List of cruisers of the United States Navy

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Ships of the United States Navy
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Two nuclear-powered cruisers escort the carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in 1964 during Operation Sea Orbit: at center is the USS Long Beach (CGN-9), at left the destroyer leader USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25), which was reclassified as cruiser (CGN-25) in 1975. TaskForce One.jpg
Two nuclear-powered cruisers escort the carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in 1964 during Operation Sea Orbit: at center is the USS Long Beach (CGN-9), at left the destroyer leader USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25), which was reclassified as cruiser (CGN-25) in 1975.

This list of cruisers of the United States Navy includes all ships that were ever called "cruiser", either publicly or in internal documentation.

Contents

The Navy has 9 Ticonderoga-class cruisers in active service, as of 10 October 2024, with the last tentatively scheduled for decommissioning in 2029. [1] With the cancellation of the CG(X) program in 2010, the Navy currently has no cruiser replacement program planned. [2] The Navy is looking to the Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to increasingly fill the role of the cruiser in the protection of the carrier strike group, as it could be well into the 2030s before any possible cruiser replacement program is up and running. [2]

Ship status is indicated as either currently active [A] (including ready reserve), inactive [I], or precommissioning [P]. Ships in the inactive category include only ships in the inactive reserve, ships which have been disposed from US service have no listed status. Ships in the precommissioning category would include ships under construction or on order; as described above there currently are no such cruisers.

Historical overview

Nomenclature

Comprehension of the history of cruisers as shown in these lists requires some understanding of the unique role (sharing both independent and combined fleet operations) that cruisers were expected to support in the US fleet, and of the consequent influence this role had on design. In one example, the Navy's Bureau of Ships issued a memorandum in 1947 listing the ways in which cruiser hulls differed from destroyer hulls, including details such as double hull construction, electrical generation and distribution, water mains for firefighting, fuel lines and tankage, and fresh water distillation. [3]

CGN-9 Long Beach, commissioned in 1961, was the last US cruiser built on a true cruiser hull. All subsequent cruisers, including nuclear powered cruisers, were based on the less expensive and less capable destroyer hulls - the one attempt since Long Beach to revert to the advantages of a "cruiser hull" design was the canceled CSGN nuclear strike cruiser (the CSGN proposal mentioned the greater powerplant survivability from the separation of the two nuclear reactors in a cruiser hull over the adjacent reactors in a destroyer hull). [4]

The sole example of a destroyer built on a cruiser hull was the experimental DL-1 Norfolk, which was originally classed as a hunter-killer cruiser (CLK). [5]

Overview of hull classifications

Since the cruiser nomenclature predates the hull numbering system, and there were several confusing renumberings and renamings, [6] there are multiple entries on these lists referring to the same physical ship. Combat history summaries (wars and battle stars [7] ) are listed only for the specific hull classification and number; for example, the World War II battle stars for a heavy cruiser (CA) and the Vietnam War battle stars for the same ship after its conversion to a guided missile cruiser (CG) are listed separately in each ship type list.

Hull reclassifications and skipped hull numbers

CA-1, CA-6 and CA-10 were never used, as ACR-1 Maine, ACR-6 California/San Diego and ACR-10 Tennessee/Memphis were lost prior to the 1920 redesignation, and their sisters' original hull numbers were carried over. CA-20 through CA-23 were skipped with the merger of the CA and CL sequences, which allowed the reclassification of the Washington Treaty CLs as CAs without re-numbering.

Heavy cruisers CA-149 and CA-151 to CA-153, light cruisers CL-154 to CL-159, and nuclear guided missile cruiser CGN-42 were canceled before being named.

Guided missile cruisers CG-1 through 8 and CG-10 through 12 were converted from World War II cruisers. CAG-1 USS Boston and CAG-2 USS Canberra retained most of their original gun armament and were later returned to their gun cruiser designations CA-69 and CA-70. CGN-9, Long Beach, originally held the last designation in the heavy-light cruiser sequence, CLGN-160.

CG-15 was skipped so the Leahy-class guided missile frigates (CG-16 class) could be redesignated without renumbering. The other missing numbers in the guided-missile cruiser series, 43–46, were not used so that DDG-47 Ticonderoga and DDG-48 Yorktown could be similarly redesignated. (It has been argued in some sources[ who? ] that the DDG-993 Kidd-class guided missile destroyers, which were essentially identically armed to the Virginia-class cruisers, should have been redesignated CG-43 through −46.)

