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| Ships of the United States Navy | |
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| Ships in current service | |
| Ships grouped alphabetically | |
| Ships grouped by type | |
Thislist ofcruisers of theUnited States Navy includes all ships that were ever called "cruiser", either publicly or in internal documentation.
The Navy has 7Ticonderoga-class cruisers in active service, as of 27 September 2025, with the last tentatively scheduled for decommissioning in 2029.[1] With the cancellation of theCG(X) program in 2010, the Navy currently has no cruiser replacement program planned.[2] The Navy is looking to theAegis-equippedArleigh Burke-class destroyers to increasingly fill the role of the cruiser in the protection of thecarrier strike group, as it could be well into the 2030s before any possible cruiser replacement program is up and running.[2]
Ship status is indicated as either currently active [A] (including ready reserve), inactive [I], or precommissioning [P]. Ships in the inactive category include only ships in the inactive reserve, ships which have been disposed from US service have no listed status. Ships in the precommissioning category would include ships under construction or on order; as described above there currently are no such cruisers.
Comprehension of the history of cruisers as shown in these lists requires some understanding of the unique role (sharing both independent and combined fleet operations) that cruisers were expected to support in the US fleet, and of the consequent influence this role had on design. In one example, the Navy'sBureau of Ships issued a memorandum in 1947 listing the ways in which cruiser hulls differed fromdestroyer hulls, including details such as double hull construction, electrical generation and distribution, water mains for firefighting, fuel lines and tankage, and fresh water distillation.[3]
CGN-9Long Beach, commissioned in 1961, was the last US cruiser built on a true cruiser hull. All subsequent cruisers, including nuclear powered cruisers, were based on the less expensive and less capable destroyer hulls. The one attempt sinceLong Beach to revert to the advantages of a "cruiser hull" design was the canceledCSGN nuclear strike cruiser; the CSGN proposal mentioned the greater powerplant survivability from the separation of the two nuclear reactors in a cruiser hull over the adjacent reactors in a destroyer hull.[4]
The sole example of a destroyer built on a cruiser hull was the experimentalDL-1Norfolk, which was originally classed as ahunter-killer cruiser (CLK).[5]
Since the cruiser nomenclature predates the hull numbering system, and there were several confusing renumberings and renamings,[6] there are multiple entries on these lists referring to the same physical ship. Combat history summaries (wars andbattle stars[7]) are listed only for the specific hull classification and number; for example, the World War II battle stars for a heavy cruiser (CA) and the Vietnam War battle stars for the same ship after its conversion to a guided missile cruiser (CG) are listed separately in each ship type list.
CA-1, CA-6 and CA-10 were never used, as ACR-1Maine, ACR-6California/San Diego and ACR-10Tennessee/Memphis were lost prior to the 1920 redesignation, and their sisters' original hull numbers were carried over. CA-20 through CA-23 were skipped with the merger of the CA and CL sequences, which allowed the reclassification of the Washington Treaty CLs as CAs without re-numbering.
Heavy cruisers CA-149 and CA-151 to CA-153, light cruisers CL-154 to CL-159, and nuclear guided missile cruiser CGN-42 werecanceled before being named.
Guided missile cruisers CAG-1 and CAG-2, along with CLG-3 through CLG-8 and CG-10 through 12 were converted from World War II cruisers. CAG-1 USSBoston and CAG-2 USSCanberra retained most of their original gun armament and were later returned to their gun cruiser designations CA-69 and CA-70. CGN-9,Long Beach, originally held the last designation in the heavy-light cruiser sequence, CLGN-160.
CG-15 was skipped so theLeahy-class guided missile frigates (CG-16 class) could be redesignated without renumbering. The other missing numbers in the guided-missile cruiser series, 43–46, were not used so that DDG-47Ticonderoga and DDG-48Yorktown could be similarly redesignated. (It has been argued in some sources[who?] that the DDG-993Kidd-class guided missile destroyers, which were essentially identically armed to theVirginia-classcruisers, should have been redesignated CG-43 through −46.)
