USS Long Beach (CGN-9)

Long Beach was originally intended to be a smaller frigate, but was then redesigned and expanded to a cruiser hull, allowing for an open space just aft of the bridge "box". This open space was first planned to accommodate the mounting of a Regulus nuclear-armed cruise missile, but was then changed to four launch tubes for the Polaris missile. However, the space was eventually occupied by the 5"/38 caliber gun mounts and the ASROC system.[4] Long Beach was the last cruiser built with a World War II-era cruiser hull style,[5][6] as later new-build cruisers were built with different hull forms, such as the converted frigates Leahy (DLG-16), Bainbridge (DLGN-25), Belknap (DLG-26), Truxtun (DLGN-35), and the California and Virginia classes, or the Ticonderoga-class cruiser that was built on a Spruance-class destroyer hull.

The high box-like superstructure contained the SCANFAR system, consisting of the AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33 phased array radars. One of the reasons Long Beach was a single-ship class was because she was an experimental platform for these radars, which were precursors to the AN/SPY-1 phased array systems later installed on Aegis equipped Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Photos taken at her commissioning and for some time thereafter, show that the taller, narrower AN/SPS-33 panels were not installed on the superstructure until a later date. At the time, Long Beach had the highest bridge of any ship smaller than an aircraft carrier.

Artist's concept of nuclear powered cruiser design from 1956.

In addition to steel, Long Beach was built with 450 tons of structural aluminum.[7] Because of this unusually high quantity of aluminum, she was assigned the voice radio call sign "Alcoa".[7] The ship was propelled by two nuclear reactors, one for each propeller shaft, and was capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h). The ship was originally designed with "all-missile" armament, but was fitted with two 5"/38 caliber gun mounts amidships on the orders of President John F. Kennedy.

RIM-8 Talos missile launcher on USS Long Beach, July 1961

The original weapons suite consisted of:

• One rear Mk-12 launcher for the Talos long range surface-to-air missiles (SAM) with a range in excess of 80 nmi (150 km).
• Two forward Mk-10 launchers for the Terrier medium range SAMs with a range in excess of 30 miles (48 km).
• RUR-5 ASROC anti-submarine system capable of delivering a torpedo or depth charge at a range of 10,000 yd (9.1 km).
• Two triple 12.75 inch torpedo launchers that could fire the Mark 46 torpedo.
• Two 5"/38 caliber gun, capable of surface and shore bombardment to a range of 18,000 yd (16 km).

The ship went through several modifications by the time she was decommissioned. The final weapons suite consisted of:

• Two Mk-10 launchers for the Standard extended range missiles. These replaced the Terrier missiles.
• The rear launcher for the Talos was removed and initially replaced with two quadruple mounts for the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.
• Two Phalanx CIWS were added on the aft side of the aft mast.
• Two quadruple armored box launchers were added for the BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile. These were installed aft on the fantail, with the Harpoon launchers relocated to the aft mast.

The 5"/38 guns and the ASROC were retained, and several 12.7mm (50-cal) were installed as needed.

USS Long Beach, and USS Macdonough (far right), under construction at Fore River Shipyard, July 1959.

Long Beach was originally ordered as CLGN-160. She was reclassified CGN-160 in early 1957, but was again reclassified as CGN-9 on 1 July 1957. Her keel was laid down on 2 December 1957 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched 14 July 1959, sponsored by Mrs. Marian Swanson-Hosmer, the wife of Rear Admiral Craig Hosmer (USNR, Ret.), a Congressman from California, and commissioned on 9 September 1961.[8] At commissioning, the ship was reported to have cost $320 million ($3.13 billion today),[9] which was over budget from earlier estimates of $250 million.[10]

During construction in January 1960, it was widely reported that Long Beach was sabotaged when anti-mine (degaussing) electrical cables were found to have been intentionally cut in three places.[11] It was the second of three incidents at Fore River Shipyard at that time.[12]

Long Beach was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and home ported at Naval Station Norfolk. The guided‑missile cruiser conducted extensive shakedown testing of her complex weapons and propulsion systems from 2 October to 16 December 1961; her performance proved the nuclear cruiser a capable warship. Between 28 December and 6 January 1962 she conducted operational tests of her missiles off Puerto Rico, then sailed for Bremerhaven, Germany, arriving 15 January for courtesy calls in north European ports.[8]

Returning to Norfolk, Virginia 7 February 1962, Long Beach, trained off the east coast and in the Caribbean. On 10 April, she joined Atlantic Fleet as flagship for Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, for exercises off the coasts of U.S. states North Carolina and Virginia. She was reviewed by President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson during this time.[8]

Long Beach served in the Atlantic Fleet from her commissioning in 1961 until completing her first refueling in early 1966, when the cruiser was transferred from her home port of Norfolk to Naval Station Long Beach, California.

Artist's impression of Long Beach following conversion to Aegis cruiser.

