Friday, April 18, 2014

Nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser USS Long Beach.

Long Beach was the world's first nuclear-powered surface warship. As designed, she was also the first warship destined to have an armament consisting solely of guided missiles, however two 5"/38cal turrets were added amidships in 1962-1963 for shore bombardment and/or antiaircraft closer-range defense (these guns had very limited arcs of fire due to their position on the vessel). Two Phalanx close-in weapon systems can be seen and the superstructure lacks the so-called billboard radars, so the photo must postdate Long Beach's 1980-1983 conversion.
Ship details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Long_Beach_(CGN-9)
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2 comments:

  1. Alex59April 18, 2014 at 9:54 PM

    Absolutely beautiful. One of my favorite ships! Thank you! Will you be putting out some the more modern (1950-1960 era) ships? Always look forward to your postings. Thanks again!.

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  2. Denis FillionApril 18, 2014 at 11:13 PM

    I will occasionally but I prefer gun ships to missile ships for aesthetic reasons. They just look better in my view. Long Beach is one exception to this though, one of my favourite ships in terms of looks because I just love squared superstructures for some reason.

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