Before 30 June 1975, CG-16 USSLeahy through CGN-38 USSVirginia were designated DLG or DLGN (Destroyer Leader, Guided Missile (Nuclear powered)). They were redesignated cruisers in the1975 ship reclassification. CGN-39 USSTexas and CGN-40 USSMississippi were laid down as DLGNs but redesignated CGN before commissioning. CG-47Ticonderoga and CG-48Yorktown were ordered as guided missile destroyers (DDG) but were redesignated to guided missile cruisers (CG) before any ship was laid down. CGN-41Arkansas and CG-49 through 73 were ordered, laid down and delivered as guided missile cruisers, although asVirginia orTiconderoga-class ships they had not been designed as cruisers.
The first three modern cruisers in the Navy, theAtlanta,Boston, andChicago, were most successful as technology demonstrators that stimulated the US industrial base, with features such as steel hulls and electricity generation. Their technology proved so operationally decisive they came to be seen as the dividing line between the "Old Navy" and the"New Navy". The last two protected cruisers which initially served without hull classification numbers, theNew Orleans andAlbany, were purchased from a British builder during mobilization for the 1898Spanish–American War.[8]
Beginning in 1891Congress subsidized a number of fastocean liners with plans to requisition them in wartime.St. Louis,St. Paul,Harvard, andYale were the largest and were chartered by the Navy for the Spanish–American War, and seven others were purchased in 1898.[9]
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Officially these ships were e.g., "Armored Cruiser No. 1". Unofficially, top naval officers initially referred to these ships asbattleships because they cost almost as much, shared many features with them, and were intended to accompany them in fleet actions; they took care to ensure that Congress never heard their opinion. The 1905Russo-Japanese War showed armored cruisers did not perform as well as either battleships or as other cruiser types. As battleship technology advanced they were judged obsolete for their original role about the time the last U.S. armored cruiser was commissioned (this advance in part led to the development ofbattlecruisers as a replacement), and so they were retained for other cruiser roles despite their deficiencies. During 1912–1920 the U.S. armored cruisers had their names changed from states to cities within those states to free up the names for battleships.[10]
In the pre-1920 period abbreviations were informal and not standardized; officially these ships were, e.g., "Cruiser No. 1". Only theMontgomery class were unprotected cruisers, all the rest were protected cruisers. The Navy often referred to unprotected cruisers and obsolete protected cruisers (and some large gunboats without cruiser features) aspeace cruisers due to their use in major policing and diplomatic roles.[11]
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While classified aspatrol gunboats by the Navy and assloops by the 1930London Naval Treaty, the 2,000 ton displacementErie-class gunboats were designed to fulfill the role of peace cruisers inAsia and theCaribbean as detailed in internal Navy documents.[12]
In 1919 two cruisers were reclassified as Cruiser Minelayers (CM); they had participated in the laying of theNorth Sea mine barrage during WW1. Other large minelayers with no cruiser features or history were later given the 'CM' hull symbol, and the 'cruiser' nomenclature was dropped.
The use of fast armed merchant cruisers in the Spanish–American War and thefleet exercises of 1902-03 convinced the Navy that it needed fast scout cruisers. TheChester class was built in part to test high speed propulsion plants. TheOmaha class would become the oldest U.S. cruisers to serve in World War II. Officially these ships were, e.g., "Scout Cruiser No. 1", and sometimes abbreviated SC or SCR; on 8 August 1921 all would be reclassed aslight cruisers.[13]
The United States laid down its only six battlecruisers as part of the 1917 construction program; in accordance with the 1922Washington Naval Treaty four were scrapped incomplete and two converted during construction into theLexington-classaircraft carriers.[14]
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On 17 July 1920, all First and Second Class Cruisers (armored and protected cruisers) still in service were reclassified as Armored Cruisers (CA).
