USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) is a decommissioned Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy constructed by Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi and launched on 11 March 1985.
The Ticonderoga-class cruisers are equipped with the Aegis Combat System and Bunker Hill was the first of the class to be equipped with the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) in place of the previous ships' twin-arm Mark 26 missile launchers, which greatly improved the flexibility and firepower of the ships by allowing them to fire BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for land attack missions.
After commissioning in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Bunker Hill entered the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal and began short notice work-ups to deploy to the U.S.
[1] Following an upkeep period at Subic Bay in the Philippines, Bunker Hill became Anti-Air Warfare Coordinator for Battle Group Sierra (TG 70.10), now en route to the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman.
During the deployment she provided an anti-air warfare umbrella inside the Persian Gulf for Missouri and other US-flagged tankers and ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
In August 1988, Bunker Hill's homeport was shifted from San Diego to Yokosuka, Japan joining the Midway Carrier Battle Group.
She again participated in Operation Southern Watch and conducted boardings and inspections of over 40 merchant vessels in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.
Bunker Hill also escorted the Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) while conducting humanitarian operations off East Timor and training exercises in Kuwait.
On 22 October 2012, Bunker Hill began a five-month Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) maintenance period at the BAE Systems Inc. shipyard in San Diego, California.
In October 2017, Bunker Hill deployed from San Diego as part of Carrier Strike Group Nine to the Western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf.