View source for USS Yorktown (CG-48)

{{short description|Ticonderoga-class cruiser}}
{{other ships|USS Yorktown}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
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|Ship caption=USS ''Yorktown'' on 24 February 2002
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|Ship country=United States
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|Ship name=''Yorktown''
|Ship namesake=[[Siege of Yorktown (1781)|Battle of Yorktown]]
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|Ship ordered=28 April 1980
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|Ship laid down=19 October 1981
|Ship launched=17 January 1983
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Mary Mathews
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|Ship commissioned=4 July 1984
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|Ship decommissioned=10 December 2004
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|Ship struck=10 December 2004
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*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: NYKN
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Yankee}}{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|November}}
*[[Hull number]]: CG-48
|Ship motto=''Victory is our tradition''
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|Ship fate=Scrapped
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|Ship badge=[[File:USS Yorktown CG-48 Crest.png|150px]]
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'''USS ''Yorktown'' (DDG-48/CG-48)''' was a {{sclass|Ticonderoga|cruiser}} in the [[United States Navy]] from 1984 to 2004, named for the [[American Revolutionary War]] [[Battle of Yorktown (1781)|Battle of Yorktown]].

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2013}}

''Yorktown'' was launched 17 January 1983 and was [[ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Mary Matthews, widow of Nick Matthews, a prominent citizen of [[Yorktown, Virginia]].<ref name="NAVSEA DOI">{{cite web |url=https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/TeamShips/SEA21/InactiveShips/Historic/2010/Yorktown_CG-48_Final_DOI.pdf |title=Yorktown (CG-48) – Final Determination |publisher=NAVSEA, US Navy |date=30 November 2010}}</ref> ''Yorktown'' was commissioned on 4 July 1984 at [[Yorktown, Virginia]], and was designed to take advantage of the American [[Aegis combat system|Aegis]] technology. Among her various weapon systems were [[surface to air missile]]s (SAMs), anti-ship/anti-submarine missiles, [[torpedo]] launchers, and a mounted [[cannon]].
''Yorktown''{{'}}s first deployment was from August 1985 to April 1986 and, among other things, involved the [[Achille Lauro hijacking|''Achille Lauro'' hijacker intercept]], two [[Black Sea]] excursions (in [[1986 Black Sea incident|1986]] and [[1988 Black Sea bumping incident|1988]]), and a trio of operations off the [[Libya]]n coast including [[1986 United States bombing of Libya|Operation El Dorado Canyon]] and [[Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)|Operation Attain Document]] and [[Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)|Prairie Fire]].

[[File:USS Yorktown collision.jpg|left|thumb|The Soviet [[Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy|Burevestnik M-class frigate ''Bezzavetnyy'']] intentionally hit ''Yorktown'' in 1988.]]

''Yorktown'' received the Atlantic Fleet's "Top Gun" award for outstanding [[naval gunfire support]] in 1987. During the second deployment from September 1987 to March 1988, ''Yorktown'' participated in numerous U.S. and [[NATO]] exercises, as well as multi-national exercises with [[Morocco]], France, [[West Germany]], Tunisia, and [[Turkey]]. It was on this Mediterranean deployment that ''Yorktown'' gained worldwide publicity from operations conducted in the Black Sea as part of [[Freedom of Navigation]] program.<ref name="Campbell">Campbell, "USS Caron's Black Sea Scrape Furthered International Law, National Interest", ''The Virginian-Pilot'' and the ''Ledger-Star'', 12 June 1988, at C3, col. 1.</ref> On 12 February 1988, while ''Yorktown'' was exercising the "right of [[innocent passage]]" through Soviet territorial waters, the Soviet {{sclass|Burevestnik|frigate}} [[Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy|''Bezzavetnyy'']] ({{Langx|ru|Беззаветный}}) intentionally [[1988 Black Sea bumping incident|collided with ''Yorktown'']] with the intention of pushing her out of Soviet territorial waters.<ref name="Aceves">{{cite journal |first=William J. |last=Aceves |title= Diplomacy at Sea: U.S. Freedom of Navigation Operations in the Black Sea|journal= International Law Studies|volume=68}}</ref> The [[Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs]] at the time, [[Richard Armitage (politician)|Richard L. Armitage]], acknowledged that the transit was not operationally necessary, but asserted that it was still a valid innocent passage under international law.<ref name="John W. Rolph">{{cite journal|author=Lieutenant Commander John W. Rolph|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Military_Law_Review/pdf-files/276475~1.pdf|title=Freedom of Navigation and the Black Sea Bumping Incident: How "Innocent" Must Innocent Passage Be?|journal=Military Law Review|volume=136|date=December 2005|page=146}}</ref>