Pennsylvania class
Tennessee class
other classes
Columbia class
St. Louis class (1905)
In the 1920 hull designation system, of the Third Class Cruisers the fast Scout Cruisers became Light Cruisers (CL), and the slowerNew Orleans andDenver-class "peace cruisers" were reclassified as Patrol Gunboats (PG).
On 8 August 1921 the system was revised; the surviving protected cruisers (except for the "semi-armored"St Louis class) and the peace cruiser/patrol gunboats were all grouped with the scout cruisers as Light Cruisers (CL).
Chester class
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other classes
New Orleans class (1896)
The CA/CL overlap of hull numbers would persist until the last armored cruiser of the original CA series,Seattle, was reclassed as IX-39 on 17 February 1941.
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The first cruisers of thePensacola,Northampton,New Orleans, andPortland classes – which were designed after the 1922Washington Naval Treaty, so quickly that the last design was complete before sea trial of the first were finished – were originally designated Light Cruisers (CL) due to their light protection. Later, in accordance with the 1930 London Naval Treaty, they were reclassified as "Heavy Cruisers" (CA) in 1931 due to their 8-inch (203 mm) guns.Thenceforward new heavy and light cruisers were numbered in a single sequence. These four classes were known as "Treaty cruisers" and "Tinclads" and were seen even before World War II as deficient by the Navy due to the treaty limitations, but despite their high losses in the early days of the war they performed well.[15]
New Orleans class
Portland class
New Orleans class
The terms of the 1930London Naval Treaty motivated the signatories to de-emphasize heavy cruiser construction in favor of light cruisers. The resultant nine shipBrooklyn-class of light cruisers had a strong influence on US cruiser design. Nearly all subsequent US cruisers, heavy and light, were directly or indirectly based on them, including the unique heavy cruiserWichita.[17][18]
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New Orleans class
Wichita class
Brooklyn class
Brooklyn class (St. Louis subclass)
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The 1936Second London Naval Treaty would also influence the Navy's light cruiser program. It imposed limits that resulted in the smaller displacementAtlanta class with a 5-inch (127 mm)dual purpose rapid fire main gun battery, the first such ship in the Navy.[19]
Parallel to theAtlanta design was an abortive attempt to design a super-Atlanta known as the Cruiser-Destroyer, orCLD. The "ship characteristics" resulting from this study would be almost identical to that of the laterCL-154 design. CLD did not become an official hull classification symbol.[20]
When the United States entered World War II it had three major classes of cruisers under construction: theAtlanta andCleveland light cruiser classes (with 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries, respectively), and theBaltimore-class of heavy cruisers. TheCleveland-class was an improvement of theBrooklyn design, while theBaltimore-class was an improvedWichita. These ships would form the bulk of the cruiser war construction effort, with eightAtlanta-class, twenty-sevenCleveland-class, and fourteenBaltimore-class cruisers ultimately completed. Early in the war nineCleveland hulls would be diverted for conversion intoIndependence classlight aircraft carriers (CVLs). By the end of the war threeCleveland hulls would be canceled, and one incomplete hull would later be converted to aguided missile cruiser.[21]
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Cleveland class
Atlanta class (Oakland subclass)
Cleveland class
As the Navy gained experience with World War II combat conditions, it was decided that theAtlanta,Cleveland, andBaltimore classes needed improvement. However, major improvements would cause unacceptable delays in the construction programs. A new generation of cruisers with minor improvements would consist of theJuneau andFargo classes of light cruisers (respectively 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries), and theOregon City-class of heavy cruisers. The major noticeable difference would be that theFargo and theOregon City classes would have their engine exhausts trunked into a single funnel to aid anti-aircraft fire. Due to the near-total destruction of theImperial Japanese Navy, the number of the ships of this generation to be completed as gun cruisers would be small: threeJuneau-class, twoFargo-class, and threeOregon City-class cruisers. A fourthOregon City-class cruiser would be completed postwar as acommand cruiser. Seventeen hulls from among the three classes were canceled.[22]
Late in the war theBaltimore-class would also serve as the basis of the twoSaipan class light aircraft carriers (CVLs).
