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| USS SAN JACINTO |
TOURING
THE SAN JAC
BY RICHARD H. WAGNER
(Originally published by the Navy League
of the United States, New York Council in
The Log, Summer 2007).
THE SAN JAC
BY RICHARD H. WAGNER
(Originally published by the Navy League
of the United States, New York Council in
The Log, Summer 2007).
Because of the construction on Piers 86 and 88 in Manhattan and the need to use the
other berths at the Passenger Ship Terminal for cruise ships, only one of the Navy’s Fleet
Week ships was docked in Manhattan this year. The remainder were tied up at the
former Homeport Pier at Stapleton on Staten Island. Placed like bookends on either
side of the pier were the Ticonderoga-class cruisers USS SAN JACINTO (CG 56) and
USS HUE CITY (CG 66). These 567-foot long ships towered over the destroyers and
the frigate tied-up outboard of them and are the Navy's largest surface combatants.
Inasmuch as "San Jac" had recently returned from a modernization availability, The Log
elected to visit her. The tour was conducted by Lieutenant Steve Hedrick (USN).
The Predecessors
The name San Jacinto commemorates a battle in the Texas war for independence in
which an army of Texans under Sam Houston avenged the defenders of the Alamo by
defeating the Mexican army under Santa Anna. Today's SAN JACINTO is the third U.
S. Navy ship to bear this name.
The first SAN JACINTO was a steam frigate launched in 1850 that went on to play an
active role in the Civil War. Perhaps her most famous incident was when her captain
Charles Wilkes learnt that two Confederate emissaries were leaving Havana, Cuba on
the British mail packet TRENT in order to seek support for their cause in Europe. The
SAN JACINTO intercepted the TRENT in the Bahamas Channel and after the SAN
JACINTO fired a shot across her bow, the TRENT stopped and allowed Wilkes to
remove the two Confederate diplomats. The incident was widely applauded in the North
but this attack on a neutral ship and disregard of British sovereignty nearly led to Britain
recognizing the Confederacy and entering the war. Indeed, an 8,000-man British
expeditionary force was dispatched to Canada and war materiel destined for the North
was embargoed. It was only through skillful diplomatic maneuvering by President
Abraham Lincoln that a breach was avoided.
Some eighty years later, the Navy bestowed the name SAN JACINTO on an
Independence-class light aircraft carrier. Commissioned in late 1943, SAN JACINTO
was dispatched to the Pacific where she became part of Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's fast
carrier striking force. She participated in numerous engagements including the Battle of
the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, winning five battle stars and earning a
Presidential Unit Citation. One of the pilots who flew off her was George H. Bush, later
President of the United States. The ship was decommissioned in 1947 but
recommissioned in 1959 as an auxiliary aircraft transport. She was decommissioned
again in 1970.
The Ticonderoga Cruisers
The current SAN JACINTO is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. Concerned
that America's super carriers were vulnerable to attacks by the Soviet Navy in which
numerous missiles would be launched simultaneously from surface ships, aircraft and
submarines, the Navy set about looking for a system that would be able to track and
counter numerous targets at the same time. The solution was the Aegis combat system.
Named after the shield carried by Zeus in Greek mythology, Aegis is designed to
integrate target acquisition and weapons systems. Unlike conventional radar systems, the
Aegis SPY-1 radar has four panel antennas, one facing forward, one port, one stern and
one starboard. Each covers one quarter of the airspace around the ship. A 360 degree
view is obtained by rapidly switching sequentially from one antenna to the next rather
than physically revolving like a conventional radar antenna. When the system detects a
target, the computer directs several additional beams at the target immediately. This
allows the radar to "paint" the target in much less time than a revolving antenna system.
As multiple threats develop at various ranges and heights, the ship's radar and combat
system integrator can individually identify and track the numerous targets, evaluate and
prioritize the danger posed by each and then select the appropriate defensive system.
The 1970s were a time of severe financial constraints and rather than build a completely
new cruiser as was originally intended, the Navy elected to build the new class of cruisers
on the hull design for the Spruance-class destroyer. In fact, until 1 January 1980, the
new ships were classified as destroyers but it was seen that such a designation would be
stretching the concept of a destroyer too far. In addition to the hull, the propulsion
system on the Ticonderogas is the same as on the Spruances. The superstructure,
however, was enlarged in order to accommodate the radar systems with the result that
these cruisers look much larger than other contemporary surface combatants. Inside, the
cruisers have additional armor plating around the magazines and critical electronic areas.
