| The Virginia (CGN-38) was laid down on 19 August 1972 by
the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. as a nuclear-powered,
guided-missile frigate, DLGN-38; launched on 14 December 1974; sponsored
by Miss Virginia S. Warner, daughter of the Honorable John Warner, former
Secretary of the Navy; reclassified a nuclear-powered, guided-missile cruiser
and re-designated CGN-38 on 30 June 1975; and commissioned on 11 September
1976, Capt. George W. Davis, Jr., in command. |
| During the first six months of her commissioned service,
Virginia ranged the eastern seaboard of the United States and cruised
in the West Indies several times conducting a myriad of post-commissioning
tests and shakedown training. On 25 April 1977, she entered the Norfolk Naval
Shipyard for a five-month, post shakedown availability. She completed her
final sea trials on 28 September and began duty as an operational unit of
the Atlantic Fleet. In November, she cruised along the New England and Canadian
coasts, participating in antisubmarine warfare exercises. In December, she
returned to the West Indies for missile firings on the Atlantic Fleet weapons
range. She completed that mission on 13 December and reentered Norfolk three
days later to begin holiday leave and upkeep in her homeport. The beginning
of 1978 found her still in Norfolk; but by mid-month, she returned to sea
in the Virginia capes operating area for a series of local operations. On
28 January, however, she departed Norfolk to return to the area along the
Florida coast and in the West Indies for a series of special tests conducted
under the auspices of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The
guided-missile cruiser returned to Norfolk on 23 March and resumed local
operations. |
| That employment lasted until 23 August when she embarked upon
a cruise to northern Europe to participate in Operation "Northern Wedding,"
a NATO exercise the purpose of which was to test the ability to reinforce
NATO forces in Western Europe. During that deployment, she visited Oslo in
Norway, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Portsmouth in England. The warship
departed the latter port on 3 October and reentered Norfolk on the 12th.
On 16 November, she put to sea for training exercises in the Gulf of Mexico.
During that voyage, she made a port visit at Mobile, Alabama, and conducted
naval gunfire support training at Vieques Island near Puerto Rico. She made
another port visit to the island of St. Thomas on 6 and 7 December before
heading home. Virginia reentered Norfolk on 11 December and began
preparations for her first deployment to the Mediterranean, which was scheduled
to commence in early 1979. |
| As part of an Indian Ocean deployment in 1980, she crossed the
Indian Ocean to visit the Republic of the Philippines. During her third
Mediterranean deployment in 1983, she fired nearly 300 five inch rounds into
Beirut and assisted when the Marine barracks were bombed. She was honored
as Sixth Fleet Top Hand for that deployment. In 1984, she entered Norfolk
Naval Shipyard for her single major overhaul and was converted to the Navy's
first strike cruiser with the addition of the Tomahawk weapons system and
the SM-2 extension of her surface to air capability. |
| On 28 December 1990, Virginia deployed to support Operation
Desert Shield and later Desert Storm. Just after arrival in the Eastern
Mediterranean, she launched two Tomahawks into Iraq in support of the liberation
of Kuwait. For the last two years of active service, Virginia joined
in the war against drugs. During her Caribbean deployment in the fall of
1992, she passed through the Panama Canal and operated in the Pacific for
a short time. In the course of her last deployment in the fall of 1993, she
directly detected or controlled other Navy assets during successful interdictions
of 36,200 pounds of marijuana and 2,000 kilos of cocaine. |
| In the course of her lifetime, many flag officers called
Virginia home while embarked at sea. The first was Admiral H. G. Rickover,
who embarked during sea trials in July 1976. The last was Admiral Donald
Dyer, in March 1993. She won the Battle E competition four times during her
lifetime as the best nuclear cruiser on the East Coast and has won countless
department awards. |
| Decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on
29 November 1994, Virginia is scheduled to enter the Navy’s Nuclear
- Powered Surface Ship and Submarine Recycling Program on 31 March
1999. |
| Specifications: |
-
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.
-
Keel Laid: August 12, 1972
-
Launched: December 14, 1974
-
Commissioned: September 11, 1976
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Decommissioned: November 10, 1994
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Length/Beam/Draft (in feet): 585 / 63 / 29.5
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Displacement: 11300 tons (full load)
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Crew: 565
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Propulsion:
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2-D2G pressurized, water-cooled reactors
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2-geared steam turbines
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2-shafts @ 60,000shp each
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30+ knots
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Armament:
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2-MK26 launchers (68 SM-2(MR) anti-air missiles)
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2-MK143 ABLs (8 TOMAHAWK TASM/TLAM cruise missiles)
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2-MK141 launchers (8 HARPOON anti-ship missiles)
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2-MK45 5/54 DP gun mounts
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2-MK15 20mm PHALANX Close-In Weapons System
|
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