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Baltimore class
The Navy agreed in the waning days of the war to construct a small number of cruisers for the purpose of operationally testing new gun designs and other major improvements incorporating the lessons learned of World War II combat: the 'CL-154' andWorcester classes of light cruisers (respectively 5-inch and 6-inch main batteries), and theDes Moines-class of heavy cruisers. Initially the Navy wanted at least one squadron of six ships of each class, but in the end only twoWorcester-class and threeDes Moines-class cruisers would be completed, and the CL-154 class would be cancelled in its entirety. A total of seventeen hulls from among the three planned classes would be canceled.[23]
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Baltimore class
Oregon City class
Des Moines class
Des Moines class
The last ship to be assigned a hull number in the Heavy and Light Cruiser sequence would be the 1950s era nuclear poweredLong Beach, though this ship would be assigned another number and designation under theguided missile cruiser hull classification before launch.
Long Beach class
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The motivation for the large cruiser concept came from the deployment of Germany's so-calledpocket battleships in the early 1930s, and from concerns that Japan would follow withsimilar ships. These large cruisers had design features intermediate between heavy cruisers and battleships (such as the unique and highly effective12-inch/50-caliber Mark 8 guns); this was unlike the designs of the earlierbattlecruisers, the ultimate design of which had thesame 16-inch guns as battleships but less armor and more speed. Despite these differences large cruisers and battlecruisers were intended to serve much the same role.[25][26]
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CLK-1 was authorized in 1947 as an anti-submarine hunter killer. She was designed on a light cruiser hull so she could carry a greater variety of detection gear than a destroyer. CLK-2 was cancelled due to the high cost ($61.9 million) of CLK-1.[27]
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On 18 March 1949, the surviving light cruisers of theAtlanta andJuneau classes were redesignated as antiaircraft cruisers (CLAA) without changing their hull numbers;San Diego,San Juan, andFlint were redesignated even though they had been decommissioned and were in reserve. The CL-154 class would also have received this designation had they not been canceled.
Atlanta class
Atlanta class (Oakland subclass)
Juneau class
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By the end of World War II the Navy had gained favorable experience with dedicatedamphibious command ships, and desired similar but faster ships to accompany aircraft carriers for fleet command, which would also relieve overcrowded fleet command facilities on other ships. Both completed conversions,Northampton andWright, were indirectly based on theBaltimore class heavy cruiser design (the first via theOregon City class, the second via theSaipan class). The result would be the highly capable but expensive command cruisers. These ships would be absorbed into theNational Emergency Command Post Afloat mission, and then retired when that role was cancelled.[29]
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With the exception of the purpose-built nuclear powered guided missile cruiserLong Beach, all of the early guided missile cruisers were converted heavy or light cruisers from the World War II era. The early conversions were heavy (CAG) and light (CLG) 'single-enders' which placed the missile facilities aft and conservatively retained their forward main gun batteries; the later conversions (CG) were 'double-enders' which eliminated the main guns. In 1975 the surviving 'single enders' would be reclassified as CG even though they retained their guns.[30]
Alaska class
Long Beach class
Following the conversion of theAlbany class, all guided missile cruisers would be built on 'destroyer hulls'; the pre-1975 ships were originally classified as destroyers (DDG) or as destroyer leaders (DLG) and termed 'frigates' before reclassification as cruisers.[32]
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Bainbridge class
Truxtun class
CGN-42 class
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To date all nuclear cruisers have been guided missile cruisers, and all have been retired.
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Long Beach class
Bainbridge class
Truxtun class
California class
Virginia class
CGN-42 class
Names without links were not completed, or completed as aircraft carriers or destroyer leaders.
