The USS Long Beach (CGN-9) stands alone in naval warfare history as a ship that literally opened the door to a new age. Commissioned in 1961, it was not just another cruiser, but the world’s first nuclear-powered surface warship and the first guided-missile cruiser built from keel. In an age when almost all surface fleet vessels were still sporting World War II hulls, Long Beach was different, showing the world what naval warfare might be. Its appearance was strange, even theatrical, and it drew attention wherever it went.
The ship featured a sleek, high hull and high, box-like superstructure that was used to accommodate the new SCANFAR radar system. The twin-array radar, composed of the AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33, was an astounding technological advance.
It could track several planes and missiles simultaneously—a first in its time—and it formed the foundation for the Aegis combat system, which would be the hub of naval warfare decades on. Long Beach was the turning point from old-school gunnery cruisers to high-tech, missile-firing ships of the future. Its power plant was high-tech as well.
Fueled by two General Electric D2G nuclear reactors, Long Beach had a single refueling life of years. This was famously tested in 1964 during Operation Sea Orbit, when it set sail on a round-the-world cruise continuously with the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the frigate USS Bainbridge.
The three vessels traveled more than 30,000 nautical miles in 65 days without a refueling stop. Much more than a record cruise, it demonstrated that the Navy possessed warships that could stay on station for long periods on their own with nearly unlimited range. The armament of the cruiser was equally impressive.
It was initially armed with Typhon and Terrier surface-to-air missiles, ASROC rockets against submarines, torpedoes, and dual 5-inch guns. Later, it also carried Standard missiles, Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Phalanx CIWS for close-in anti-missile defense. This complemented Long Beach as a multi-role, multi-mission combatant.
It might be used to defend carrier groups from air attack, attack ground targets hundreds of miles distant, and attack submarines—all while operating out of port for fewer days than conventional ships. Its life was active and complex.
During the Vietnam War, Long Beach serviced carriers and conducted distant air strike missions, utilizing to the fullest its phenomenal endurance. It then participated in the Mayagüez rescue mission, conducted humanitarian evacuations of Vietnamese refugees, and even combat during the 1991 Gulf War. Long Beach also represented the final chapter in an era.
It was the last cruiser built on the old cruiser hull before the Navy switched to destroyer-based designs as a means of improving efficiency and savings. Yet its influence remained. SCANFAR led the way toward today’s phased-array radar systems, and its nuclear propulsion demonstrated the unexcelled mobility and endurance nuclear power could provide. The ship was retired in 1995 after more than three decades of service.
By then, the Navy had mostly phased out nuclear-powered surface vessels because they were expensive and difficult to maintain. Aircraft carriers and submarines continued to be nuclear-powered, but destroyers and cruisers were back to conventional fuel. However, the USS Long Beach is a legend—a vessel that defied conventions, set new limits on new technology, and set the benchmark by which other ships measured innovation in naval warfare.
Even now, naval historians recall it not only as a cruiser but as a bold experiment. Long Beach demonstrated that warships were not steel and guns—warships were technology platforms, forward thinking, and rewriting the role of a fleet.