Before 30 June 1975, CG-16 USS Leahy through CGN-38 USS Virginia were designated DLG or DLGN (Destroyer Leader, Guided Missile (Nuclear powered)). They were redesignated cruisers in the 1975 ship reclassification. CGN-39 USS Texas and CGN-40 USS Mississippi were laid down as DLGNs but redesignated CGN before commissioning. CG-47 Ticonderoga and CG-48 Yorktown were ordered as guided missile destroyers (DDG) but were redesignated to guided missile cruisers (CG) before any ship was laid down. CGN-41 Arkansas and CG-49 through 73 were ordered, laid down and delivered as guided missile cruisers, although as Virginia or Ticonderoga-class ships they had not been designed as cruisers.

Cruisers without hull designations

First cruisers

The first three modern cruisers in the Navy, the Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago, were most successful as technology demonstrators that stimulated the US industrial base, with features such as steel hulls and electricity generation. Their technology proved so operationally decisive they came to be seen as the dividing line between the "Old Navy" and the "New Navy". The last two protected cruisers which initially served without hull classification numbers, the New Orleans and Albany, were purchased from a British builder during mobilization for the 1898 Spanish–American War. [8]

USS Atlanta, the US Navy's first cruiser USS Atlanta 1884.jpg
USS Atlanta, the US Navy's first cruiser

New Orleans class

Armed merchant cruisers

Beginning in 1891 Congress subsidized a number of fast ocean liners with plans to requisition them in wartime. St. Louis, St. Paul, Harvard, and Yale were the largest and were chartered by the Navy for the Spanish–American War, and seven others were purchased in 1898. [9]

German war prize

Armored cruisers (ACR)

USS Maine (ACR-1) USS Maine h60255a.jpg
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS San Diego (ACR-6) Uss california ca.jpg
USS San Diego (ACR-6)
USS Tennessee (ACR-10) USS Tennessee (ACR-10).jpg
USS Tennessee (ACR-10)

Officially these ships were e.g., "Armored Cruiser No. 1". Unofficially, top naval officers initially referred to these ships as battleships because they cost almost as much, shared many features with them, and were intended to accompany them in fleet actions; they took care to ensure that Congress never heard their opinion. The 1905 Russo-Japanese War showed armored cruisers did not perform as well as either battleships or as other cruiser types. As battleship technology advanced they were judged obsolete for their original role about the time the last U.S. armored cruiser was commissioned (this advance in part led to the development of battlecruisers as a replacement), and so they were retained for other cruiser roles despite their deficiencies. During 1912–1920 the U.S. armored cruisers had their names changed from states to cities within those states to free up the names for battleships. [10]

Pennsylvania class

Tennessee class

Protected and Peace cruisers (C, PG)

In the pre-1920 period abbreviations were informal and not standardized; officially these ships were, e.g., "Cruiser No. 1". Only the Montgomery class were unprotected cruisers, all the rest were protected cruisers. The Navy often referred to unprotected cruisers and obsolete protected cruisers (and some large gunboats without cruiser features) as peace cruisers due to their use in major policing and diplomatic roles. [11]

USS Newark (C-1) Uss newark cc-1.jpg
USS Newark (C-1)
USS Raleigh (C-8) Raleigh (Cruiser 8). Starboard bow, ca. 1900 - NARA - 512958.jpg
USS Raleigh (C-8)
USS Montgomery (C-9) USS Montgomery (C-9).jpg
USS Montgomery (C-9)

Cincinnati class

Montgomery class

Columbia class

Denver class

St. Louis class

USS Erie (PG-50) USS Erie (PG-50) Underway starboard bow view, May 1940..jpg
USS Erie (PG-50)

While classified as patrol gunboats by the Navy and as sloops by the 1930 London Naval Treaty, the 2,000 ton displacement Erie-class gunboats were designed to fulfill the role of peace cruisers in Asia and the Caribbean as detailed in internal Navy documents. [12]

Erie class

Cruiser minelayers (CM)

In 1919 two cruisers were reclassified as Cruiser Minelayers (CM); they had participated in the laying of the North Sea mine barrage during WW1. Other large minelayers with no cruiser features or history were later given the 'CM' hull symbol, and the 'cruiser' nomenclature was dropped.

