Virginia-class cruiser

USS Virginia (CGN-38)
Class overview
Name	Virginia for The Commonwealth of Virginia
Builders	Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	California-class cruiser
Succeeded by	Ticonderoga-class cruiser
Cost	$675 million (1990 dollars)
Built	1972-1980
In commission	1976-1998
Completed	4
Retired	4
General characteristics
Type	Guided missile cruiser
Displacement	Light Displacement: 10663 tons Full Displacement: 11666 tons
Length	Overall Length: 586 ft
Beam	Extreme Beam: 63 ft
Draft	Maximum Navigational Draft: 32 ft
Propulsion	2 D2G General Electric nuclear reactors, two shafts, 60,000 shp
Speed	30+ knots
Range	Nuclear
Complement	39 Officers, 539 Enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-48 3-D Air search radar AN/SPS-49 2-D Air search radar AN/SPS-55 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar AN/SPG-51 Missile fire control radar AN/SQQ-26 Bow mounted sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Mark 36 SRBOC AN/SLQ-25 Nixie
Armament	Standard Missiles (MR) / ASROC 8x Tomahawk missile (from 2 armored box launchers after refit) 8x Harpoon missile (from two Mk141 quad launchers) 4x MK 46 torpedoes (from fixed single tubes) 2x Mk45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun 2x 20mm Phalanx CIWS (post-refit)
Aircraft carried	As built:Below deck Hanger Flight deck occupied by Tomahawk ABL after refit

The Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruisers (CGN-38 class) were a series of four double-ended (with armament carried both fore and aft) guided missile cruisers commissioned in the late 1970s, which served in the US Navy through early to mid 1990s.

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" from winning the Cold War. A fifth ship, 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 vessels, 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 the class, the Navy continued destroyer production, and redesignated the DDG-47 class of Aegis guided missile destroyers as CG-47 Ticonderoga class cruisers. Three of the four ships were authorized as guided missile frigates (pre-1975 definition) and redesignated as cruisers either before commissioning or before launch; the last, Arkansas, was authorized, laid down, launched and commissioned as a guided missile cruiser.

Premature Decommissioning

A shock trial of Arkansas.

The elimination of the Virginia-class (CGN 38-41) cruisers has been criticized. They were new, modern ships; given a New Threat Upgrade overhaul they would have been well suited to modern threats (they had rapid-fire Mk 26 launchers which could fire the powerful Standard SM-2MR medium range surface to air missile; earlier decommissioned cruisers used slow-firing Mk. 10 launchers which required manual finning of the missiles prior to launch). Their major weakness was a lack of helicopters. However, what doomed the ships was economics. They were coming due for nuclear refuellings, mid-life overhauls and NTUs, all expensive projects, comparable in total cost to half the price of a new ship. Further, they had relatively large crews, straining USN personnel resources. The 1996 Navy Visibility and Management of Operating and Support Costs (VAMOSC) study determined the annual operating cost of a Virginia class cruiser at $40 million, compared to $28 million for a Ticonderoga class cruiser, or $20 million for an Arleigh Burke destroyer. Given less need for cruisers, it was decided to eliminate these ships as a money saving measure. Early non-VLS Ticonderoga class cruisers had equally short careers, serving between 18 and 21 years.

Units

Ship Name	Hull No.	Commission– Decommission	Fate	Link
Virginia	(CGN-38)	September 11 1976 - November 10 1994 (18.2 years)	Disposed of by Recycling, September 25 2002	[1]
Texas	(CGN-39)	September 10 1977 - July 16 1993 (15.3 years)	Disposed of by Recycling, October 30 2001	[2]
Mississippi	(CGN-40)	August 5 1978 - July 28 1997 (19 years)	Stricken, to be disposed of by recycling, July 28 1997	[3]
Arkansas	(CGN-41)	October 18 1980 - July 7 1998 (17.7 years)	Disposed of by Recycling November 1 1999	[4]

References

An example of an inconvenient helicopter operation on Mississippi after flight deck was occupied by Tomahawk ABL's (at left and right).

(This entry includes information from the sci.military.naval newsgroup FAQ)

See also

• List of United States Navy destroyer leaders

External links

• Globalsecurity.org Virginia class
• Plans for an Aegis modified Virginia class