USS Vincennes (CG-49)

The USS Vincennes (CG-49) was a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy. She was commissioned on July 6, 1985, and decommissioned on June 29, 2005. She was named after the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes and was the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name.

Vincennes was equipped with the Aegis Combat System, a sophisticated radar and weapon control system. Her primary mission was to provide air defense for carrier battle groups and amphibious task forces, but she was also capable of surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and strike warfare.

During her career, Vincennes participated in several deployments, including operations in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. The ship is most notably remembered for the July 3, 1988, incident in which she shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in the deaths of all 290 passengers and crew on board the Iranian Airbus A300. The U.S. Navy report attributed the incident to human error and equipment malfunction under conditions of intense stress during what was perceived to be a hostile encounter. The incident remains controversial. Following decommissioning, Vincennes was scrapped in 2011.