Scout cruisers (SCR, SC, CS)

The use of fast armed merchant cruisers in the Spanish–American War and the fleet exercises of 1902-03 convinced the Navy that it needed fast scout cruisers. The Chester class was built in part to test high speed propulsion plants. The Omaha class would become the oldest U.S. cruisers to serve in World War II. Officially these ships were, e.g., "Scout Cruiser No. 1", and sometimes abbreviated SC or SCR; on 8 August 1921 all would be reclassed as light cruisers. [13]

USS Chester (CS-1) USSChesterCL1.jpg
USS Chester (CS-1)

Chester class

Omaha class

Battlecruisers (CC)

1922 artist impression of the design of the Lexington class battlecruisers H41961.jpg
1922 artist impression of the design of the Lexington class battlecruisers

The United States laid down its only six battlecruisers as part of the 1917 construction program; in accordance with the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty four were scrapped incomplete and two converted during construction into the Lexington-class aircraft carriers. [14]

Lexington class

Heavy and light cruisers (CA, CL)

Post-World War I

USS Brooklyn (CA-3) USSBrooklynCA3.jpg
USS Brooklyn (CA-3)
USS Columbia (CA-16) Detroit Photographic Company (1029).jpg
USS Columbia (CA-16)
USS St. Louis (CA-18) USSStLouisC20cropped.jpg
USS St. Louis (CA-18)

On 17 July 1920, all First and Second Class Cruisers (armored and protected cruisers) still in service were reclassified as Armored Cruisers (CA).

Pennsylvania class

Tennessee class

other classes

Columbia class

St. Louis class (1905)

In the 1920 hull designation system, of the Third Class Cruisers the fast Scout Cruisers became Light Cruisers (CL), and the slower New Orleans and Denver-class "peace cruisers" were reclassified as Patrol Gunboats (PG).

On 8 August 1921 the system was revised; the surviving protected cruisers (except for the "semi-armored" St Louis class) and the peace cruiser/patrol gunboats were all grouped with the scout cruisers as Light Cruisers (CL).

Chester class

USS Concord (CL-10) USS Concord (CL-10) off Balboa 1943.jpg
USS Concord (CL-10)
USS Denver (CL-16) USS Denver.jpg
USS Denver (CL-16)
USS New Orleans (CL-22) USS New Orleans (1898-1929).jpg
USS New Orleans (CL-22)

Omaha class

other classes

Denver class

New Orleans class (1896)

The CA/CL overlap of hull numbers would persist until the last armored cruiser of the original CA series, Seattle, was reclassed as IX-39 on 17 February 1941.

Washington Naval Treaty

USS Pensacola (CL/CA-24) USS Pensacola (CA-24) underway at sea in September 1935 (NH 97838).jpg
USS Pensacola (CL/CA-24)
USS Northampton (CL/CA-26) USS Northampton (CA-26) at Brisbane on 5 August 1941 (NH 94596).jpg
USS Northampton (CL/CA-26)
USS Astoria (CL/CA-34) USS Astoria (CA-34) operating in Hawaiian waters on 8 July 1942 (NH 97682).jpg
USS Astoria (CL/CA-34)
USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35) USS Indianapolis (CA-35) underway at sea on 27 September 1939 (80-G-425615).jpg
USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35)

The first cruisers of the Pensacola, Northampton, New Orleans, and Portland classes – which were designed after the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, so quickly that the last design was complete before sea trial of the first were finished – were originally designated Light Cruisers (CL) due to their light protection. Later, in accordance with the 1930 London Naval Treaty, they were reclassified as "Heavy Cruisers" (CA) in 1931 due to their 8-inch (203 mm) guns. Thenceforward new heavy and light cruisers were numbered in a single sequence. These four classes were known as "Treaty cruisers" and "Tinclads" and were seen even before World War II as deficient by the Navy due to the treaty limitations, but despite their high losses in the early days of the war they performed well. [15]

Pensacola class

Northampton class

New Orleans class

Portland class

New Orleans class

Portland class

New Orleans class

London Naval Treaty

The terms of the 1930 London Naval Treaty motivated the signatories to de-emphasize heavy cruiser construction in favor of light cruisers. The resultant nine ship Brooklyn-class of light cruisers had a strong influence on US cruiser design. Nearly all subsequent US cruisers, heavy and light, were directly or indirectly based on them, including the unique heavy cruiser Wichita. [16] [17]

USS Brooklyn (CL-40) USS Brooklyn (CL-40) in the Hudson River, in 1939 (80-G-1023215).jpg
USS Brooklyn (CL-40)
USS Wichita (CA-45) USS Wichita (CA-45) firing broadside c1944.png
USS Wichita (CA-45)

Brooklyn class

New Orleans class

Wichita class

Brooklyn class

Brooklyn class (St. Louis subclass)

Second London Naval Treaty

USS Atlanta (CL-51) USS Atlanta (CL-51).jpg
USS Atlanta (CL-51)

