USS Long Beach (CGN-9)

USS Long Beach (CGN-9)
Ship name	USS Long Beach (CGN-9)
Ship country	United States
Ship builder	New York Shipbuilding Corporation
Ship launched	1959
Ship commissioned	1961
Ship decommissioned	1995
Ship class	Nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser
Ship displacement	30,000 long tons (full load)
Ship length	721 ft
Ship beam	92 ft
Ship propulsion	Nuclear reactors (2 × D2G)
Ship speed	30+ kn
Ship armament	Terrier/Tartar missile systems, ASROC, Tomahawk (later), 5-inch guns

USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was the United States Navy's first nuclear-powered surface combatant and at commissioning the longest surface combatant of its era. She combined nuclear propulsion with guided-missile armament to provide sustained high-speed escort and power-projection capabilities for carrier task forces and amphibious groups. Long Beach's design and operations influenced subsequent Virginia-class cruiser concepts, Cold War deployment patterns, and naval architecture for nuclear surface ships.

Design and Construction

Long Beach originated from post‑Korean War requirements for high-endurance escorts for United States Navy carrier battle groups and nuclear task forces. The project drew on experience from USS Nautilus (SSN-571), USS Enterprise (CVN-65), and contemporary studies by David Taylor Model Basin naval architects. Designed at Newport News Shipbuilding conceptually and laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, she embodied novel features including a continuous superstructure, an integrated radar and combat information center suite influenced by SPG-55 and AN/SPS-48 families, and space to accommodate future weapons systems such as RIM-2 Terrier and ASROC.

Her hull form and propulsion arrangement reflected lessons from Hyman G. Rickover advocacy for naval nuclear propulsion, using two D2G reactor plants that gave exceptional endurance compared with fossil-fueled cruisers like the Des Moines-class cruiser. Ship construction involved coordination with Bureau of Ships engineering standards and performance requirements set by the Chief of Naval Operations staff.

Service History

After commissioning in 1961, Long Beach joined Atlantic and Pacific fleets, operating alongside units such as USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Ranger (CV-61), and destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 23. Early deployments included NATO exercises with Standing Naval Force Atlantic and presence operations related to crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis aftermath and Mediterranean commitments to United States Sixth Fleet contingency operations during the Cold War.

Long Beach served as flagship for amphibious task groups and cruiser-destroyer flotillas, often operating from bases like Naval Station Norfolk, Naval Station San Diego, and Naval Station Pearl Harbor. Her deployments supported deterrence missions connected to events including tensions around Vietnam War hotspots, surveillance operations near Soviet Navy units, and multinational exercises with navies such as the Royal Navy, French Navy, and Royal Australian Navy.

Modernization and Upgrades

Throughout her career Long Beach underwent several overhauls directed by Naval Sea Systems Command programs. Mid‑career refits addressed missile electronics, fire-control integration with systems analogous to Aegis Combat System predecessors, and upgrades to accommodate BGM-109 Tomahawk capability studyings. Refurbishments at shipyards including Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Long Beach Naval Shipyard updated radar suites, combat data processing, and habitability to meet evolving standards from Naval Reactors oversight.

Hull and structural work responded to evolving treaty and safety regimes such as standards promulgated by Atomic Energy Commission successor protocols, while weapons yards retrofitted launchers and magazine handling to interface with newer ordnance used by Cruiser-Destroyer Group formations. Crew training adaptations tied to Naval Nuclear Propulsion credentials sustained reactor operations during extended deployments.

Notable Operations and Deployments

Long Beach participated in high-profile operations and routine power-projection cruises. She was present for Mediterranean task force operations supporting Six-Day War aftermath diplomatic presences, and later conducted carrier escort and surface surveillance in the Pacific during the Vietnam War era. Long Beach performed contingency deployments during Yom Kippur War tensions, enforced presence during Iran–Iraq War maritime incidents, and supported multinational operations alongside units such as USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS Coral Sea (CV-43), and allied carriers.

Notable moments included flag missions hosting commanders from United States Pacific Fleet, tracking interactions with Soviet Pacific Fleet surface action groups, and humanitarian or evacuation readiness procedures comparable to those in Operation Frequent Wind preparations. Long Beach also provided testbeds for advanced electronics correlation with platforms like USS Truxton (DLG-35) and doctrinal experiments conducted by Naval War College planners.

Decommissioning and Fate

Budgetary pressures and shifts in Goldwater-Nichols Act era defense priorities, combined with the high cost of nuclear refueling and modernization, led to Long Beach's deactivation planning in the early 1990s. Decommissioned in 1995 under guidance from Naval Sea Systems Command and processed by Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility procedures, she entered recycling programs administered in coordination with Department of Defense environmental directives and Nuclear Regulatory Commission-aligned protocols for reactor defueling.

Long Beach's hulk was eventually towed to ship disposal facilities where radioactive components were removed and recycled consistent with practices used for USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and other nuclear surface units. Her pioneering role influenced subsequent cruiser policy debates in United States Congress hearings on naval procurement, cost-effectiveness studies by Congressional Budget Office, and analyses at Center for Strategic and International Studies regarding nuclear propulsion in surface combatants.

Category:Cold War cruisers of the United States Category:United States Navy guided missile cruisers Category:Nuclear-powered surface combatants