Long Beach (CGN-9)

USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was a nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser and the only ship of her class. Commissioned in 1961, she represented an ambitious U.S. Navy experiment in combining nuclear propulsion, guided missiles, long-range radar, and fleet air-defense command functions in a purpose-built cruiser hull.

Long Beach carried surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine weapons, later anti-ship and land-attack options, and advanced radar for her era. Nuclear propulsion gave the ship exceptional endurance, especially when operating with nuclear-powered carriers and other high-end surface combatants far from friendly bases.

Although no sister ships followed, Long Beach mattered as a technology pathfinder. She showed both the promise and cost of nuclear-powered surface escorts, influenced guided-missile cruiser thinking, and served through the Cold War as a visible symbol of U.S. naval reach and air-defense ambition.