Mobile Bay (CG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

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TABLE OF CONTENTS BATTLE HISTORY COMMANDING OFFICER EXECUTIVE OP? ii: • iMMANDMASTERl nil I- HANGEOB COMMAND CHANGING HOME PORTS PORT CALLS DESERT STORM THE CALM CROSSING THE LINE PORT CALLS HOMECOMING AWARDS STATISTICS THE GREW COMBAT SYSTEMS EN( 1LNEERING OPERATIONS SUPPLY NAV ADM IN- AIR SHIPS LIFE PACE COURSES RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES OMBUDSMAN CLOSING TFULL SPEED AHEAD

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USS MOBILE BAY is the seventh ship of the TICONDEROGA Class of cruisers. Her primary mission is to provide Anti-Air defense for a carrier battle group, however she is equally capable of Strike Warfare, Naval Gun- fire Support, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Anti-Surface Warfare. To support her many missions, MOBILE BAY is equipped with the Aegis Weapons System and the Vertical Launching System (VLS). Together, these two systems combine to form the world ' s most advanced combat sys- tem, capable of tracking hundreds of targets, and firing more missiles with greater accuracy than any existing sys- tem. MOBILE BAY ' S weapons include SM-2 Block II surface-to-air missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles, 5754 caliber guns, Vulcan Phalanx Close-in-Weapon System, torpedoes. MOBILE BAY is also capable of carrying two SH-60B LAMPS (Light Airborne Multipurpose System ) MK III helicopters. MOBILE BAY was built by Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi and was commissioned on 21 February 1987. She is homeported in Yokosuka. Japan as a part of

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Battle For The Bay MOBILE BAY ukc» Ini name Imin the famous Civil Wai naval battle twecn l nion forces under the command ol Reai Admiral David Far- gut, .mil Confederate forces under the command ol Admiral Franklin K hanan. s Freedom ' s Flagship, MOBILE BAY proudly carries on c tradition ol |).in iotism and courage displayed In I he ships and i rews in is histoi u I). uiU-. Ii 1864, Mobile, Alabama, was the last Gull Coast port ol major signifi- mce still remaining in ( onfcdcraie hands. The onh entrance lo Mobile ,iv was ,i i flannel running between Forts Morgan and Gaines, reduced to width ol 1 i 11 yards by ( onledei.ue mines and obsitui lions. Such South- •n strategy forced Vdmiral Farragut to place his eighteen ship force with- -.is range ol Fori Morgan ' s heavy guns. Embarked in the flagship LARTFORD |usi outside Mobile Bay, Farragul scrutinized the forts and lu i bay defenses, sending in small boats by night to chart obstructions id minis Admiral Buchanan, the ranking officer ol the Confederate Navy, was dered to Mobile from Hampton Roads, Virginia, following his battle lh the MONITOR. He began to liantiialh work to organize .1 Heel ill ipes ol countering the imminent Union attack. The monitor TEN- ESSEE had been floated down rivei lo receive hei armor. Along with her me the three small, wooden gunboats MORGAN. GAINES, and SELMA. his group ol fout onfederate ships w.is .ill thai stood between the nion Meet .ind the port ol Mobil, Ihiongb the gauntlet ol Morgan and Gaines the two old shipmates .mil ,ii c.k h othei On the morning ol August 5, 1864, the sun rose bright and hot Mobil- es were .it then breakfasts ol commeal battercakes when the liist strokes tin- deep-toned old Guard House bell rang out. I he market bell then 10k up the tolling, followed b the gn.u bell ol the Cathedral. In five mutes, every bell in Mobil, ».,s pealing strokes ol alarm At the mouth ol the bay was .i spec tai le ol breathtaking magnifii en i ashed togethei b twos, wreathed in smoke from watei to m.isi top, .■Idling flame and thundei from two hundred guns, the Federal Qeei w.is inning the gauntlet between Morgan and laines Eighteen ships emu- on, in deadly determination I In fori opened lite ih .ill us guns, and the bay churned, Flames shot across the wati r, and noke boiled up. .is 1 1 from .i volcano fhirty miles away ai Mobile, the n ol the cannon could be heard Masts and rigging crashed upon the ill still tin fleeti .line on in steadi lini i rashed upon the dei ks, bui still the fleet came on in steady line. Abreast ol the fort, the monitor TECUMSEH veered from hei course and dashed at the TENNESSEE. She strut k .1 torpedo, and .i iciiifn explo- sion lose above the din ol the battle. For .i moment, hei s, rew revolved in the an and then she was gone, 1 he battle line broke, and ships bat ked up upon one .mother. With file from Fori Morgan raining upon them, they tangled in I he ( hannel. 1 hen Farragut, lashed in the rigging of the HART- FORD, damned the torpedoes and moved into the bay at lull speed. The TENNESSEE and her three tiny gunboats moved down to meet them, twentv guns against ne.i rU two hundred, and four ships againsl sev- enteen. The MORGAN, GAINES, and SELMA were put out ol the way almost immediately. Now u w.is si guns against nearlv two hundred, and the TENNESSEE stood alone against the enure Kedei al licet For two hours Farragut ' s ships milled about the greal ironclad, firing broadsides into her and ramming her with their prows. At times, she reeled undci the impact ol two blows .tt once, spinning dizzth and hurling her crew about the gun deck. Bolts thai held the plating were stripped by the coin ussion. and I lie nuts ricocheted within the ship. The Steel ing g at and smokcst.uk were shot ,iw.i and, at last, she lay helpless and choked with suffocating coal fumes. It was onh then thai the wounded Buchanan g.iw the order foi sui icihIci . As TENNESSEE ' S colors came down, one ■ ( the most importan t battles m the Civil Wai ended. I In ironclad had been defeated, but it had stood oil .i licet foi two 1 1 ou is Buchanan went to Pensacola, Florida, .is a prison- ii bui Ins ac Hon in Mobile Bay spelled the beginning ol the end foi W 1- en warships. With the Federal licet inside the Bay, Foi is Morgan and t Raines wen- iso- lated 1 loops were landed on Dauphin Island behind Lames, and on Mobile Point behind Morgan From land and sea .i bombardment began. t laines was surrendered the day aftei the naval battle, while Morgan held oui foi eighteen mote days undei fire. President Lincoln gave thanks i Vdmiral Farragul and Ins men foi then pari in tin battle In theii honor, a 100-gun salute was fired from every Navy yard and arsenal in the I nited States to Farragul went the supreme hono r, as he was named the Brsi lull admiral in tin I nited Mans Navy I cm by Mi aldwell Delaney Museum Direi toi ( in Ol Mobile