In 1991, ''Yorktown'' was awarded the coveted "Old Crow's" award for [[electronic warfare]] excellence.{{citation needed|date=August 2014|reason=http://www.crows.org/ does not list Yorktown as far as I can find}} In 1992 ''Yorktown'' was honored with the [[Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award]] for superb, sustained combat readiness.{{citation needed|date=August 2014|reason=Probably true, but needs a citation}}

''Yorktown'' conducted her third and fourth Mediterranean deployments as the world watched the end of the Cold War and the coalition victory in [[Operation Desert Storm]]. During the latter of these two deployments ''Yorktown'' participated in the first U.S. military exercises with the [[Romania]]n and [[Bulgaria]]n navies, and played a key role in [[Operation Provide Comfort]], which provided humanitarian relief and security for the Kurdish refugees in northern [[Iraq]]. In the summer of 1992, ''Yorktown'' participated in [[BALTOPS|BALTOPS '92]]. During this cruise, ''Yorktown'' made a highly acclaimed port visit to [[Severomorsk]], Russia, becoming the first U.S. ship to visit that port since the end of World War II.

In 1993, ''Yorktown'' was awarded the Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic Ship Safety Award for a superior safety record. ''Yorktown'' has also been awarded two [[Navy Unit Commendation]]s and a [[Meritorious Unit Commendation]], and is a four-time winner of the coveted Battle Efficiency "E".

''Yorktown'' served as [[Flagship]] for Commander, Task Group 4.1, during counter-drug operations in the Caribbean in May–July 1993. In August 1993, ''Yorktown'' participated in the joint military exercise Solid Stance in the [[North Atlantic]]. ''Yorktown''{{'}}s operations through the end of 1993 included an October–November excursion to the Caribbean to support the [[United Nations]] embargo of [[Haiti]]. In April–May 1994, ''Yorktown'' returned to the Caribbean as Force Air Warfare Commander during joint Exercise Agile Provider. While in the Caribbean, ''Yorktown'' served as flagship for Commander, Destroyer Squadron Six, coordinating a six-ship, twenty-six [[missile]] exercise. In the summer of 1994, ''Yorktown'' achieved a resounding score of 101 during naval gunfire support qualification.

In August 1994 ''Yorktown'' set sail for the [[Adriatic Sea]] as flagship for Commander, [[Standing Naval Force Atlantic]], in support of the United Nations embargo of the [[Serbia and Montenegro|Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. During this six-month deployment, ''Yorktown'' served as the Air Warfare Commander for the Adriatic Sea, participating in a joint task force of ships from the United States and eight European nations. In May–June 1995, ''Yorktown'' proceeded south to serve as Air Warfare Commander for the Caribbean Sea in support of counter-narcotics operations.

[[File:CG-48 firing.jpg|thumb|left|''Yorktown'' firing at a target drone during a gun exercise]]

In May 1997 ''Yorktown'' (with a reduced crew aboard) completed a five-month counter-narcotic deployment in the Caribbean followed by tests with {{USS|George Washington|CVN-73|2}} and her accompanying [[Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2]]. During these periods Navy Manpower and Analysis Center (NAVMAC) conducted a detailed review of manpower requirements, and the [[Operational Test and Evaluation Force]] verified the ship's ability to meet all required operational capabilities in the projected operating environment doctrine for ''Ticonderoga''-class cruisers.

On 21 September 1997, a [[division by zero]] error on board the ''Yorktown'' ''Remote Data Base Manager'' brought down all the machines on the network, causing the ship's propulsion system to fail.<ref name="wirednews">{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/1998/07/sunk-by-windows-nt/|title=Sunk by Windows NT|work=[[Wired News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230163646/https://www.wired.com/1998/07/sunk-by-windows-nt/|archive-date=30 December 2022|date=1998-07-24|first1=Michael |last1=Stutz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~wkahan/Boulder.pdf#page=54|title=Desperately Needed Remedies for the Undebuggability of Large Floating-Point Computations in Science and Engineering|author=William Kahan|date=14 October 2011|page=54}}</ref>

On 25 September 1999 ''Yorktown'' departed Pascagoula for a four-month counter-narcotic deployment in the Caribbean. Before beginning patrolling efforts, ''Yorktown'' embarked staff members from Commander, [[United States Second Fleet|Second Fleet]]. Supported by the helicopter detachment, the Second Fleet staff surveyed and photographed another island being considered as a potential replacement for training exercises if the Navy was unable to continue at [[Vieques Island]], [[Puerto Rico]]. The ship made port calls in [[Jamaica]], [[Aruba]], [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]], [[Rodman, Panama|Rodman]], [[Manta, Ecuador|Manta]] and [[Cozumel]].  During this deployment, ''Yorktown'' was the last U.S. warship to transit the Panama Canal prior to it being turned over to Panama.

