About

Ship's Crest

Crest: The crest's gold star, the modern symbol of command at sea, reflects the inspirational leadership and professionalism of the officers who commanded the Little Beavers at Cape St. George. A stylized black demi-array, which recalls the nighttime engagement and represents the capabilities of the AEGIS Weapons System, serves as the background for a dragon, symbolizing Japan and also recalling St. George. The crossed enlisted cutlass and officers sword signify the strength, readiness, and teamwork necessary to achieve victory, and the professionalism of today's Surface Warriors. They are intertwined in a ribbon in the colors of the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to Arleigh Burke's Little Beavers. Silver and gold symbolize integrity and excellence.

Shield: The shield contains the azure and gold colors traditionally associated with the Navy, while the cross refers to St. George. The trident symbolizes Naval power and CAPE ST. GEORGE's capability to fight above, on and below the sea. It is surmounted by three Indian arrows which recall the nickname "Little Beavers" by which DESRON 23 became known. These arrows symbolize the three Japanese ships sunk during the battle. Emblazoned with a torpedo, the weapon employed so effectively by the Little Beavers during the battle, and a Tomahawk cruise missile, the shield reflects the weapons of the past and present.

History:

USS CAPE ST. GEORGE commemorates the battle fought in the South Pacific off the island of New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago on 25 November 1943. Naval intelligence suspected that the Japanese would attempt to resupply or evacuate their forces on Bougainville and Buka Islands to their base at Rabaul. Anticipating their move, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey gave Captain (later Admiral) Arleigh Burke, the Commander of DESRON 23, the following orders: "Thirty-One Knot Burke, get athwart the Buka-Rabaul evacuation line...if enemy contacted, you know what to do. "During this early morning action, five destroyers of DESRON 23, the Little Beavers, sank three of five Japanese destroyers involved in the engagement, and severely damaged a fourth, without damage to any of Burke's ships.

About the Ship:

Modern U.S. Navy guided missile cruisers perform primarily in a Battle Force role. These ships are multi-mission [Air Warfare (AW), Undersea Warfare (USW), Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) and Surface Warfare (SUW)] surface combatants capable of supporting carrier battle groups, amphibious forces, or of operating independently and as flagships of surface action groups. Cruisers are equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles giving them additional long range Strike Warfare (STRW) capability. Some Aegis Cruisers have been outfitted with a Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capability.

 

USS CAPE ST GEORGE (CG-71) SPECIFICATIONS
Length	567 Feet
Beam	55 Feet
Draft	33 Feet
Displacement	9600 tons
Speed	30 plus knots
Aircraft	Two SH-60 Seahawk (LAMPS III)
Propulsion	4 General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines; 2 shafts, 80,000 shaft horsepower total
Crew	24 Officers, 340 Enlisted
Hull	Steel hull, aluminum superstructure
Armament	MK41 vertical launching system Standard Missile (MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) Missile; Tomahawk Cruise Missile; Six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple mounts); Two MK 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight guns; Two Phalanx close-in-weapons systems

 

COMMISSIONED: 12 JUN 1993