USS Long Beach (CLGN-160/CGN-160/CGN-9) was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy and the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant.[1] She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Long Beach, California.
She was the sole member of the Long Beach-class, and the last cruiser built for the United States Navy to a cruiser design; all subsequent cruiser classes were built on scaled-up destroyer hulls (and originally classified as destroyer leaders) or, in the case of the Albany-class, converted from already existing cruisers.
Long Beach was laid down 2 December 1957, launched 14 July 1959 and commissioned 9 September 1961 under the command of then-Captain Eugene Parks Wilkinson, who previously served as the first commanding officer of the world's first nuclear-powered vessel, the submarine . She was deployed to Vietnam during the Vietnam War and served numerous times in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. But by the 1990s, nuclear power was deemed too expensive to use on surface ships smaller than an aircraft carrier in view of defense budget cutbacks after the end of the Cold War. Long Beach was decommissioned on 1 May 1995 instead of receiving her third nuclear refueling and proposed upgrade. After removal of the nuclear fuel, superstructure, and sections of the bow and stern, the hull segment containing the reactor and machinery spaces was moored at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and sold for scrap.
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.[2] Long Beach was the last cruiser built with a World War II-era cruiser hull style,[3] as later new-build cruisers were built with different hull forms, such as the converted frigates,,,, and the and classes, or the that was built on a 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 s. The taller, narrower AN/SPS-33 panels were not installed on the superstructure until some time after her commissioning. At the time, Long Beach had the highest bridge of any ship smaller than an aircraft carrier.
In addition to steel, Long Beach was built with 450 tons of structural aluminum.[4] Because of this unusually high quantity of aluminum, she was assigned the voice radio call sign "Alcoa". The ship was propelled by two nuclear reactors, one for each propeller shaft, and was capable of speeds in excess of 30kn. 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.
The original weapons suite consisted of:
The ship went through several modifications by the time she was decommissioned. The final weapons suite consisted of:
The 5"/38 guns and the ASROC were retained, and several 12.7mm (50-cal) were installed as needed.
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.[5] At commissioning, the ship was reported to have cost $320 million ($ today),[6] which was over budget from earlier estimates of $250 million.[7]
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.[8] It was the second of three incidents at Fore River Shipyard at that time.[9]
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.
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.
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.
After overhaul and installation of new equipment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Long Beach again trained in the Caribbean, and then sailed 6 August 1963 to join the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean for peacekeeping operations. She returned to Norfolk 20 December for coastal and Caribbean operations through 28 April 1964 when she sailed for the Mediterranean again to join aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (CGN-25), in the formation of the first all nuclear‑powered task group on 13 May. The force operated in the Mediterranean testing its unique capabilities until 31 July when it sailed under RADM Bernard M. Strean from Gibraltar on an around‑the‑world cruise. This operation, Sea Orbit, reminiscent of the cruise of the Great White Fleet in 1907‑1909, demonstrated the strategic mobility of U.S. naval nuclear‑powered surface forces independent of normal fleet logistic support. Long Beach steamed over 30,000 miles in 58 days at an average speed of 25 knots, without being refueled or resupplied. In the course of the voyage, numerous foreign dignitaries visited the ship during visits off both coasts of Africa and in‑port calls at Karachi, Pakistan, Melbourne, Australia, Wellington, New Zealand and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Long Beach returned to Norfolk from this cruise 3 October 1964 to join in exercises off the east coast and in the Caribbean. On 4 June 1965 she sailed for the Global Strategy Conference at the Naval War College, Newport, where Vice Admiral Kleber S. Masterson, Commander Second Fleet broke his flag on the ship. Back in Norfolk 23 June 1965, Long Beach resumed training and upkeep prior to her transfer to the Pacific Fleet. She sailed 28 February 1966 for her new home port and namesake, Long Beach, California, and arrived 15 March 1966.