==Fate==
[[File:Annabelle Pulls Yorktown.png|thumb|''Yorktown'' being removed from the basin at the Philadelphia NISMF on 16 September 2022.]]
''Yorktown'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 10 December 2004. As of 2008, she was scheduled to be dismantled in the next five years along with her sisterships {{USS|Vincennes|CG-49|2}} and {{USS|Thomas S. Gates|CG-51|2}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/02/navy_shipdisposal_080223w/|title=Navy sink list includes Forrestal, destroyers|publisher=NavyTimes|access-date=2011-02-12}}</ref> Since her decommissioning, ''Yorktown'' has been berthed at the [[Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/TeamShips/SEA21/InactiveShips/InactiveShipInventory-27Sep16(3).pdf|title= Inactive ship inventory|publisher= NAVSEA, US Navy|date= 27 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915051633/http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/TeamShips/SEA21/InactiveShips/InactiveShipInventory-27Sep16(3).pdf|archive-date=15 September 2021}}</ref>

On 16 September 2022, ''Yorktown'' was removed from the Philadelphia NIMSF and began her journey to [[Brownsville, Texas]], where she will be scrapped.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGlkz0UrCn0|title=USS Yorktown CG-48 (decommissioned) under tow 09/16/2022|date=18 September 2022|via=YouTube}}</ref> She arrived in Brownsville on 29 November 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-29 |title=Decommissioned USS Yorktown arrives for recycling in Rio Grande Valley |url=https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/decommissioned-uss-yorktown-arrives-for-recycling-in-rio-grande-valley/ |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=KVEO-TV |language=en-US |archive-date=29 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129194957/https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/decommissioned-uss-yorktown-arrives-for-recycling-in-rio-grande-valley/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Smart ship testbed ==
From 1996 ''Yorktown'' was used as the testbed for the Navy's Smart Ship program.  The ship was equipped with a network of 27 dual 200&nbsp;MHz [[Pentium Pro]]-based machines running [[Windows NT 4.0]] communicating over fiber-optic cable with a Pentium Pro-based server.  This network was responsible for running the integrated control center on the bridge, monitoring condition assessment, damage control, machinery control and fuel control, monitoring the engines and navigating the ship.  This system was predicted to save $2.8 million per year by reducing the ship's complement by 10%.

On 21 September 1997, while on maneuvers off the coast of [[Cape Charles, Virginia]], a crew member entered a zero into a database field causing an attempted [[division by zero]] in the ship's Remote Data Base Manager, resulting in a [[buffer overflow]] which brought down all the machines on the network, causing the ship's propulsion system to fail.<ref name="wirednews" />

Anthony DiGiorgio, a civilian contractor with a 26-year history of working on Navy control systems, reported in 1998 that ''Yorktown'' had to be towed back to [[Norfolk Naval Station]]. Ron Redman, a deputy technical director with the Aegis Program Executive Office, backed up this claim, suggesting that such system failures had required ''Yorktown'' to be towed back to port several times.<ref name="GCN">{{cite web|url=http://gcn.com/Articles/1998/07/13/Software-glitches-leave-Navy-Smart-Ship-dead-in-the-water.aspx|title=Software glitches leave Navy Smart Ship dead in the water|last=Slabodkin|first=Gregory|date=13 July 1998|work=Government Computer News|access-date=2009-06-18|archive-date=20 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120174223/http://gcn.com/Articles/1998/07/13/Software-glitches-leave-Navy-Smart-Ship-dead-in-the-water.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 3 August 1998 issue of ''Government Computer News'', a retraction by DiGiorgio was published. He claims the reporter altered his statements, and insists that he did not claim the ''Yorktown'' was towed into Norfolk. ''GCN'' stands by its story.<ref name="DiGiorgio">{{cite web|url=http://gcn.com/articles/1998/08/03/letters-to-the-editor_633659319144171960.aspx|title=Letters to the Editor: DiGiorgio denies reported statements|last=DiGiorgio|first=Anthony|date=3 August 1998|work=Government Computer News|access-date=2009-06-18}}</ref>

