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.

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 2011 only CG-52 through CG-73 remain in active service.

[edit] Cruisers without hull designations

USS Atlanta, the US Navy's first cruiser

Atlanta (1884), protected cruiser
Boston (1884), protected cruiser
Chicago (1885), protected cruiser, later CA-14/IX-5
Vesuvius (1888), experimental pneumatic guns
Harvard (1888), armed merchant cruiser, ex-City of New York
Yale (1889), armed merchant cruiser, ex-City of Paris
Badger (1889), armed merchant cruiser, ex-Yumuri
Panther (1889), armed merchant cruiser, ex-Austin, later destroyer tender AD-6
Prairie (1890), armed merchant cruiser, ex-El Sol, later destroyer tender AD-5
Buffalo (1892), armed merchant cruiser, ex-El Cid, later destroyer tender AD-8
Yankee (1892), armed merchant cruiser, ex-El Norte
Yosemite (1892), armed merchant cruiser, ex-El Sud
Dixie (1893), armed merchant cruiser, ex-El Rio, later destroyer tender AD-1
St. Louis (1894), armed merchant cruiser
St. Paul (1895), armed merchant cruiser
New Orleans (1896), ex-Brazilian Amazonas
Albany (1899), ex-Brazilian Almirante Abreu
Frankfurt (1915), German war prize

[edit] Armored Cruisers

USS Maine (ACR-1)

Note: in the pre-1920 period abbreviations were informal and nonstandardized; officially these ships were, e.g., "Armored Cruiser No. 1"

(ACR-1) Maine, later classed as a second class battleship
(ACR-2) New York
(ACR-3) Brooklyn
(ACR-4) Pennsylvania
(ACR-5) West Virginia
(ACR-6) California
(ACR-7) Colorado
(ACR-8) Maryland
(ACR-9) South Dakota
(ACR-10) Tennessee
(ACR-11) Washington
(ACR-12) North Carolina
(ACR-13) Montana

[edit] Protected and Peace cruisers

USS Newark (C-1), the first of the numbered United States protected cruisers.

Note: in the pre-1920 period abbreviations were informal and nonstandardized; officially these ships were, e.g., "Cruiser No. 1"

(C-1) Newark
(C-2) Charleston
(C-3) Baltimore, later minelayer CM-1
(C-4) Philadelphia
(C-5) San Francisco, later minelayer CM-2
(C-6) Olympia
(C-7) Cincinnati
(C-8) Raleigh
(C-9) Montgomery
(C-10) Detroit
(C-11) Marblehead
(C-12) Columbia
(C-13) Minneapolis
(C-14) Denver
(C-15) Des Moines
(C-16) Chattanooga
(C-17) Galveston
(C-18) Tacoma
(C-19) Cleveland
(C-20) St. Louis
(C-21) Milwaukee
(C-22) Charleston

[edit] Scout cruisers

Note: in the pre-1920 period abbreviations were informal and nonstandardized; officially these ships were, e.g., "Scout Cruiser No. 1", and sometimes abbreviated SC or CS

[edit] Projected Battlecruisers

(CC-1) Lexington (completed as aircraft carrier CV-2)
(CC-2) Constellation*
(CC-3) Saratoga (completed as aircraft carrier CV-3)
(CC-4) Ranger*
(CC-5) Constitution*
(CC-6) United States*

[edit] Heavy and Light cruisers

On 17 July 1920, all First and Second Class Cruisers (armored and protected cruisers) still in service were reclassified as Cruisers (CA). The armored cruisers had, or already had, their names changed from states to cities within those states to free up the names for battleships.

USS Brooklyn

(CA-2) Rochester (ex-New York ACR-2)
(CA-3) Brooklyn (ex-ACR-3)
(CA-4) Pittsburgh (ex-Pennsylvania ACR-4)
(CA-5) Huntington (ex-West Virginia ACR-5)
(CA-6) San Diego (ex-California ACR-6)
(CA-7) Pueblo (ex-Colorado ACR-7)
(CA-8) Frederick (ex-Maryland ACR-8)
(CA-9) Huron (ex-South Dakota ACR-9)
(CA-10) Memphis (ex-Tennessee ACR-10)
(CA-11) Seattle (ex-Washington ACR-11)
(CA-12) Charlotte (ex-North Carolina ACR-12)
(CA-13) Missoula (ex-Montana ACR-13)
(CA-14) Chicago
(CA-15) Olympia (ex-C-6)
(CA-16) Columbia (ex-C-12)
(CA-17) Minneapolis (ex-C-13)
(CA-18) St. Louis (ex-C-20)
(CA-19) Charleston (ex-C-22)

In the 1920 hull designation system, of the Third Class Cruisers the fast Scout Cruisers became Light Cruisers (CL), and the slower Peace Cruisers were reclassified Patrol Gunboats (PG).

On 8 August 1921 the system was revised; the surviving protected cruisers and the peace cruiser/patrol gunboats were all grouped with the scout cruisers as Light Cruisers (CL).

(CL-1) Chester (ex-SCR-1)
(CL-2) Birmingham (ex-SCR-2)
(CL-3) Salem (ex-SCR-3)
(CL-4) Omaha (laid down as SCR-4)
(CL-5) Milwaukee (laid down as SCR-5)
(CL-6) Cincinnati (laid down as SCR-6)
(CL-7) Raleigh (laid down as SCR-7)
(CL-8) Detroit (laid down as SCR-8)
(CL-9) Richmond (laid down as SCR-9)
(CL-10) Concord
(CL-11) Trenton
(CL-12) Marblehead
(CL-13) Memphis
(CL-14) Chicago (ex-CA-14; number not actually assigned, designated IX-5 instead)
(CL-15) Olympia (ex-CA-15, ex-C-6)
(CL-16) Denver (ex-PG-28, ex-C-14)
(CL-17) Des Moines (ex-PG-29, ex-C-15)
(CL-18) Chattanooga (ex-PG-30, ex-C-16)
(CL-19) Galveston (ex-PG-31, ex-C-17)
(CL-20) Tacoma (ex-PG-32, ex-C-18)
(CL-21) Cleveland (ex-PG-33, ex-C-19)
(CL-22) New Orleans (ex-PG-34, ex-Amazonas)
(CL-23) Albany (ex-PG-36, ex-Almirante Abreu)

The cruisers laid down between the Washington and London Naval Treaties, were originally designated Light Cruisers (CL) due to their light protection. In accordance with the London Treaty, they were reclassified as Heavy Cruisers (CA) in 1931 due to their 8-inch guns. Thenceforward heavy and light cruisers were numbered in a single sequence; the last of the original CA sequence had been decommissioned in 1927.