As a side note, the drinking age was 18 at that time. When I arrived, I requested permission to enter and when I entered, my father was sitting there drinking coffee with the battalion commander. Since he'd been a qualified diving officer on his sub, I believed him. Bipartisan. She was the first nuclear-powered surface warship in the world, the first cruiser since the end of WWII designed and built new from the keel up, and was the first US Navy ship equipped with guided missiles as the main armament. If I correctly remember, I was number two or three. 1964. For weapons, she had two twin rail launchers forward for Terrier missiles (and could carry over 100 of them), amidships she had an ASROC (anti-submarine rocket system) eight-cell launcher with reloading capability and two five-inch 38-caliber guns. . former . I submitted my request and it was approved all of the way up the chain. Eugene P. Wilkinson's command with the hull number CGN-9 and served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years until it was decommissioned on May 1, 1995. Letters could take a couple of weeks to travel between the ship and home. Afterward, my company commander wanted to know why I hadn't informed him that my father was a Senior Chief Petty Officer stationed at the NTC. We learned operations and maintenance and we also learned how to react during simulated casualty operations. Revell. 1969. 2 Armored Box Launchers for a total of eight, Two triple 12.75inch torpedo launchers that could fire the, The rear launcher for the Talos was removed and initially replaced with two quadruple mounts for the, Two quadruple armored box launchers were added for the. 1989. Supplies were being loaded and a 'working party' was called away. This operation, Sea Orbit, reminiscent of the cruise of the Great White Fleet in 19071909, demonstrated the strategic mobility of U.S. naval nuclearpowered surface forces independent of normal fleet logistic support. Check out these sailors from one such ceremony back in 1953.. HMAS Melbourne is absolutely dwarfed by the Big E., View douglas healey and tyler rogoway's Articles. I met some locals from the RAAF (the Royal Australian Air Force) and asked them to take me to their favorite local restaurant and we ended up at a KFC! 6 October 1980 Begins Comprehensive Overhaul, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. After a few days in port, we returned to sea with the entireKitty Hawk Battlegroup. The task force completed the 30,216 nautical mile voyage in 65 days. It marked the final end of the worlds first nuclear-powered surface warship. Up on the bridge, which was on the 010 level, the ship's rolling motions were amplified dramatically because of the height. 8 November 1993 Underway Counter Narcotics Patrol, Caribbean. USS Long Beach, CGN-9. USS LONG BEACH, the third ship in the Navy to bear the name, was the first nuclear powered surface warship in the world and the first large combatant in the US Navy with its main battery consisting entirely of guided missiles. The majority of the cruise was without drama other than the Tu-95 Bear flybys with fighters from Enterprise escorting them off their wingtips. 1961. This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. We later rejoined the Kitty Hawk and made a port visit in Yokosuka, Japan. $11.66. 1959. At that time, four crew members alleged that the ship's reactor was unsafe and that crew working around it had been exposed to unsafe levels of radiation.[22]. In July 2012,Long Beachwas sold at auction for recycling. They were not fond of the Navy's policy on nuclear arms on its vessels, which officially was 'we can neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons on our ships.' I graduated from high school in San Diego in June 1972 and attended Mesa Community College for a while, but wasn't ready. Epilog. The majority of the complicated work would be accomplished by the shipyard workers but the ship's crew would have maintenance to accomplish as well. I flew across the Pacific on a charter (Flying Tigers) to Travis Air Base near Sacramento, California. In Electrician's Mate Class A school we learned about motors generators, shipboard distribution and troubleshooting electrical systems. [8] During this initial cruise, the ship served primarily as the Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone (PIRAZ) unit in the northern Gulf of Tonkin. This is the story of Master Chief Douglas Healeys Navy journey and the historic and enigmatic ship he kept coming back to. I'd had three years of Junior ROTC in high school so after about a week or so I was instructing my company in the manual of arms when I was abruptly ordered to report to the battalion commander's office. They were escorted by USS Fletcher, USS Jenkins, USS Long Beach and USS Glendale. I was one of the most junior Second Class Petty Officers but I asked if I could take the position and I was appointed as the leading Petty Officer in charge of the 115-volt distribution outside of the propulsion plant with 13 sailors reporting to me in addition to standing my watches in the engineering plant. Since E division was in charge of the movies for the ship, I went to the local Navy motion picture office to get new movies for the crew to watch. It was during this cruise that my orders to Class C School at NTC Great Lakes in Illinois came. List of ships with the same or similar names, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Long_Beach&oldid=1052106706, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 October 2021, at 12:35. In addition, two Phalanx CIWS close-in weapon systems were installed, along with two Harpoon surface-to-surface missile (SSM) launchers on the fantail. The USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was a Long Beach-class cruiser laid down on December 2, 1957, and launched on July 14, 1959. Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier andLong Beach was the first nuclear-powered surface warship. USS Long Beach (CLGN-160/CGN-160/CGN-9) was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy and the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant. Taken from the Niagara Falls by William P. Jones, M.D. He had enlisted in the Navy out of high school during World War II under a program known as a kiddie cruise which allowed 17-year-olds to serve up to just prior to their 21st birthday. 7 June 1975 Change of homeport to San Diego, Ca. It also helped thatLong Beach was homeported in San Diego while the others were based in Alameda, California. 1968. We didn't go to New Zealand and our port visit in Australia was the city of Perth in the western part of the country. This open space was first planned to accommodate the mounting of a Regulus nuclear-armed cruise missile, but was then changed to four launch tubes for the Polaris missile. ; launched 14 July 1959; sponsored by Mrs. Craig Hosmer, wife of Congressmen Hosmer of California; and commissioned 9 September 1961, Capt. It was a very competitive time for many reasons, not the least being you had to put four people in the Navy each month! I had fewer than forty dollars since most of my pay went home to support my wife and son. 13 January 1984 10th West Pacific deployment. For a nuclear-powered warship based in San Diego, this usually meant a trip to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. A friend and I were sitting on one of the bits on the port side when he pointed out a periscope about 30 yards of the port beam. I thought that it would be funny if I were pulled over and showed the local cop my California driver's license but we all made it safely back without meeting with the constables. Ford-Class. They had no idea where we were and as we gradually turned on different radars, they finally came flying right down to where we were. 7 November 1974 Sixth West Pacific deployment. My first job on Long Beach was to qualify on the reactor plant. I asked what he had offered her and was told it was a special air traffic controller school which was a rare offering. When we left Hawaii we sailed through the 'Bear Box' with EMCON (electronic emissions control) set to see if the Russian Bear reconnaissance planes could find us. We were told by some of the repair personnel in Subic that a part of a blade from the sub's screw was found embedded in the Kitty Hawk's bottom. I was there before the reactors were placed in the ship. I received orders to a nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) in New London, Connecticut instead. He was a Talos missile Gunner's Mate and they had a problem with the missile handling system so he was unable to leave the ship before they sailed from Subic. 4 April 1978 Eighth West Pacific deployment. 9 January 1985 Selected Restricted Availability at. The USS Long Beach is a former battleship belonging to the U.S. Navy. A port bow view of the battleship USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62), with bunting. When it wound down, one of the locals asked if there were anyone who was sober and could drive a stick shift. The final weapons suite consisted of:[citation needed], The 5"/38 guns and the ASROC were retained, and several 12.7mm (50-cal) were installed as needed. As one of a couple of 400 Hz maintenance techs onboard, it helped me advance in rate also. It was the first record use of naval SAMs in combat conditions. [18], In 1980 the vessel rescued 114 Vietnamese boat people off the coast of Vietnam. A. USS Long Beach (CGN 9) (ex-CGN 160, CLGN 160) USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was the first nuclear powered surface warship in the world and the first large combatant in the US Navy with its main battery consisting of guided missiles. Being a member of the initial crew of any ship is a great experience as you will get to know the ship better than any future crew members can. Both ships were open for visitors. There was a line of well over a block to visit Long Beach and one could walk right up and go on the Melbourne. She was commissioned on September 9, 1961 under the command of then-Captain Eugene Parks Wilkinson, who had previously served as the first commanding officer for the USS Nautilus. She sailed 28 February 1966 for her new home port and namesake, Long Beach, California, and arrived 15 March 1966. On 4 June 1965 she sailed for the Global Strategy Conference at the Naval War College, Newport, where Vice Admiral Kleber S. Masterson, Commander Second Fleet broke his flag on the ship. There were two recruiters assigned, including me. The billboard arrays, and the big superstructure they were mounted on, made the ship a bit top heavy as well. Long Beach was . We made more port visits that. And it was approved all of the battleship USS New JERSEY ( BB-62 ), with bunting San,... The story of Master Chief Douglas Healeys Navy journey and the big superstructure they were on. November 1993 Underway Counter Narcotics Patrol, Caribbean thatLong Beach was homeported in San Diego in June and. 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