USS Long Beach ( CGN - 9 ) USS " Long Beach " ( CLGN - 160 / CGN - 160 / CGN - 9 ) was a nuclear - powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy . She was the only ship of her class . " Long Beach " was the first " all - new " cruiser designed and constructed after World War II ( all others were completions or conversions of cruisers begun or completed during the war ) . She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Long Beach , California , and the last ship built on a traditional " cruiser hull " in the U . S . Navy ; all subsequent cruisers were built on scaled - up destroyer hulls . This led to the slogan she carried in her later years : " The Only Real Cruiser . " The " Long Beach " was decommissioned in 1995 and sold for scrap in 2012 . Configuration . The ship was designed as an " all - missile " ship from the very beginning , but was fitted with two 5 " / 38 caliber gun mounts amidships at President John F . Kennedy ' s order . " Long Beach " was also the last cruiser built on a traditional long , lean cruiser hull ; later new - build cruisers were actually converted frigate s ( DLG / CG , , , , and the " California " and " Virginia " classes ) or uprated destroyer s ( the DDG / CG " Ticonderoga " class was built on a " Spruance " class destroyer hull ) . The " Long Beach " was first laid out to be a smaller frigate , but expanded to a cruiser hull due to the ship being slated for the Regulus nuclear cruise missile or , later , 4 launching tubes for the Polaris missile , which would occupy the space taken up by the 5 " / 38 caliber gun mounts and the ASROC system . The open space just aft of the bridge " box " was to be the area for these . In addition to steel , the " Long Beach " was built with 450 tons of structural aluminum . Because of this unusually high quantity of aluminum , she was assigned the voice radio call sign " Alcoa " . The ship was propelled by two nuclear reactors , one for each propeller shaft , and was capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots ( 56 km / h ) . The high box - like superstructure contained the SCANFAR system , consisting of the AN / SPS - 32 and AN / SPS - 33 phased array radar s . One of the reasons " Long Beach " was a one - ship class was because it was an experimental platform for these radars , which were precursors to the AN / SPY - 1 phased array systems later installed on Aegis warships ( " Ticonderoga " - class cruisers and " Arleigh Burke " - class destroyers ) . At the time , " Long Beach " had the highest bridge of any ship smaller than an aircraft carrier . Weapons suite . The original weapons suite consisted of : The ship went through several modifications by the time she was decommissioned . The final weapons suite consisted of : The 5 " / 38 ' s and the " ASROC " were retained , and several 12 . 7mm ( 50 - cal ) were installed as needed . History . " Long Beach " was originally ordered as CLGN - 160 . She was reclassified CGN - 160 in early 1957 , but was again reclassified as CGN - 9 on 1 July 1957 . Her keel was laid down on 2 December 1957 by Bethlehem Steel Co . , Fore River Shipyard , Quincy , Massachusetts . She was launched 14 July 1959 , sponsored by the wife of Craig Hosmer , Congressman from California . She was commissioned on 9 September 1961 , with Captain Eugene P . Wilkinson in command . " Long Beach " served in the Atlantic Fleet from her commissioning in 1961 until completing her first refueling in early 1966 , when the cruiser was transferred from the home port of Norfolk , Virginia to Long Beach , California . In May 1964 , " Long Beach " joined the aircraft carrier and the guided missile cruiser to form the all - nuclear - powered Task Force 1 . At the end of July , the three warships began Operation Sea Orbit , a two - month unrefueled cruise around the world . It was the first all - nuclear battle formation in the history of naval operations . In October 1966 , the " Long Beach " deployed for the first of a number of cruises to the Western Pacific . During this initial cruise , the cruiser served primarily as the Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone ( PIRAZ ) unit in the northern Gulf of Tonkin . As such , her main responsibility was to " sanitize " returning US air strikes , ensuring that no enemy aircraft were attempting to evade identification by hiding amongst returning friendlies . Additionally , the ship provided support for an on - board Search and Rescue ( SAR ) helicopter unit . During this tour , the " Long Beach " was responsible for directing the downing of one Soviet - made An - 2 ' Colt ' aircraft that was attempting to engage South Vietnam ese naval units . The shoot - down was executed by an F - 4 Phantom II fighter under the control of a " Long Beach " Air Intercept Controller ( AIC ) . The cruiser returned to Long Beach , California , in July 1967 , and was redeployed to the Gulf of Tonkin in 1968 , shooting down a MiG fighter plane with a RIM - 8 Talos missile in May 1968 , at a range of 65 miles . She the first ship to down an aircraft using SAMs . In September of the same year , she downed another MIG , this one at 61 miles . She also directed other MIG kills by American fighters . After Vietnam the " Long Beach " performed routine duties in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean , although in 1975 she served escort duties for an ad - hoc U . S . task force during the Mayagüez incident . When the " Talos " missile system was removed in 1978 two 4 - cell Harpoon anti - ship missile launchers were installed aft . In 1980 the vessel rescued 114 Vietnamese boat people off the coast of Vietnam . In 1979 , and again from 1980 to 1983 , the " Long Beach " returned to Puget Sound to undergo a mid - life conversion , during which time the " Bill - Board " radars were removed from the forward superstructure and enhanced flagship facilities installed , along with modern radars . The Standard SM - 2ER missiles and the associated modern electronics replaced the obsolete " Terrier " system . In addition , two 4 - cell launchers and fire control for BGM - 109 Tomahawk cruise missiles , two Phalanx close - in weapons CWS were installed , and the " Harpoon " anti - ship missile SSM launchers were re - sited . The " Long Beach " deployed throughout the 1980s , conducting " Tomahawk " missile test launches , serving as an escort for the USS Missouri task force , and providing aircraft carrier escort support during the Gulf War of 1991 . Due to cuts in the defense budget after the First Gulf War , the decision was made to decommission all nuclear cruisers from the Navy as their reactor cores ran down . As " Long Beach " had been refueled during her 1970 refit , her third refueling was due in the early to mid - 1990s . As a consequence , a decision was taken to decommission her in 1994 . A deactivation ceremony occurred on 2 July 1994 at Norfolk Naval Station , and the ship was then towed over to Newport News Shipbuilding where her entire superstructure was removed and her reactors were defueled and removed , along with any radioactive parts . After this work was completed in the winter of 1995 the hull was towed through the Panama Canal to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . The " Long Beach " was stricken on 1 May 1995 , over 33 years after she had entered service . On July 13 , 2012 , the " Long Beach " was sold for recycling as prescribed for nuclear - powered vessels by Code 350 of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton , Wash .