There was originally a plan to fully upgrade Long Beach with an Aegis Combat System in the early 1990s, requiring that her superstructure be completely rebuilt. Due to cuts in the defense budget after the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the higher operating costs and number of crew required compared to conventionally powered ships, the decision was made to decommission all nuclear cruisers from the Navy as their reactor cores ran down. They would be replaced by the Ticonderoga (CG) and Arleigh Burke (DDG) classes, designed from the ground up with Aegis. The Long Beach had been refueled during her 1970, 1980, and 1992 refits. The decision was made to decommission her in 1994.

A deactivation ceremony occurred on 2 July 1994 at Norfolk Naval Station, and the ship was then towed over to Newport News Shipbuilding where her entire superstructure was removed and her reactors were defueled. After this work was completed in the winter of 1995 the hull was towed through the Panama Canal to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Long Beach was stricken on 1 May 1995, more than 33 years after she had entered service. On 13 July 2012, Long Beach was sold at auction,[6] for recycling, as prescribed for nuclear-powered vessels by Code 350, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. As of May 2018, the inactivated ship's hull and reactor compartments largely remained in long-term storage there.[20]

A crew member aboard the USS Long Beach may have been exposed to abnormal levels of radiation in 1963,[21] and the ship was leaking radioactive coolant in 1991. At that time, four crew members alleged that the ship's reactor was unsafe and that crew working around it had been exposed to unsafe levels of radiation.[22]

Aerial view of Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock on the James River in Norfolk, Va. 17 October 1994. In drydock No. 11 is USNS Gilliland (T-AKR-298) prior to roll-on/roll-off ship conversion. In the drydock to the right of AKR-298 is Long Beach undergoing deactivation.

Hull of Long Beach sitting in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard awaiting recycling in March 2011. Picture taken from top of hill in Port Orchard looking north across the water to the shipyard.

• 2 December 1957 – Keel laid in Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts.[8]
• 14 July 1959 – launching; Mrs. Craig Hosmer christened the ship as her sponsor.[8]
• 5 July 1961 – Long Beach underway for the first time using her own nuclear power.[18]
• 9 September 1961 – Long Beach is commissioned as the first nuclear-powered surface vessel at the Boston Naval Shipyard.[8]
• 2 October 1961 – Change of Home port to Norfolk, Virginia.
• 6 August 1963 – First deployment to the Mediterranean.[8]
• 28 April 1964 – Second deployment to the Mediterranean for "Nuclear Task Force One".[8]
• 15 March 1966 – Long Beach and City of Long Beach, California[8][18] unite for first time.
• 7 November 1966 – First West Pacific deployment.[8]
• 1 May 1967 – Deployed to Gulf of Tonkin.
• 9 December 1967 – Present at Long Beach to welcome RMS Queen Mary on her first call ever to her new home port.
• 15 April 1968 – Second West Pacific deployment.[8]
• 11 August 1969 – Third West Pacific deployment.
• March 1970 – Overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California.[18]
• 1 July 1970 – Long Beach begins refueling at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
• 28 March 1972 – Fourth West Pacific deployment.[18]
• 1 May 1973 – Fifth West Pacific deployment.
• 7 November 1974 – Sixth West Pacific deployment.
• 7 June 1975 – Change of homeport to San Diego, Ca.[18]
• 15 September 1976 – Seventh West Pacific deployment.
• 4 April 1978 – Eighth West Pacific deployment.
• 7 January 1980 – Ninth West Pacific deployment.[18]
• 6 October 1980 – Begins Comprehensive Overhaul, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.[18]
• 13 January 1984 – 10th West Pacific deployment.[18]
• 9 January 1985 – Selected Restricted Availability at Bremerton, Washington.[18]
• 13 May 1986 – 11th West Pacific deployment.
• 25 July 1987 – 12th West Pacific deployment.
• 19 October 1987 – Participated in Kuwaiti tanker reflagging and provided anti-aircraft cover during Operation Nimble Archer.
• 13 October 1988 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ship Visit.
• 18 September 1989 – 13th West Pacific deployment/world cruise.
• 28 May 1991 – 14th West Pacific deployment in support of Operation Provide Comfort.
• 8 April 1992 – Comprehensive overhaul, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
• 12 May 1993 – Underway Counter Narcotics Patrol, Central America.
• 8 November 1993 – Underway Counter Narcotics Patrol, Caribbean.
• 6 May 1994 – Change of homeport to Norfolk, Virginia.
• 2 July 1994 – Deactivation ceremony, Norfolk Naval Station.
• Sept 2002 – Removal of superstructure, nuclear fuel removed. As of May 2018, a 423 foot section of the propulsion block remains at PSNS.
• Oct 2012 - Auctioned off and sold for scrapping [23]

• List of cruisers of the United States Navy
• Nuclear-powered cruisers of the United States Navy

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Long Beach (CGN-9).

• "USS Long Beach Reunion Web Page". usslongbeach-assoc.org.
• "USS Long Beach". NavySite.de.
• "USS Long Beach". NavSource.org.