California-class cruiser

The California class was a pair of nuclear-powered guided-missile cruisers of the United States Navy, California (CGN-36) and South Carolina (CGN-37). Congress insisted on ordering them in June 1968 over administration objections, and they were the first nuclear-propelled surface warships intended for series production. They were double-ended, flush-deck ships carrying Tartar-system Mark 13 missile launchers fore and aft, two Mark 45 five-inch guns, Harpoon missiles and an ASROC launcher, with a helicopter landing area aft but no hangar. Two nuclear reactors delivered 70,000 shaft horsepower, enough for sustained speeds above 30 knots as escorts for nuclear carriers. The contract to build California went to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in June 1968. The ships were followed by the Virginia class, and both were decommissioned in 1999.