1980s Vincennes was
launched on 14 April 1984 and sponsored by
Marilyn Quayle, wife of Indiana Senator
Dan Quayle.
Vincennes was named for the
Battle of Vincennes during the
American Revolutionary War; the previous
Vincennes heavy cruiser and
Vincennes light cruiser were named for the city of
Vincennes, Indiana. The cruiser was
commissioned at
Pascagoula on 6 July 1985, with Captain George N. Gee in command. The ship normally carried guided missiles, rapid-fire cannons, and two
Seahawk LAMPS helicopters for anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, personnel transfers, and other purposes.
Vincennes was the first of the
Ticonderoga-class cruisers to enter the
Pacific Fleet. Upon commissioning in 1985,
Vincennes helped test the
SM-2 Block II surface-to-air missile. In May 1986,
Vincennes participated in the multinational exercise
RIMPAC 86, coordinating the anti-aircraft warfare efforts of two
aircraft carriers and more than 40 ships from five nations.
Vincennes was deployed in August 1986 to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The ship served as anti-air warfare commander with the and battle groups, operated with the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the
Royal Australian Navy, and steamed more than in waters from the
Bering Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Iran–Iraq War During the Iran–Iraq War, the United States
took active measures in the Persian Gulf to protect shipping, mainly oil tankers, that were being threatened by both countries.
Operation Earnest Will On 14 April 1988, the guided missile
frigate hit a mine in the Persian Gulf during
Operation Earnest Will. Six days later,
Vincennes was redeployed from Fleet Exercise 88–2, sent back to
San Diego, California, and told to prepare for a six-month deployment. The reason for the haste: Navy leaders decided that an Aegis ship was needed to protect the exit of the damaged
Samuel B. Roberts through the
Strait of Hormuz. One month later, the cruiser entered the Persian Gulf, and in early July, stood guard in the Strait as the damaged frigate was borne out on the heavy-lift ship
Mighty Servant 2. The ship made 14 Hormuz transits during its Earnest Will operations.
Iran Air Flight 655 On 3 July 1988,
Vincennes, under the command of Captain
Will Rogers III, was on patrol when it was reported that Iranian
Revolutionary Guard gunboats had attacked a Pakistani merchant vessel.
Vincennes deployed one of her helicopters to investigate. Shortly thereafter, Rogers ordered his ship to move off station to the north. The destroyer flotilla commander ordered
Vincennes to return to her original station.
Vincenness helicopter had followed the Revolutionary Guard gunboats into Iranian waters, and while maintaining contact with the boats, came under gunfire from the Iranians. The helicopter crew reported that they had come under fire. With that report, Rogers turned his ship around and, with the frigate , moved to intercept the gunboats. In doing so,
Vincennes crossed into Iranian waters herself. As the U.S. ships approached, the Iranian gunboats maneuvered in what Rogers claimed was a threatening fashion. Rogers requested permission to fire. Command, not knowing that
Vincennes had crossed into Iranian waters, granted permission. While
Vincennes was firing on the Iranian gunboats, confusion reigned aboard the ship—the tracking of aircraft in the area had become muddled between
Vincennes and other U.S. ships. Crucially,
Vincennes misidentified an
Iran Air Airbus A300 civilian airliner, Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655), as an attacking
F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft. IR655 was climbing at the time, and her IFF transponder was on the Mode III civilian code rather than on the purely military Mode II, as recorded by
Vincenness own shipboard Aegis Combat System. After issuing multiple radio challenges and receiving no response from the aircraft,
Vincennes's crew commenced the process to engage it. The naval officer responsible for authorizing a missile launch, the watch's Anti-Air Warfare Coordinator (AAWC), pushed wrong buttons at least five times in response to a system message to select a weapon. In the meantime, the officer in charge of firing missiles, the watch's Missile System Supervisor (MSS), pushed "REQUEST RADIATION ASSIGN" at least 22 times, all without effect due to the AAWC not completing the appropriate process at his console. The AAWC finally selected the correct input at his console, allowing the MSS to again push "REQUEST RADIATION ASSIGN" and continue the process. At 10:24 a.m,
Vincennes fired two
SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles, shooting down the Iranian civilian airliner over Iranian airspace in the
Strait of Hormuz. All 290 passengers and crew on board were killed. The victims included 66 children and a family of 16 who were on their way to a wedding in Dubai. The Iranian government has maintained that
Vincennes knowingly shot down the civilian aircraft. IR655 flew every day out of Bandar Abbas—a civil and military airport—on a scheduled passenger flight to Dubai using established air lanes. The Italian navy and another U.S. warship, the frigate , confirmed that the plane was climbing—not diving to attack—at the time of the missile strike. The U.S. radio warnings were only broadcast on "guard" (121.5 MHz) and not air traffic control frequencies. The
Vincennes crew also misidentified the altitude and position of the plane; the Airbus crew, if monitoring guard, could have interpreted the warnings as intended for another aircraft. Captain David Carlson of
Sides later said that the airliner's destruction "marked the horrifying climax to Rogers' aggressiveness".
1990s In February 1990,
Vincennes was deployed on a third six-month tour of the western Pacific and Indian oceans with
SH-60 helicopters from HSL-45 Detachment 13. The ship coordinated all battle group air events and served as the command-and-control
flagship during Harpoon-Ex-90. In July 1990,
Vincennes returned home after steaming nearly . ==Decommissioning==