The 1936 Second London Naval Treaty would also influence the Navy's light cruiser program. It imposed limits that resulted in the smaller displacement Atlanta class with a 5-inch (127 mm) dual purpose rapid fire main gun battery, the first such ship in the Navy. [18]

Atlanta class

Cruiser-Destroyer (CLD)

Parallel to the Atlanta design was an abortive attempt to design a super-Atlanta known as the Cruiser-Destroyer, or CLD. The "ship characteristics" resulting from this study would be almost identical to that of the later CL-154 design. CLD did not become an official hull classification symbol. [19]

Early World War II

When the United States entered World War II it had three major classes of cruisers under construction: the Atlanta and Cleveland light cruiser classes (with 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries, respectively), and the Baltimore-class of heavy cruisers. The Cleveland-class was an improvement of the Brooklyn design, while the Baltimore-class was an improved Wichita. These ships would form the bulk of the cruiser war construction effort, with eight Atlanta-class, twenty-seven Cleveland-class, and fourteen Baltimore-class cruisers ultimately completed. Early in the war nine Cleveland hulls would be diverted for conversion into Independence class light aircraft carriers (CVLs). By the end of the war three Cleveland hulls would be canceled, and one incomplete hull would later be converted to a guided missile cruiser. [20]

USS Cleveland (CL-55) USS Cleveland (CL-55) underway at sea in late 1942 (NH 55173).jpg
USS Cleveland (CL-55)
USS Baltimore (CA-68) USS Baltimore (CA-68) anchored in Guantanamo Bay on 22 September 1954 (NH 52422).jpg
USS Baltimore (CA-68)
USS Oakland (CL-95) USS Oakland (CL-95) in San Francisco Bay on 2 August 1943 (NH 98442).jpg
USS Oakland (CL-95)

Cleveland class

Baltimore class

Cleveland class

Atlanta class (Oakland subclass)

Cleveland class

Late World War II

As the Navy gained experience with World War II combat conditions, it was decided that the Atlanta, Cleveland, and Baltimore classes needed improvement. However, major improvements would cause unacceptable delays in the construction programs. A new generation of cruisers with minor improvements would consist of the Juneau and Fargo classes of light cruisers (respectively 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries), and the Oregon City-class of heavy cruisers. The major noticeable difference would be that the Fargo and the Oregon City classes would have their engine exhausts trunked into a single funnel to aid anti-aircraft fire. Due to the near-total destruction of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the number of the ships of this generation to be completed as gun cruisers would be small: three Juneau-class, two Fargo-class, and three Oregon City-class cruisers. A fourth Oregon City-class cruiser would be completed postwar as a command cruiser. Seventeen hulls from among the three classes were canceled. [21]

Late in the war the Baltimore-class would also serve as the basis of the two Saipan class light aircraft carriers (CVLs).

USS Huntington (CL-107) USS Huntington (CL-107) underway on 12 April 1948 (NH 98941).jpg
USS Huntington (CL-107)
USS Spokane (CL-120) Amerikaanse lichte kruiser USS Spokane, gaat voor de Parkkade te Rotterdam op , Bestanddeelnr 902-5877.jpg
USS Spokane (CL-120)
USS Rochester (CA-124) USS Rochester (CA-124) with tugs at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 20 September 1953 (NH 84584).jpg
USS Rochester (CA-124)

Fargo class

Juneau class

Oregon City class

Baltimore class

Post-World War II

The Navy agreed in the waning days of World War II to construct a small number of cruisers for the purpose of operationally testing new gun designs and other major improvements incorporating the lessons learned of World War II combat: the 'CL-154' and Worcester classes of light cruisers (respectively 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries), and the Des Moines-class of heavy cruisers. Initially the Navy wanted at least one squadron of six ships of each class, but in the end only two Worcester-class and three Des Moines-class cruisers would be completed, and the CL-154 class would be cancelled in its entirety. A total of seventeen hulls from among the three planned classes would be canceled. [22]

USS Des Moines (CA-134) USS Des Moines CA-134.jpg
USS Des Moines (CA-134)
USS Worcester (CL-144) USS Worcester (CL-144) underway in November 1949.jpg
USS Worcester (CL-144)
CL-154 class concept U.S. Navy CL-154-class cruiser design Sep 1945.png
CL-154 class concept

Des Moines class

Baltimore class

Oregon City class

Des Moines class

Worcester class

Des Moines class

CL-154 class

The last ship to be assigned a hull number in the Heavy and Light Cruiser sequence would be the 1950s era nuclear powered Long Beach, though this ship would be assigned another number and designation under the guided missile cruiser hull classification before launch.

