List of United States Navy Cruisers

List Of United States Navy Cruisers

This list of cruisers of the United States Navy includes all ships that were ever called "cruiser". Since the nomenclature predates the hull numbering system, and there were several confusing renumberings and renamings, there are multiple entries referring to the same physical ship.

A "*" following the entry indicates a ship that was canceled before completion. Ships in bold saw combat service. A "†" indicates a ship lost to enemy action.

CA-1, CA-6 and CA-10 were never used, as ACR-1 Maine, ACR-6 California/San Diego and ACR-10 Tennessee/Memphis were sunk prior to the 1920 redesignation, and their sisters' original hull numbers were carried over. CA-20 through CA-23 were skipped to allow the reclassification of the Washington Treaty CL's as CA's without re-numbering.

Heavy cruisers CA-149 and CA-151 to CA-153, and light cruisers CL-154 to CL-159 were canceled before being named.

The missing numbers in the guided-missile cruiser series, 43–46, were not used so that DDG-47 Ticonderoga and DDG-48 Yorktown could be redesignated without re-numbering. It has been argued in some sources that the DDG-993 Kidd class guided missile destroyers, which were essentially identically armed to the Virginia class cruisers, should have been redesignated CG-43 through −46. Likewise, CG-15 was skipped so the Leahy-class guided missile frigates (DLG-16 class) could be redesignated without renumbering.

CG-1 through 8 and CG-10 through 12 were converted from World War II cruisers. CAG-1 USS Boston and CAG-2 USS Canberra retained most of their World War II-vintage gun armament and were later returned to their gun cruiser designations CA-69 and CA-70. Before 30 June 1975, CG-16 USS Leahy through CGN-38 USS Virginia were designated DLG or DLGN (Guided Missile Frigate (Nuclear powered)). They were redesignated cruisers in the 1975 ship reclassification. CGN-39 USS Texas and CGN-40 USS Mississippi were laid down as DLGNs but redesignated CGN before commissioning. CG-47 Ticonderoga and CG-48 Yorktown were ordered as guided missile destroyers (DDG) but were redesignated to guided missile cruisers (CG) before any ship was laid down. CGN-9 Long Beach, CGN-41 Arkansas and CG-49 through 73 were ordered, laid down and delivered as guided missile cruisers. Long Beach was the only cruiser since World War II built on a true "cruiser hull", and for over ten years was the only new-build guided missile cruiser in the fleet.

As of 2012, only CG-52 through CG-73 remain in active service.

See also List of light cruisers of the United States.