USS England CG 22 – History of the U.S. Navy's Guided Missile Cruiser & Navy Decals

USS England CG 22 – History, Service Record & Navy Decals

The USS England (CG-22) was the seventh ship of the Leahy class of guided missile cruisers — the U.S. Navy's first purpose-built guided missile cruiser class — serving the Pacific Fleet through three decades of Cold War service. Named in honor of Ensign John Charles England, USN — a young naval officer killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 — and carrying forward the extraordinary combat legacy of the original USS England (DE-635), one of the most celebrated anti-submarine warfare ships in the history of the United States Navy.

Ensign John Charles England was a 21-year-old naval officer aboard USS Oklahoma when Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. Oklahoma was struck by multiple torpedoes in the opening minutes of the attack, capsized, and sank with 429 men trapped below decks — one of the greatest losses of life of any single ship at Pearl Harbor. Ensign England was among those who perished. His sacrifice, and the sacrifice of his shipmates aboard Oklahoma, represented exactly the kind of loss that the nation went to war to avenge — and the destroyer escort named for him went on to avenge it in one of the most remarkable anti-submarine warfare achievements in naval history.

The original USS England (DE-635), commissioned in 1944, accomplished something that no other warship in American naval history has ever matched: she sank six Japanese submarines in twelve days — May 19 through May 31, 1944 — in the waters of the Western Pacific. Operating as part of a hunter-killer group in the waters north of the Admiralty Islands, England used her Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar to destroy six Japanese submarines in succession, one after another, as the Japanese sent them in an attempt to establish a scouting line ahead of what became the Battle of the Philippine Sea. No other warship in history has ever sunk six submarines in so short a time. Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet, signaled: “There will always be an England in the United States Navy.” USS England CG-22 was the fulfillment of that promise.

Keel, Launch & Commissioning

England's keel was laid down on October 4, 1960, at the Todd Shipyards Corporation in San Pedro, California. She was launched on March 6, 1962, and commissioned into the U.S. Navy on December 7, 1963 — the 22nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that claimed Ensign England's life — under hull designation CG-22 (originally designated DLG-22, reclassified as CG-22 in 1975). Her commissioning date was chosen deliberately to honor the memory of Ensign England and all those lost at Pearl Harbor on that December morning in 1941.

Class & Design

USS England was one of nine Leahy-class guided missile cruisers — the Navy's first purpose-built guided missile cruiser class, designed to provide area air defense for carrier strike groups. At approximately 533 feet in length and displacing approximately 8,200 tons fully loaded, she carried the twin-arm Terrier surface-to-air missile systems fore and aft, the ASROC anti-submarine rocket system, and torpedo tubes. Like her sisters, she was later upgraded with the Standard Missile system and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, maintaining her capabilities through the Cold War's final decades. Fittingly for a ship carrying England's name, her ASROC anti-submarine warfare capability honored the original England's legendary submarine-hunting legacy.

Cold War Pacific Fleet Service

Commissioned on December 7, 1963 — Pearl Harbor Day — USS England was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, homeported on the West Coast and deploying repeatedly to the Western Pacific throughout her Cold War career. She served as an escort for carrier battle groups and conducted the full range of Pacific Fleet operations across three decades of Cold War service, including Vietnam War deployments to the Western Pacific and Gulf of Tonkin.

As a Pacific Fleet guided missile cruiser, England operated at the forward edge of American naval power in the Pacific — the ocean where Ensign John England had died at Pearl Harbor, where the original USS England had destroyed six submarines in twelve days, and where the Cold War's most consequential naval competition with the Soviet Pacific Fleet was playing out across the same waters. There was a profound fitness in the fact that the ship named for a Pearl Harbor sailor served her entire career in the Pacific, keeping faith with the memory of those lost on December 7, 1941.

Decommissioning

USS England was decommissioned on September 27, 1994, after nearly 31 years of commissioned service — a career spanning from Pearl Harbor Day 1963 through the end of the Cold War, honoring the memory of Ensign England through every year of distinguished Pacific Fleet service.

Legacy

For the sailors who served aboard England — the missile technicians, sonar operators, electronics warfare specialists, and surface warfare professionals who kept this Pacific Fleet guided missile cruiser operational and ready through nearly 31 years of Cold War service — she represents a career of exceptional dedication to American naval power and to the memory of those who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor. Admiral King promised there would always be an England in the United States Navy — and USS England CG-22, commissioned on Pearl Harbor Day and serving the Pacific Fleet for 31 years, kept that promise with distinction.

Shop USS England CG 22 Navy Gifts & Decals

Honor your service or give a meaningful gift to a USS England veteran with our full line of USS England CG 22 products:

• USS England CG 22 Aluminum License Plate — Show your Navy pride on the road.
• USS England CG 22 License Plate U.S. Flag — A patriotic twist on the classic plate.
• USS England CG 22 Aluminum Rating License Plate — Display your rating with pride.
• USS England CG 22 Vinyl Window Decal Two Color — A bold, two-color decal for any vehicle.
• USS England CG 22 Vinyl Silhouette Decal 11.75" x 28" — A striking large-format silhouette decal for trucks and RVs.
• USS England CG 22 License Plate Frame (Metal or Plastic) — Pair with your license plate for a complete look.
• USS England CG 22 License Plate Frame All-State Metal — Heavy-duty metal frame built to last.
• USS England CG 22 Motorcycle License Plate Frame — For the veteran who rides.
• USS England CG 22 Parking Sign Blue/White — Reserve your spot in style.
• USS England CG 22 Parking Sign Red/White — Another great option for the garage or driveway.

All products ship from the USA. Custom options available — contact us for details.