Long Beach class

Large cruisers (CB)

USS Alaska (CB-1) USS Alaska (CB-1) off the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 30 July 1944.jpg
USS Alaska (CB-1)

The motivation for the large cruiser concept came from the deployment of Germany's so-called pocket battleships in the early 1930s, and from concerns that Japan would follow with similar ships. These large cruisers had design features intermediate between heavy cruisers and battleships (such as the unique and highly effective 12-inch/50-caliber Mark 8 guns); this was unlike the designs of the earlier battlecruisers, the ultimate design of which had the same 16-inch guns as battleships but less armor and more speed. Despite these differences large cruisers and battlecruisers were intended to serve much the same role. [24] [25]

Alaska class

German cruiser war prize (IX)

Admiral Hipper class

Hunter-Killer cruisers (CLK)

USS Norfolk (ex-CLK-1) USS Norfolk (DL-1) underway c1964.jpg
USS Norfolk (ex-CLK-1)

CLK-1 was authorized in 1947 as an anti-submarine hunter killer. She was designed on a light cruiser hull so she could carry a greater variety of detection gear than a destroyer. CLK-2 was cancelled due to the high cost ($61.9 million) of CLK-1. [26]

Antiaircraft cruisers (CLAA)

USS Juneau (CLAA-119) USS Juneau (CLAA-119) underway on 1 July 1951 (NH 96890).jpg
USS Juneau (CLAA-119)

On 18 March 1949, the surviving light cruisers of the Atlanta and Juneau classes were redesignated as antiaircraft cruisers (CLAA) without changing their hull numbers; San Diego, San Juan, and Flint were redesignated even though they had been decommissioned and were in reserve. The CL-154 class would also have received this designation had they not been canceled.

Atlanta class

Atlanta class (Oakland subclass)

Juneau class

Command cruisers (CLC, CC)

USS Northampton (CLC/CC-1) USS Northampton (CLC-1) underway c1959.jpg
USS Northampton (CLC/CC-1)

By the end of World War II the Navy had gained favorable experience with dedicated amphibious command ships, and desired similar but faster ships to accompany aircraft carriers for fleet command, which would also relieve overcrowded fleet command facilities on other ships. Both completed conversions, Northampton and Wright, were indirectly based on the Baltimore class heavy cruiser design (the first via the Oregon City class, the second via the Saipan class). The result would be the highly capable but expensive command cruisers. These ships would be absorbed into the National Emergency Command Post Afloat mission, and then retired when that role was cancelled. [28]

Guided missile cruisers (CAG, CLG, CG)

'Cruiser hulls'

USS Canberra (CAG-2) USS Canberra (CAG-2) underway at sea on 9 January 1961 (KN-1526).jpg
USS Canberra (CAG-2)
USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) underway 1974.jpg
USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5)
USS Providence (CLG-6) USS Providence (CLG-6) underway in 1970.jpg
USS Providence (CLG-6)
USS Albany (CG-10) USS Albany (CG-10) underway 1970s.jpg
USS Albany (CG-10)
Artist conception of Strike cruiser Mark I variant (1976 version) CSGN-1976.JPG
Artist conception of Strike cruiser Mark I variant (1976 version)

With the exception of the purpose-built nuclear powered guided missile cruiser Long Beach, all of the early guided missile cruisers were converted heavy or light cruisers from the World War II era. The early conversions were heavy (CAG) and light (CLG) 'single-enders' which placed the missile facilities aft and conservatively retained their forward main gun batteries; the later conversions (CG) were 'double-enders' which eliminated the main guns. In 1975 the surviving 'single enders' would be reclassified as CG even though they retained their guns. [29]

Alaska class

Boston class

Galveston class

Providence class

Long Beach class

Albany class

CSGN class

The CSGN class, a proposed nuclear-powered Aegis strike cruiser, canceled unnamed and unnumbered; this was the sole proposal since 1961 to use 'cruiser hull' standards in a ship designated 'cruiser'. [30]

'Destroyer hulls'

Following the conversion of the Albany class, all guided missile cruisers would be built on 'destroyer hulls'; the pre-1975 ships were originally classified as destroyers (DDG) or as destroyer leaders (DLG) and termed 'frigates' before reclassification as cruisers. [31]

USS Leahy (CG-16) USS Leahy (CG-16) at sea off San Diego, in May 1978.jpg
USS Leahy (CG-16)
USS Sterett (CG-31) USS Sterett CG-31.jpg
USS Sterett (CG-31)

