Long Beach (CGN 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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In 1943 such concepts as guided missile cruisers which would provide their own air umbrella were not even in the dream stages of most naval officers and naval architects The advent of guided missiles into the naval arsenal brought conversions and new designa tions, a pair of Baltzmore class heavy cruisers had their after turrets and mounts removed to be replaced with Terrier missile systems in 1956, becoming CAG's. And then, in 1961, USS Long Beach was launched as the first Nuclear Power- ed Guided Missile Cruiser - CGJVZ9. CCN-9, the third ship of the fleet to be named for the city of Long Beach, California, is only the second to have been so planned, designed, and built for military purposes from its inception. A German Steamer, Hohenklde, constructed in 1892, was acquired by the U. S. Navy and com- missioned for wartime service in Charleston, South Carolina on 20 December, 1917 as a cargo ship- USS Long Beach KAK-9j. She had a speed of 8.5 knots, displaced 5,800 tons and was 330 feet in length. Armed with a single 3,' 50 caliber antiaircraft gun and two machine guns, her assigned mission was transporting coal and lumber between eastern United States cities and ports in England, Ireland, and France in 1918 and 1919. The next Long Beach was a frigate, QPE3-ifj 12 The heel of USS Long Beach was laza' on December 2 1957 m the Fore Rzver Shzpyard ofthe Bethlehem Steel Com pany Qumcy Massachusetts She was launched on june 14 1959 Thecruzser got underway on nuclearpower uh: 5 1961 and was commzsszoned September 9 the same year built by the Consolidated Steel Corporation in Wilmington California she was commissioned on September 8 1943 at Terminal Island Cali fornia She drsplaced 1 430 tons was 304 feet in length and could attain a speed of over 20 knots Departing the United States for Australia in early 1944, she embarked on a busy career in the Far East, she served as a screening escort for troop transports, merchant tankers, and am- phibious vessels between Cape Sudest, New Guin- ea, Humboldt Bay, Wake Island, Maffin Bay and several other Pacific ports. During her Far Eastern tour of 1944, the frigate earned battle stars for her participation in the Bismarck Archipelago Operation, Admiral- ty Islands Landingsg Hollandia Operationg West- ern New Guinea Operationsg and the Leyte Land- ings. She also received the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Badge. Following her wartime service, Long Beach was placed out of commission in July, 1945, and was transferred to the Russian Navy under terms of the Lend-Lease Act. The U. S. Navy re- gained custody of the ship in late 1949, and in November 1953, she was loaned to the Govern- ment of japan under the Mutual Defense Assist- ance Program. She now bears the name Shit in the japanese Maritime Defense Forces. . . - V .wfwfe ia.---w ' at --v-vw - - --- ------- --4---A.. -. - ---.. .t .... .. .. . uh.'!.1,,,, .:,..,..f ,f...Vg1'Lgm,,.,,,mm4,,,

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