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Most naval history buffs can tell you that the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine, while USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier – yet many may wrongly assume that the carrier was also the first United State Navy surface warship to be powered by nuclear energy. In fact, it was the USS Long Beach (CGN-9), a warship that was originally intended to be no larger than a frigate but during the design stage was rapidly increased to the dimensions of a heavy cruiser, which has the distinction of being the first nuclear-powered surface vessel. As an experimental platform, Long Beach was the only ship of her class. She was also the last cruiser built for the U.S. Navy as a cruiser design as all subsequent cruiser classes were essentially built on scaled-up destroyer hulls or converted from existing cruisers. The increase in size was to accommodate various missile systems, while a helicopter pad was installed at the stern of the ship – however, she only carried helicopters during operations off Vietnam. During her service, Long Beach had the highest bridge structure of any warship smaller than an aircraft carrier. The ship’s high box-like superstructure housed the SCANFAR radar system, which comprised of AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33 phased array radars.- Peter Suciu