The summer of 1966 was spent in training and orienting midshipmen in the tactics and operations involved in the modern nuclear Navy. After a period of leave and upkeep in the fall, Long Beach sailed 7 November 1966 from Long Beach for the Far East. During this initial cruise, the ship served primarily as the Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone (PIRAZ) unit in the northern Gulf of Tonkin. As such, her main responsibility was to "sanitize" returning U.S. strike aircraft, ensuring that no enemy aircraft were attempting to evade identification by hiding amongst returning friendlies. Additionally, the ship provided support for an on-board Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter unit. During this tour, Long Beach was responsible for directing the downing of one Soviet-made An-2 'Colt' aircraft that was attempting to engage South Vietnamese naval units. The shoot-down was executed by an F-4 Phantom II under the control of a Long Beach air intercept controller. The cruiser returned to Long Beach, California, in July 1967. In 1968, the ship was redeployed to the Gulf of Tonkin, shooting down a MiG 21 jet fighter near Vinh, with a RIM-8 Talos missile on 23 May 1968,[10] [11] at a range of .[12] In June of the same year, she downed another MIG, this one at .[12] She also directed other MIG kills by American fighters. She was the first ship to down an aircraft using SAMs in the Vietnam war and the incidents were not immediately publicized. Long Beach received a Navy Unit Commendation for the actions.
Long Beach received a Combat Action Ribbon for action on 26 April 1972, a few days after the Battle of Đồng Hới. After Vietnam, Long Beach performed routine duties in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, performing escort duties for USS Enterprise in 1975, and participated in multi-national naval exercises while deployed in 1976-77. Around this time, Long Beach was identified as being suitable for conversion to accommodate the newly developed Aegis combat system, as part of the plans for a force of nuclear-powered Aegis cruisers, but that plan was not implemented.[13] In 1975 the ship changed home ports to Naval Base San Diego, California.
In 1980 the vessel rescued 114 Vietnamese boat people off the coast of Vietnam. 9 January 1980, Long Beach returned to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to undergo a mid-life conversion, during which time the SCANFAR system, consisting of the AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33 radars, was removed from the forward superstructure and enhanced flagship facilities were installed, along with modern radars like the AN/SPS-48. The Standard SM-2ER missiles and the associated modern electronics replaced the obsolete Terrier system. In addition, two Phalanx CIWS close-in weapon systems were installed, along with two Harpoon surface-to-surface missile (SSM) launchers on the fantail. Beginning 5 January 1985 the BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile system was installed with two 4-cell Armored Box Launchers on the fantail, with the Harpoon launchers resited. On 19 October 1987, she participated in Kuwaiti tanker reflagging and provided anti-aircraft cover during Operation Nimble Archer. Long Beach deployed throughout the 1980s, conducting Tomahawk cruise missile test launches and exercises.
Long Beach served as an escort for the task force, and provided aircraft carrier escort support after the Gulf War of 1991. Long Beach deployed to the region beginning 28 May 1991 to support Operation Provide Comfort, which was after Operation Desert Storm was over and major hostilities had ended in late February 1991.[14] In June, 1991, Long Beach took part in Operation Fiery Vigil, evacuating U.S. military personnel from two bases in the Philippines, Clark Air Base and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, during the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
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,[15] for recycling, as prescribed for nuclear-powered vessels by Code 350, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. As of May 2018, the inactivated ship's hull and reactor compartments largely remained in long-term storage there.[16]
A crew member aboard the USS Long Beach may have been exposed to abnormal levels of radiation in 1963,[17] 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.[18]
| Combat Action Ribbon | |||
| Joint Meritorious Unit Award with 1 oak leaf cluster | Navy Unit Commendation | Meritorious Unit Commendation with 1 star | |
| Navy E Ribbon with wreathed Battle "E" Device | National Defense Service Medal with 1 star | Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with 1 star | |
| Vietnam Service Medal with 6 stars | Southwest Asia Service Medal with 1 star | Humanitarian Service Medal | |
| Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with 8 stars | Special Operations Service Ribbon | Vietnam Campaign Medal | |