Leahy class

Bainbridge class

Belknap class

Truxtun class

California class

Virginia class

CGN-42 class

Ticonderoga class

The Ticonderoga class ships were originally planned as Aegis guided missile destroyers - they were built on Spruance class destroyer hulls - but were then reclassed as cruisers.
USS Yorktown (CG-48) USS Yorktown (CG-48);04014806.jpg
USS Yorktown (CG-48)
USS Lake Erie (CG-70) USS Lake Erie in port 04017003.jpg
USS Lake Erie (CG-70)
Ticonderoga class with the Mark 26 missile launch system
Ticonderoga class with the Vertical Launch System (VLS)
CG(X) would have used a hull similar to the Zumwalt-class destroyer, seen here Uss Zumwalt.jpg
CG(X) would have used a hull similar to the Zumwalt-class destroyer, seen here

CG(X) class

The CG(X) class was intended to apply the same technology used in the Zumwalt-class destroyers within a larger hull, nuclear power was a consideration, but was canceled unbuilt and unnamed.

Nuclear-powered cruisers (CGN)

To date all nuclear cruisers have been guided missile cruisers, and all have been retired.

USS Truxtun (CGN-35) USS Truxtun (CGN-35) underway in the Pacific Ocean on 3 January 1989 (6450110).jpg
USS Truxtun (CGN-35)
USS Virginia (CGN-38) Uss virginia cgn-38.jpg
USS Virginia (CGN-38)

Long Beach class

Bainbridge class

Truxtun class

California class

Virginia class

CGN-42 class

Miscellaneous lists

List by name

Names without links were not completed, or completed as aircraft carriers or destroyer leaders.

List of unnamed cruisers by hull number

List of canceled cruiser conversions

List of skipped cruiser hull numbers

See also

Related Research Articles

The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol to identify their ships by type and by individual ship within a type. The system is analogous to the pennant number system that the Royal Navy and other European and Commonwealth navies use.

USS <i>Texas</i> (CGN-39) Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruiser

USS Texas (DLGN/CGN-39) was the United States Navy's second Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruiser. She was the third ship of the Navy to be named in honor of the State of Texas. Her keel was laid down on 18 August 1973, at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.

<i>Spruance</i>-class destroyer Destroyer class of the US Navy

The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace the many World War II–built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the United States Navy during the 1970s and 1980s. It was named in honor of U.S. Navy Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, who successfully led major naval battles in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II such as the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

USS <i>Oklahoma City</i> (CL-91) Light cruiser of the United States Navy

USS Oklahoma City (CL-91/CLG-5/CG-5) was one of 27 United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruisers completed during or shortly after World War II, and one of six to be converted to guided missile cruisers. She was the first US Navy ship to be named for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Commissioned in late 1944, she participated in the latter part of the Pacific War in anti-aircraft screening and shore bombardment roles, for which she earned two battle stars. She then served a brief stint with the occupation force. Like all but one of her sister ships, she was retired in the post-war defense cutbacks, becoming part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet in 1947.

<i>Ticonderoga</i>-class cruiser Class of guided missile cruisers

The Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships of the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. It was originally planned as a class of destroyers. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis Combat System and the passive phased array AN/SPY-1 radar, together with the capability of operating as a flagship, were used to justify the change of the classification from DDG to CG shortly before the keels were laid down for Ticonderoga and Yorktown.

<i>Virginia</i>-class cruiser Nuclear guided-missile cruiser class of the US Navy

The Virginia class were four nuclear-powered, guided-missile cruisers that served in the United States Navy until the mid-to-late 1990s. The double-ended cruisers were commissioned between 1976 and 1980. They were the final class of nuclear-powered cruisers completed and the last ships ordered as Destroyer Leaders under the pre-1975 classification system.

<i>Independence</i>-class aircraft carrier Light aircraft carrier class of the US Navy

The Independence-class aircraft carriers were a class of light carriers built for the United States Navy that served during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification</span>

The United States Navy reclassified many of its surface vessels in 1975, changing terminology and hull classification symbols for cruisers, frigates, and ocean escorts.

USS <i>Fox</i> (CG-33) Cruiser of The United States

USS Fox (DLG-33/CG-33) was a Belknap class cruiser of the United States Navy, named after Gustavus V. Fox, President Abraham Lincoln's Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The keel for DLG-33 was authenticated and laid in ceremonies at Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California on 15 January 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hull number</span> Serial identification number given to a boat or ship

A hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the Hull Identification Number (HIN) is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type.

