by Kris Osborn, Warrior
The first “nuclear powered” surface vessel began an era of greater range, efficiency and combat power for the US Navy, a trajectory which continues to inspire a massive and growing nuclear-powered force. The USS Long Beach cruiser followed the first nuclear-powered submarine called the USS Nautilus.
The USS Long Beach, also known as the “last real cruiser,” launched a new nuclear-powered era in surface combat wherein warships could operate at sea for extended periods without needing to refuel. The USS Long Beach participated in the 1964 Operation Sea Orbit, the first nuclear-powered naval circumnavigation, showcasing American technological prowess and the arrival of nuclear propulsion.
Last Cruiser
The USS Long Beach was called the “last” Cruiser because it was the last one built before cruisers began being constructed using a DDG 51 destroyer hull.
As the swansong ship of an original “cruiser” fleet, the USS Long Bridge was heavily armed with nuclear-capable cruise missiles, Polaris missiles and a 38-Caliber gun. The ship also carried an ASROC anti-submarine system, twin Mk-10 launcher firing surface-to-air missiles; an essay in the National Interest further explains that the USS Long Beach was also equipped with a Mk-12 launcher, Mk-15 Vulcan-Phalanx 20mm CIWSm 12.75-in ASW torpedo tubes and a launcher for Harpoons and Tomahawks.
“USS Long Beach was powered by two General Electric D2G nuclear reactors. The nuclear-powered boat’s weapons were the most advanced of their time. These included the Terrier missile system that provided air defense, along with an anti-submarine rocket system and multiple five-inch guns,” an essay in The National Interest states.
The USS Long Beach was heavily armed with a wide range of weapons, something which likely informed many of the weapons systems subsequently woven into future ships. One key example of this is the addition of a Phalanx-gun-armed Close-in-Weapons System (CIWS), an area defense weapon able to “blanket” an area with hundreds of projectiles per second to defend a ship hull against close in threat such as small boats or incoming enemy attack drones. In more recent years, CWIS has been upgraded to what the US Navy calls the “1b” variant which not only covers air threats but also operates with an ability to fire hundreds of area projectiles at close-in “surface” threats. This greatly expanded the protective envelope of warships and introduced new dimensions to layered defenses.
The configuration of the ship also included a “high box-like superstructure” that housed what was called the SCANFAR arrayed radar system. This was quite significant because it included what became the foundation precursor for what has become known as the “famous” AN/SPY-1 radar installed on Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers.
Operating as what could be referred to as a prelude to Aegis cruisers and destroyers, now famous for deploying the ultra long-range, highly sensitive AN/SPY-1 radar, the USS Long Beach functioned as a bridge toward a new era in ship-based ballistic missile defense. Advanced Aegis radar, some of which is configured in what the Navy calls Baseline 10, has ushered in a new era of ship-based weaponry, layered defense and carrier protection. It is therefore quite significant that the radar on the USS Long Beach informed, inspired and preceded the arrival of the Aegis era.
Commissioned in 1961, the USS Long Beach was originally designed as an “all missile” ship but was subsequently armed with two 5”/38 caliber gun mounts per direction from President John F Kennedy. The ship performed successfully during the Vietnam War and continued supporting various missions until the Gulf War in 1991 before being decommissioned in 1995.
Ultimately, the USS Long Beach was sold for scrap but is remembered for its famous successful shoot down on two North Vietnamese MiG-21s in 1968.
This essay first appeared in 1945 magazine
Kris Osborn is thePresident of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University