All of these changes only produced an increase of 157 tons full load displacement (9,407
vs. 9,250 tons) and a two and a half foot increase in draft (31.5 vs. 29 feet).
The 27 Ticonderoga-class cruisers were built in several groups referred to as
"baselines." The first five ships of the class, Baseline 0 and Baseline 1, were built with rail
launched missile systems whereas the later baselines have the more efficient vertical
launch missiles cells. At first, the Navy planned to refit the first five ships but it was
decided that this would be too expensive and they have now been retired.
The Cruiser Modernization Program
The Navy plans to keep the remaining Ticonderogas in service until they have reached
the age of 35, which they will begin to reach in 2021. In order to do this, the Navy
embarked last year on the Cruiser Modernization Program. The primary objective is to
make the ships capable of fulfilling their mission until they reach retirement. The second
objective is to make the ships less expensive to operate, maintain and modernize over the
remainder of their lives.
Plans call for the modernization of the ship's basic hull, mechanical and electrical
equipment (H M&E) and modernization of their combat systems. The HM&E package
includes alteration in weight and movement corrections, hull and deckhouse structural
improvement, corrosion control enhancements, strengthening of the helicopter hangar
deck and other upgrades. The program will also include installation of the Integrated ship
Controls or "Smartship" system, All-Electric modifications on ships that have not
received those systems and upgrades of those systems on the cruisers that already have
them. Perhaps most importantly, the program calls for upgrading the combat systems by
shifting of the ship's Aegis computers and software to an open architecture, which in
general means the use of non-proprietary computers and software.
The modernization program calls for the Baseline 2 cruisers to be upgraded during two
visits to the shipyard. All other ships will be done in one longer visit. SAN
JACINTO was selected as the first ship to undergo the HM&E phase of the Cruiser
Modernization Program and entered the shipyard in July 2006. After the shipyard
completed its work, there was still much for the crew to do in terms of training and
making the ship operational in order to "make sure that our ship will go to the fight
prepared," noted Lieutenant Hedrick.
other berths at the Passenger Ship Terminal for cruise ships, only one of the Navy’s Fleet
Week ships was docked in Manhattan this year. The remainder were tied up at the
former Homeport Pier at Stapleton on Staten Island. Placed like bookends on either
side of the pier were the Ticonderoga-class cruisers USS SAN JACINTO (CG 56) and
USS HUE CITY (CG 66). These 567-foot long ships towered over the destroyers and
the frigate tied-up outboard of them and are the Navy's largest surface combatants.
Inasmuch as "San Jac" had recently returned from a modernization availability, The Log
elected to visit her. The tour was conducted by Lieutenant Steve Hedrick (USN).
The Predecessors
The name San Jacinto commemorates a battle in the Texas war for independence in
which an army of Texans under Sam Houston avenged the defenders of the Alamo by
defeating the Mexican army under Santa Anna. Today's SAN JACINTO is the third U.
S. Navy ship to bear this name.
The first SAN JACINTO was a steam frigate launched in 1850 that went on to play an
active role in the Civil War. Perhaps her most famous incident was when her captain
Charles Wilkes learnt that two Confederate emissaries were leaving Havana, Cuba on
the British mail packet TRENT in order to seek support for their cause in Europe. The
SAN JACINTO intercepted the TRENT in the Bahamas Channel and after the SAN
JACINTO fired a shot across her bow, the TRENT stopped and allowed Wilkes to
remove the two Confederate diplomats. The incident was widely applauded in the North
but this attack on a neutral ship and disregard of British sovereignty nearly led to Britain
recognizing the Confederacy and entering the war. Indeed, an 8,000-man British
expeditionary force was dispatched to Canada and war materiel destined for the North
was embargoed. It was only through skillful diplomatic maneuvering by President
Abraham Lincoln that a breach was avoided.
