Long Beach (CGN 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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As PIRAZ lPosltlve Identlflcatlon and Radar Advlsory Zone! ship LONG BEACH malntalned an up to the minute plc ture of every aircraft aloft m a 100 OOO square mule survell Iande area LONG BEACH monitored a total of over 25 OOO anrcraft during the deployment 'UU . I - I . ' I Y.. .t X iii .tttttt X, S- te L Q M we 5 .- ZX' . if X , ,ex 1 X. ...X I-H Y .Q . 'xr Q A , rt:

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WESTPAC '72 This Nuclear powered guided missile cruiser departed Long Beach, California on 28 lVlarch, 1972 for her fourth deploy- ment with the Seventh Fleet in the Gulf of Tonkin. The routine of our scheduled transit across the Pacific changed abruptly when North Vietnamese forces executed the Spring lnvasion of the Republic of Vietnam. After a brief stopover in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Pacific Fleet Head- quarters passed the word to LONG BEACH and she sped for the Gulf of Tonkin. Free from fuel considerations, LONG BEACH's nuclear reactors drove us westward at top speed. We arrived in the Gulf on 13 April at a dead run - a pace we maintained during combat operations for the ensu- ing eight months. The 240 day stint with the Seventh fleet was characterized by unpredictable tactical conditions with an overall intense tempo of operations. LONG BEACH's dual mission of air iff, ti -- - 35:1-ff-3 E? warfare and SAR lSearch and Flescuel left little time to re- lax. We were in the Gulf only a few days when Hanoi and Haiphong were first hit by air strikes. The reliability of the power plant enabled LONG BEACH to spend a very high percentage of our time deployed in the combat zone. High speed transits coupled with freedom from fuel replenishments added valuable days to our time on station. Almost 9!10 of the time away from home port was spent underway. - Q52 ' -L V- 'liflje-Lif 1 :E Y l l i X l r i i l l l l l l l l i l l l l 5, l i l l l l

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w l E I l LONG BEACH controlled daily Navy and Air Force strikes into North Vietnam. These strikes, consisting of fighter, strike, and support aircraft, totalled from 40 to 100 planes each. When strikes were opposed by lVllGS, air intercept con- trollers in LONG BEACH accurately vectored friendly fighters to the threatg in all cases protecting the strike air- craft and driving off the hostiles. During this deployment nine confirmed MIG kills were credited to LONG BEACH controllers. Always there when needed most, LONG BEACH's tour of duty in the Gulf of Tonkin lasted from the spring intensification of the bomb- ing to the sharp reduction of the air war concurrent with the 1972 peace initiative. LONG BEACH missile batteries provided an effective deter- ent to hostile aircraft. North Vietnamese lVllGS seldom ventured within range of the ship out of hard learned respect for the TALOS and TERRIER missiles. The presence of this advanced missile system played a key role in the air war over North Vietnam. A most satisfying aspect of the LONG BEACH mission was SAR lSearch and Rescuel. LONG BEACH coordination and control rescued seventeen American pilots whose aircraft Q- - , - ' .I 'w'w:Q: V we if sw- w,fw9IfsfIr'-1 f sw I f' f A IMIM is va, sf :'. S ' gf 1 - f ' L lr NI-it xii Jie 43fXSVfZV,Q1Q4Y4ifv449A'FgMfffIxsS?f'5I?SQEN Q , , wits tc' v w .N Is- s'I'y'tf,,. I-f avi: ,s,2efw,e arg Iwe,WfeI,fx fiyssaliwgt4,sgIJX.-m3gf1pIpage,fsWrE6IgfxI,5s,,Lyric ffyqag , ,mm X .423-2 -4. ,IJ-ss , ,A,fSf,Qv..2b,fft sy 4, A p.,.,,Q,f4., A., s.fs,ss,f, f.,,sv,s.,I sc,-I,I,,,,.,.,f ,--I, ,I,--,QI-,-Navi, Iss-xr-y, My X, ,,s,,,2,4c - fin- ,Q I -Aw we f ysZys-Wsipyew-w-I4-W54y1-www..,Is-6IIiI,I,.fI,,f, :Inez-wI,MtI,,WQIIA-Ny Imysfw A - V fr A . 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I II I we , , ,I -1 ...ff f 41,441 ,gh Axe . . fi fI.., .ef W sp, ,,,,, , ,. ,m.,I-it my X,,,gw,,fIs4f2m .- x f-1, 4 , , , ,I I 1 If ' ' I, . - I 16 A l Hill Y Nllii:llFlWlll'llll if A ll l Lu ji l lwlrnl ll' ,, .YXWSXQX J 1 ,Iflln Rf' Z IM X lr S f i lz Wfff f X ! Z!! ,. if were hit over North Vietnam. While most of the recoveries were from the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, particularly difficult and gratifying were the rescues of four Air Force pilots who were down inside North Vietnamese territory. ln July, LONG BEACH coordinated the rescue of two pilots from the islands northeast of Haiphong. ln November, Air Force SAR forces rescued two Air Force F-105 pilots down 25 miles inland in North Vietnam. The SAR forces were on the scene for over 7 hours while LONG BEACH provided tanker aircraft from all over the Gulf of Tonkin to refuel SAR forces.