The Belknap-class cruiser was a class of single-ended guided-missile cruisers (their missile armament was installed only forward, unlike "double-ended" missile cruisers with missile armament installed both forward and aft) built for the United States Navy during the 1960s. They were originally designated as DLG frigates (destroyer leaders; the USN use of the term frigate from 1950 to 1975 was intended to evoke the power of the sailing frigates of old), but in the 1975 fleet realignment, they were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG).
When commissioned, the main armament of the Belknap class was a 5-inch/54-caliber Mk. 42 gun on the quarterdeck and a twin-rail RIM-2 Terrier Mk 10 Missile Launcher on the foredeck.[1] The Mk 10 Mod 7 launchers in this class were also capable of launching RUR-5 ASROC to eliminate need for a separate Mk 112 ASROC launcher.[2] These were unofficially spoken of as Ter/AS (tear-ass) launchers. The class was also equipped with two twin 3"/50 caliber guns for defence against sub-sonic aircraft.[3] In the early 1980s, the Terrier missiles were replaced with RIM-67 Standard missiles; and during the NTU program in the late 1980s and early 1990s the class had its Standard SM-1 system upgraded to utilize SM-2ER Block II, the 3-inch guns were replaced with two 4 cell Harpoon Surface-to-surface missile launchers, and two Phalanx CIWS systems were installed.[3]
The derivative USS Truxtun shared the weapons systems outfit of the Belknap class, but was nuclear-powered, larger and substantially unrelated in design (for example, many weapons systems in different locations, such as the aft-facing GMLS). Most information related to nuclear cruisers is still classified, but Truxtun appears to be more a Belknap-like derivative of the nuclear cruiser Bainbridge than the other way around.[1]
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belknap-class conventional cruiser | ||||||||
| CG-26 | Bath Iron Works, Bath | 5 February 1962 | 20 July 1963 | 7 November 1964 | 15 February 1995 | Sunk as target, 24 September 1998 | ||
| CG-27 | 23 April 1962 | 2 December 1963 | 8 May 1965 | 21 January 1994 | Broken up at Brownsville, 1999 | |||
| CG-28 | 2 July 1962 | 25 April 1965 | 8 January 1966 | 15 November 1993 | Sunk as target, 12 June 2002 | |||
| CG-29 | Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton | 25 September 1962 | 30 June 1964 | 3 December 1966 | 28 January 1994 | Sunk as target, 10 August 2007 | ||
| CG-30 | San Francisco Naval Shipyard, San Francisco | 12 December 1962 | 30 October 1964 | 15 April 1967 | 4 February 1994 | Sunk as target, 29 June 2008 | ||
| CG-31 | Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton | 25 September 1962 | 30 June 1964 | 8 April 1967 | 24 March 1994 | Broken up at Brownsville, 2005 | ||
| CG-32 | Bath Iron Works, Bath | 29 July 1963 | 19 December 1964 | 9 July 1966 | 11 February 1994 | Sunk as target, 25 June 2005 | ||
| CG-33 | Todd Shipyard, San Pedro | 15 January 1963 | 21 November 1964 | 8 May 1966 | 15 April 1994 | Broken up at Brownsville, 2008 | ||
| CG-34 | Bath Iron Works, Bath | 9 December 1963 | 2 July 1965 | 21 January 1967 | 30 November 1993 | Broken up at Philadelphia, 2001 | ||
| Truxtun-class nuclear-powered cruiser | ||||||||
| CGN-35 | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden | 17 June 1963 | 19 December 1964 | 27 May 1967 | 11 September 1995 | Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, 1999 | ||