Some eighty years later, the Navy bestowed the name SAN JACINTO on an
Independence-class light aircraft carrier. Commissioned in late 1943, SAN JACINTO
was dispatched to the Pacific where she became part of Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's fast
carrier striking force. She participated in numerous engagements including the Battle of
the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, winning five battle stars and earning a
Presidential Unit Citation. One of the pilots who flew off her was George H. Bush, later
President of the United States. The ship was decommissioned in 1947 but
recommissioned in 1959 as an auxiliary aircraft transport. She was decommissioned
again in 1970.
The Ticonderoga Cruisers
The current SAN JACINTO is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. Concerned
that America's super carriers were vulnerable to attacks by the Soviet Navy in which
numerous missiles would be launched simultaneously from surface ships, aircraft and
submarines, the Navy set about looking for a system that would be able to track and
counter numerous targets at the same time. The solution was the Aegis combat system.
Named after the shield carried by Zeus in Greek mythology, Aegis is designed to
integrate target acquisition and weapons systems. Unlike conventional radar systems, the
Aegis SPY-1 radar has four panel antennas, one facing forward, one port, one stern and
one starboard. Each covers one quarter of the airspace around the ship. A 360 degree
view is obtained by rapidly switching sequentially from one antenna to the next rather
than physically revolving like a conventional radar antenna. When the system detects a
target, the computer directs several additional beams at the target immediately. This
allows the radar to "paint" the target in much less time than a revolving antenna system.
As multiple threats develop at various ranges and heights, the ship's radar and combat
system integrator can individually identify and track the numerous targets, evaluate and
prioritize the danger posed by each and then select the appropriate defensive system.
The 1970s were a time of severe financial constraints and rather than build a completely
new cruiser as was originally intended, the Navy elected to build the new class of cruisers
on the hull design for the Spruance-class destroyer. In fact, until 1 January 1980, the
new ships were classified as destroyers but it was seen that such a designation would be
stretching the concept of a destroyer too far. In addition to the hull, the propulsion
system on the Ticonderogas is the same as on the Spruances. The superstructure,
however, was enlarged in order to accommodate the radar systems with the result that
these cruisers look much larger than other contemporary surface combatants. Inside, the
cruisers have additional armor plating around the magazines and critical electronic areas.
All of these changes only produced an increase of 157 tons full load displacement (9,407
vs. 9,250 tons) and a two and a half foot increase in draft (31.5 vs. 29 feet).
The 27 Ticonderoga-class cruisers were built in several groups referred to as
"baselines." The first five ships of the class, Baseline 0 and Baseline 1, were built with rail
launched missile systems whereas the later baselines have the more efficient vertical
launch missiles cells. At first, the Navy planned to refit the first five ships but it was
decided that this would be too expensive and they have now been retired.
The Cruiser Modernization Program
The Navy plans to keep the remaining Ticonderogas in service until they have reached
the age of 35, which they will begin to reach in 2021. In order to do this, the Navy
embarked last year on the Cruiser Modernization Program. The primary objective is to
make the ships capable of fulfilling their mission until they reach retirement. The second
objective is to make the ships less expensive to operate, maintain and modernize over the
remainder of their lives.
Plans call for the modernization of the ship's basic hull, mechanical and electrical
equipment (H M&E) and modernization of their combat systems. The HM&E package
includes alteration in weight and movement corrections, hull and deckhouse structural
improvement, corrosion control enhancements, strengthening of the helicopter hangar
deck and other upgrades. The program will also include installation of the Integrated ship
Controls or "Smartship" system, All-Electric modifications on ships that have not
received those systems and upgrades of those systems on the cruisers that already have
them. Perhaps most importantly, the program calls for upgrading the combat systems by
shifting of the ship's Aegis computers and software to an open architecture, which in
general means the use of non-proprietary computers and software.
The modernization program calls for the Baseline 2 cruisers to be upgraded during two
visits to the shipyard. All other ships will be done in one longer visit. SAN
JACINTO was selected as the first ship to undergo the HM&E phase of the Cruiser
Modernization Program and entered the shipyard in July 2006. After the shipyard
completed its work, there was still much for the crew to do in terms of training and
making the ship operational in order to "make sure that our ship will go to the fight
prepared," noted Lieutenant Hedrick.
