USS Hué City (CG-66)

USS Hué City

USS Hué City (CG-66) in April 2007.
History
United States
Name:	USS Hué City
Namesake:	Battle of Hue
Operator:	United States Navy
Ordered:	16 April 1987
Builder:	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down:	20 February 1989
Launched:	1 June 1990
Acquired:	28 June 1991
Commissioned:	14 September 1991
Homeport:	Mayport, Florida
Motto:	Fidelity, Courage, Honor
Status:	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ticonderoga-class cruiser
Displacement:	Approx. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full load
Length:	567 feet (173 m)
Beam:	55 feet (16.8 meters)
Draft:	34 feet (10.2 meters)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines, 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW) 2 × controllable-reversible pitch propellers 2 × rudders
Speed:	32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Complement:	33 officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers, and approx. 340 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPY-1A/B multi-function radar AN/SPS-49 air search radar AN/SPG-62 fire control radar AN/SPS-73 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite AN/SQQ-89(V)1/3 - A(V)15 Sonar suite, consisting of: AN/SQS-53B/C/D active sonar AN/SQR-19 TACTAS, AN/SQR-19B ITASS, & MFTA passive sonar AN/SQQ-28 light airborne multi-purpose system
Armament:	2 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems containing 122 × mix of: RIM-66M-5 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB RIM-156A SM-2ER Block IV RIM-161 SM-3 RIM-162A ESSM RIM-174A Standard ERAM BGM-109 Tomahawk RUM-139A VL-ASROC 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles 2 × Mk 45 Mod 2 5-in/54-cal lightweight gun 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 gun 2–4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun 2 × Phalanx CIWS Block 1B 2 × Mk 32 12.75-in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes for lightweight torpedoes
Aircraft carried:	2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.

USS Hué City (CG-66) is a Ticonderoga class-guided-missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. She is named for the Battle of Hue, fought in the city during the Tet Offensive 1968 by the 1st Marine Regiment (composed of 1st Battalion/1st Marines, 1st Battalion/5th Marines, 2nd Battalion/5th Marines and attached units) during the Vietnam War. The three battalion commanders were the honored guests at her 1991 commissioning.

Hué City is the only U.S. Navy ship named after a battle in the Vietnam War, although it had been planned to name LHA-5 as USS Khe Sanh after the Battle of Khe Sanh, but that ship was commissioned in 1976 as USS Peleliu. As the only U.S. warship named for a battle that took place during the Vietnam War, Hué City has had the opportunity to reach out to the veterans of the battle for which she is named. She has done so frequently by holding a Memorial for the Battle of Hué annually every year the ship's schedule permits. The Memorial has served as a great opportunity for veterans to re-unite, meet the crew, and honor their fallen comrades.

Hué City was ordered 16 April 1987 and laid down 20 February 1989 at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi. Hué City was commissioned 14 September 1991, Captain Thomas Irvin Eubanks in command.

Hué City sailed on 11 March 1993 for her maiden Deployment to the Mediterranean Sea as Air Warfare Commander for the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) battle group. Principally operating in the Adriatic Sea, Hué City developed the air picture and transmitted it to command centers afloat and shore. Hué City also monitored the safety of United Nations relief flights to Bosnia, ensuring Serbian aircraft did not violate no-fly zones.