USS California (CGN-36)

USS California (CGN-36)
USS California
History
United States
NameCalifornia
NamesakeState of California
Ordered13 June 1968
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Laid down23 January 1970
Launched22 September 1971
Sponsored byPat Nixon
Acquired7 February 1974
Commissioned16 February 1974
Decommissioned9 July 1999
Stricken9 July 1999
Identification
Nickname(s)Golden Grizzly
FateNuclear ship recycling, 12 May 2000
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeCalifornia-class cruiser
Displacement
  • 10,643 long tons (10,814 t) light
  • 11,548 long tons (11,733 t) full
  • 905 long tons (920 t) dead
Length
  • 181.6 m (596 ft) overall
  • 173.7 m (570 ft) waterline
Beam
  • 18.5 m (61 ft) extreme
  • 18.2 m (60 ft) waterline
Draft
  • 10 m (33 ft) maximum
  • 7 m (23 ft) limit
Propulsion2 × General Electric D2G nuclear reactors
Speed30 knots (56 km/h)+
RangeIndefinite (Nuclear powered)
Complement40 officers and 544 enlisted
Armament
Aircraft carriedHelicopter deck aft able to accommodate SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS Mk 1, SH-3 Sea King, or CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters.

USS California (CGN-36), the lead ship of the California-class of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers, was the sixth warship of the United States Navy to be named for the state of California. She was the last active nuclear-powered cruiser for the United States (USS South Carolina was deactivated nearly a month before USS California, with the other seven U.S. nuclear-powered cruisers having been deactivated and decommissioned prior to that).

USS California and her sister ship, USS South Carolina were equipped with two single-armed Mk 13 launchers, fore and aft, for the Standard Missile, one ASROC missile launcher, and two Mk-141 launchers for the Harpoon missiles. These cruisers were equipped with two 5-inch/54 calibre Mk 45 guns rapid-fire cannons, fore and aft. The two cruisers also had a unique arrangement aft of their superstructures with a flight deck and lowerable safety fences. Both cruisers also had full suites of anti-submarine warfare equipment. Thus, these warships were designed to combat all threats, in the air, on the surface, and underwater.