Atlantic Fleet officials also denied the towing, reporting that ''Yorktown'' was "dead in the water" for just 2&nbsp;hours and 45&nbsp;minutes.<ref name="GCN" /> Captain Richard Rushton, commanding officer of ''Yorktown'' at the time of the incident, also denied that the ship had to be towed back to port, stating that the ship returned under its own power.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gcn.com/Articles/1998/08/31/Smart-Ship-inquiry-a-go.aspx?p=1|title=Smart Ship inquiry a go|last=Slabodkin|first=Gregory|date=31 August 1998|work=Government Computer News|access-date=2009-06-18}}</ref>

Atlantic Fleet officials acknowledged that the Yorktown experienced what they termed "an engineering local area network casualty".<ref name="GCN" /> "We are putting equipment in the engine room that we cannot maintain and, when it fails, results in a critical failure," DiGiorgio said.<ref name="GCN" />

Criticism of operating system choice ensued. Ron Redman, deputy technical director of the Fleet Introduction Division of the Aegis Program Executive Office, said that there have been numerous software failures associated with NT aboard the Yorktown.<ref name="GCN" />

{{quotation|Because of politics, some things are being forced on us that without political pressure we might not do, like Windows NT. If it were up to me I probably would not have used Windows NT in this particular application ... Refining that is an ongoing process ... [[Unix]] is a better system for control of equipment and machinery, whereas NT is a better system for the transfer of information and data. NT has never been fully refined and there are times when we have had shutdowns that resulted from NT.|Ron Redman<ref name="GCN" />}}

==Awards==
* 3x [[Joint Meritorious Unit Award]]s – (02-30 Nov 1990, 05-16 Apr 1991, 1997)(1 for [[Operation Fiery Vigil]])<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 4x [[Navy Unit Commendation]]s<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 1x [[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]s (as a unit of Mediterranean Carrier Battle Group 3-91)<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 7x [[Navy E Ribbon|Battle Efficiency (Navy E) Ribbons]] – (1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002)<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 1x [[Navy Expeditionary Medal]]<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 2x [[National Defense Service Medal]]
* 1x [[Humanitarian Service Medal]] – (Sep-Oct 1998)(as element of Navy Construction Battalion Center Gulfport 20th Naval Construction Regiment)<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 1x [[Armed Forces Service Medal]]<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* 2x Coast Guard [[Special Operations Service Ribbon]] – (1990, 2002)<ref name="NAVSEA DOI" />
* [[Sea Service Deployment Ribbon]] (multiple awards)
* [[Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award]] – (1992)
* James F. Chezek Memorial Gunnery Award – (1987)
* "Old Crow's" award for Electronic Warfare excellence – (1991)

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=Joint Meritorious Unit Award-3d.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=U.S. Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
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|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Battle Effectiveness Award ribbon, 4th award.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National_Defense_Service_Medal_ribbon, 2nd_award.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Humanitarian Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed_Forces_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=U.S. Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|}

==See also==
* [[List of software bugs]]
* [[Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility]]

==Notes==
{{Naval Vessel Register|hull=CG-48}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Yorktown (CG-48)}}
* [http://www.navysite.de/cg/cg48.html USS ''Yorktown'' webpage]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050214070147/http://www.gcn.com/17_17/news/33727-1.html Software glitches leave Navy Smart Ship dead in the water] from Government Computer News
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154529/http://www.gcn.com/print/17_20/33292-1.html DiGiorgio denies reported statements] from Government Computer News
* [http://www.gcn.com/17_23/news/33541-1.html Smart Ship inquiry a go] from Government Computer News
* [http://gcn.com/articles/1998/11/09/navy-calibration-flaw-crashed-yorktown-lan.aspx?sc_lang=en Navy: Calibration flaw crashed Yorktown LAN] from Government Computer News
* [http://www.gcn.com/17_31/news/34014-1.html It's a smart lesson] from Government Computer News
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050209233935/http://www.gcn.com/17_32/news/33639-1.html Control-system designers say newer version could have prevented LAN crash] from Government Computer News
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050318191456/http://www.combatindex.com/hardware/detail/sea/cg48_detail.html Ship History and selected pictures]
* [http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0024SN OT: Software glitches leave Navy Smart Ship dead in the water]

{{Ticonderoga class cruiser}}
{{1986 shipwrecks}}
{{1988 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorktown (CG-48)}}
[[Category:1983 ships]]
[[Category:Cold War cruisers of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1986]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1988]]
[[Category:Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Ticonderoga-class cruisers]]