Virginia Class Cruiser - Class Description

Class Description

The ships were derived from the earlier California class nuclear cruiser (CGN-36 class). They were decommissioned as part of the early 1990s "peace dividend" after the Cold War ended. A fifth warship, the CGN-42, was canceled before being named or laid down. It was found that, while it was possible to mass-produce nuclear-powered warships, the ships were less cost-efficient than conventionally-powered warships and the new gas-turbine-powered ships then entering the fleet -(the Spruance class destroyers) - required much less manpower. Following the end of production of this class, the U.S. Navy continued conventional destroyer/cruiser production, and it redesignated the DDG-47 class of guided missile destroyers as the CG-47 Ticonderoga class cruisers. Three of the four Virginia-class ships were authorized as guided missile frigates (in the pre-1975 definition), and they were redesignated as cruisers either before commissioning or before their launching. The last warship, the USS Arkansas, was authorized, laid down, launched, and commissioned as a guided-missile cruiser.