and around the town of Princeton, New Jersey.

"Princeton" was the first "Ticonderoga"-class cruiser to carry the upgraded AN/SPY-1B radar system.

The ship's first commander was Captain Ted Hontz, who took command at the commissioning ceremony on 11 February 1989 in the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. After traveling through the Panama Canal, the "Princeton" was home-ported at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California.

Mine Attack

On the morning of 18 February 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, "Princeton" was patrolling an operating area 28 nautical miles off Failaka Island in the Persian Gulf, on the west side of the decoy U.S. Marine and naval invasion forces afloat. Two bottom-mounted influence mines (MANTAs) detonated, one just under the port rudder and the other just forward of the starboard bow, most likely a sympathetic detonation caused by the first explosion. The blasts cracked the superstructure, buckled three lines in the hull, jammed the port rudder, flooded the #3 switchboard room through chillwater pipe cracks, and damaged the starboard propeller shaft. Two crew members were seriously injured, and another sustained minor injuries. Despite the severe damage, the forward weapons and the AEGIS combat system were back online within 15 minutes.

At great peril, the Canadian warship HMCS|Athabaskan|DDH-282|6 moved north through the minefield to deliver damage-control supplies to the severely damaged "Princeton", which remained on station for 30 hours until she was relieved. The crippled ship, with a locked starboard propeller shaft and a locked port rudder, was guided from the minefield by the minesweeper USS|Adroit|MSO-509|6. Temporary repairs were conducted first in Bahrain, and then in the port of Jebel Ali near Dubai by the duty destroyer tender USS|Acadia|AD-42|6, and finally in a Dubai drydock. After eight weeks, the "Princeton" returned to the United States under the ship's own power for additional repairs. The ship and her crew were awarded the Combat Action Ribbon.

"Princeton" was greeted in Long Beach, California, by a throng of Navy family members, City of Long Beach officials, and the Los Angeles Lakers "Laker Girls" cheerleaders.

Captain Hontz turned over command to Capt. J. Cutler Dawson before moving on to command the Aegis Training Command in Dahlgren, Virginia.

Trivia

While stationed at Long Beach, "Princeton" was moored at Pier 7 alongside her sister ship USS|Antietam|CG-54|6 and the battleship USS|Missouri|BB-63|6. In 1990, "Princeton" and "Missouri" had visited the port of Vladivostok together in the Soviet Union.

When the U.S. Naval Base in Long Beach was closed, the home port of the "Princeton" was moved to the San Diego Naval Base.

"Princeton" was overhauled from 1999-2000 in San Diego, California. In 2005, the warship was acting as an escort for the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and was featured in the documentary "Carrier" that aired on PBS-TV, about the aircraft carrier USS|Nimitz|CVN-68|6. [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=36564 "Nimitz Highlighted in PBS TV Series and Premiere"] - U.S. Navy - (c/o Navy.mil) - 4/23/2008] While in the Persian Gulf on the night of 12 September 2005, or the early morning of September 13, during the filming of the documentary, Seaman Apprentice Robert D. Macrum, 22, of Sugarland, Texas, fell overboard. [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=20105 "Search and Rescue Operations Underway in Persian Gulf for Missing Princeton Sailor"] - U.S. Navy - (c/o Navy.mil) - 9/14/2005] [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=20363 "DoD Identifies Sailor Lost at Sea"] - U.S. Navy - (c/o Navy.mil) - 9/29/2005] Despite a search lasting over five days, and covering a 360-square-mile area, Seaman Macrum was not found. [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=20176 "SAR Ops Conclude in Search for USS Princeton Sailor"] - U.S. Navy - (c/o Navy.mil) - 9/19/2005]

References

External links

* [http://www.princeton.navy.mil/ Official web site]
* [http://www.navysite.de/cg/cg59.html "USS Princeton" webpage]
* [http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/unit.do?id=200436]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/CG-59 CG-59 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]