Long Beach class cruiser

Long Beach-class guided missile cruiser

Class Overview
Class type:	Guided missile cruiser
Class name:	Long Beach, California
Preceded by:	Providence class cruiser
Succeeded by:	Albany class cruiser
Ships of the line:	Long Beach (CGN-9)

The Long Beach class cruiser is a single-ship class (sole member, USS Long Beach (CGN-9), ex-CGN-160, ex-CLGN-160) of the United States Navy. The class is noted as the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant, and the last cruiser built in the US Navy to a cruiser design; all subsequent cruiser classes were built on scaled-up destroyer hulls.

During the design phase, the only ship of the Long Beach class was initially classified as CLGN-160, then reclassified CGN-160 on 6 December 1956. The keel of the USS Long Beach was laid by Bethlehem Steel on 2 December 1957 at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. On 1 July 1958 she received her third and final classification, this time as CGN-9. The ship was launched on 14 July 1959 and commissioned on 9 September 1961. The Long Beach class under overhaul from 6 October 1980 until 26 March 1983. She was decommissioned on 1 May 1995 and her name stricken on 1 May 1995.

[edit] General Characteristics

Lead Ship: USS Long Beach (CGN-9)
Number of Ships: 1
Displacement: 15,025 tons
Length: 721 ft 3 in (219.8 m)
Beam: 73 ft 3 in (22.3 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Speed: 32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Propulsion: 2 C1W Westinghouse nuclear reactors, 2 screws
Performance: 80,000 SHP
Complement: 1,100 officers and enlisted
Armament: 1 × twin-rail Talos SAM launcher, 2 × twin-rail Terrier launcher, 2 × 5 in guns, 6 ASROCs.