<i>Providence</i>-class cruiser Class of American warships (1959–1974)

Originally built as Cleveland-class light cruisers (CL) in the United States Navy during World War II, in 1957 three ships were re-designated as Providence-class guided missile light cruisers (CLG) and fitted with the Terrier surface-to-air missile system. During the two year refit under project SCB 146, the aft superstructure was completely replaced and all aft guns were removed to make room for the twin-arm Terrier launcher and a 120 missile storage magazine. Three large masts were also installed in order to hold a variety of radars, missile guidance, and communications systems. Providence and Springfield were simultaneously converted into fleet flagships under SCB 146A, which involved removing two forward dual 5-inch (127 mm) and one triple 6-inch (152 mm) turrets, and replacing them with a massively rebuilt and expanded forward superstructure. Topeka, in the non-flagship configuration, retained the Cleveland-class's standard forward weapons: three dual 5-inch (127 mm) and two triple 6-inch (152 mm) turrets.

<i>Leahy</i>-class cruiser Missile-armed warship

Leahy-class cruisers were a class of guided-missile cruisers built for the United States Navy. They were originally designated as Destroyer Leaders (DLG), but in the 1975 cruiser realignment they were reclassified as guided-missile cruisers (CG).

USS <i>Halsey</i> (DLG-23) Leahy-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy

The USS Halsey was a Leahy-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy named in honor of Fleet Admiral William Halsey. Originally called a destroyer leader or frigate (DLG-23), on 30 June 1975 she was redesignated a cruiser (CG-23) in the U.S. Navy's ship reclassification.

United States ship naming conventions for the U.S. Navy were established by congressional action at least as early as 1862. Title 13, section 1531, of the U.S. Code, enacted in that year, reads, in part,

The vessels of the Navy shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy under direction of the President according to the following rule: Sailing-vessels of the first class shall be named after the States of the Union, those of the second class after the rivers, those of the third class after the principal cities and towns and those of the fourth class as the President may direct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear-powered cruisers of the United States Navy</span>

In the early 1960s, the United States Navy was the world's first to have nuclear-powered cruisers as part of its fleet. The first such ship was USS Long Beach (CGN-9). Commissioned in late summer 1961, she was the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant. She was followed a year later by USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25). While Long Beach was a 'true cruiser', meaning she was designed and built as a cruiser, Bainbridge began life as a frigate, though at that time the Navy was using the hull code "DLGN" for "destroyer leader, guided missile, nuclear". This was prior to the enactment of the 1975 ship reclassification plan, in which frigates (DLG/DLGN), which were essentially large destroyers, were reclassified as cruisers, so that the US Navy's numbers would compete with those of the Soviet Navy. Long Beach, the largest of all the nuclear cruisers, was equipped with a C1W cruiser reactor, while all the others were equipped with D2G destroyer reactors.

CL-154-class cruiser US Navy light cruisers

The CL-154 class of 5-inch (127 mm) gun light cruisers was a United States Navy project from the last two years of World War II, with antecedents reaching back to 1938 and earlier. The CL-154 class was contemporary to the 6-inch (152 mm) gun Worcester-class light cruisers and the 8-inch (203 mm) gun Des Moines-class heavy cruisers: like them the CL-154 design incorporated the lessons learned of World War II combat. The Navy allocated six hull numbers to the CL-154 class for the planned construction, but unlike the Worcester and Des Moines classes the CL-154 class would be cancelled with no units named or constructed. Had these ships been built, they would have been given the hull classification CLAA on 18 March 1949.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Shelbourne, Mallory (November 2024). "SECNAV Del Toro Announces Life Extensions for 3 Cruisers". USNI News. United States Naval Institute.
  2. 1 2 Defense News 2024
  3. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 1-2
  4. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 1-2, 413-425
  5. ↑ Friedman, 1982, pp 255-258
  6. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 448-455
  7. ↑ "NavSource website"
  8. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 18–22, 41–43
  9. ↑ Friedman, 1984, p. 41
  10. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 45-46, 50-65
  11. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 23–40, 48–50, 54–56
  12. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp 167, 176-178
  13. ↑ Freidman, 1984, pp. 66–84
  14. ↑ Freidman, 1984, pp. 85–103
  15. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 104–161
  16. ↑ Ewing, 1984, p. 76
  17. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 182-215
  18. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 216–251
  19. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 247–248
  20. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 252–277
  21. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 253, 277–281
  22. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 348-371
  23. ↑ Friedman, 1984, p. 454
  24. ↑ Freidman, 1984, pp. 286–309
  25. ↑ "Knupp, Navy General Board website"
  26. ↑ Friedman, 1982, pp 255–258
  27. ↑ "U.S. NAVY SHIPS -- Listed by Hull Number". DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND. April 2010.
  28. ↑ Freidman, 1984, pp. 427-445
  29. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 372-419
  30. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 414, 419-422
  31. ↑ Friedman, 1982, pp. 300–307, 321–347
  32. ↑ Friedman, 1984, pp. 421
  33. ↑ Friedman, 1982, pp. 346–347
  34. ↑ "Inactive ship inventory" (PDF). NAVSEA, US Navy. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2021.
  35. ↑ Ripley, Julie Ann (22 September 2023). "USS Bunker Hill Decommissions". Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  36. ↑ "USS Mobile Bay Decommissions, Honors 36 Years of Service" (Press release). United States Navy. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  37. ↑ Jennewein, Chris (10 August 2023). "Guided-Missile Cruiser USS Mobile Bay Decommissioned in San Diego After 36 Years". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  38. ↑ VADM J. E. Pitts (11 March 2024). "NAVADMIN 050/24 FY24 PROJECTED SHIP INACTIVATION SCHEDULE (UPDATED COPY)". MyNavyHR. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  39. ↑ https://www.dvidshub.net/news/481515/uss-leyte-gulf-decommissioned
  40. ↑ "USS San Jacinto (CG-56) Decommissions, Honoring 35 Years of Service" (Press release). United States Navy. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  41. ↑ "USS Lake Champlain Decommissions After 35 Years of Distinguished Service". surfpac.navy.mil. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  42. ↑ Mongilio, Heather (September 2022). "Sailors Bid Farewell to USS Monterey as Navy Prepares to Decommission 3 More Cruisers This Month". USNI News. United States Naval Institute.
  43. ↑ "USS Robert Smalls (CG-62)". nvr.navy.mil. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  44. ↑ Schmall, Emily (11 March 2023). "Stripping Confederate Ties, the U.S. Navy Renames Two Vessels". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  45. ↑ CPO Mark Faram (28 August 2024). "USS Cowpens Decommissioned After 33 Years of Service". Commander Pacific Fleet US Navy. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  46. 1 2 Mongilio, Heather (September 2022). "Anzio, Hué City Leave the Fleet as Navy Cruiser Decommissionings Continue". USNI News. United States Naval Institute.
  47. ↑ Mongilio, Heather (August 2022). "USS Vella Gulf Becomes First of Five Ticonderoga-Class Cruisers to Decommission This Year". USNI News. United States Naval Institute.
  48. ↑ "Cruiser USS Port Royal Decommissioned at Pearl Harbor". Seapower. Navy League of the United States. September 2022.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The ARA General Belgrano would be sunk by torpedo 2 May 1982 during the Falklands War, 323 killed
  2. ↑ CVL-22: Operation Crossroads nuclear test target 1946
  3. ↑ CVL-23: Lost 24 October 1944 in the Battle of Leyte Gulf
  4. ↑ CVL-24: Loaned to France 1953-1960 as Bois Belleau
  5. ↑ CVL-28: Transferred to Spain 1967 as Dédalo
  6. ↑ CVL-27: Loaned to France 1951-1963 as La Fayette
  7. ↑ Albany (CA-72) was renamed Pittsburg 1944
  8. ↑ California (ACR-6) was renamed San Diego 1914
  9. ↑ Chancellorsville (CG-62) was renamed Robert Smalls 2023
  10. ↑ Colorado (ACR-7) was renamed Pueblo 1916
  11. ↑ Des Moines (CA-75) was renamed Helena 1944
  12. ↑ Flint (CL-64) was renamed Vincennes 1942
  13. ↑ Maryland (ACR-8) was renamed Frederick 1916
  14. ↑ Montana (ACR-13) was renamed Missoula 1920
  15. ↑ New York (ACR-2) was renamed Saratoga 1911
  16. ↑ North Carolina (ACR-12) was renamed Charlotte 1920
  17. ↑ Pennsylvania (ACR-4) was renamed Pittsburgh 1912
  18. ↑ Pittsburg (CA-70) was renamed Canberra 1942
  19. ↑ St. Paul (CA-71) was renamed Quincy 1942
  20. ↑ Saratoga (ACR-2) was renamed Rochester 1917
  21. ↑ South Dakota (ACR-9) was renamed Huron 1920
  22. ↑ Tennessee (ACR-10) was renamed Memphis 1916
  23. ↑ Vicksburg (CL-81) was renamed Houston 1942
  24. ↑ Washington (ACR-11) was renamed Seattle 1916
  25. ↑ West Virginia (ACR-5) was renamed Huntington 1916
  26. ↑ Wilkes-Barre (CL-90) was renamed Astoria 1942

General and cited sources

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