Truxtun-class (CGN-35)

The USS Truxtun (DLGN-35/CGN-35) was a nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1962 and commissioned in 1967, the vessel was originally designed as a nuclear-powered variant of the Belknap-class destroyer leader. Due to modifications required to accommodate a nuclear propulsion system, it was designated as a distinct ship class, of which it was the sole member. Originally classified as a destroyer leader (DLGN), the vessel was reclassified as a guided-missile cruiser (CGN) in 1975.

The ship utilized a single-ended design, with its primary missile armament situated aft. Propulsion was provided by two pressurized-water nuclear reactors. While sharing weapons systems with the Belknap class, the Truxtun was larger in length, beam, and draft to house its power plant. Initial armament consisted of a dual-purpose gun on the foredeck and a twin-rail missile launcher on the quarterdeck for Terrier missiles. The missile system was later upgraded to utilize Standard ER missiles. The ship also carried ASROC missiles and was equipped with fixed anti-submarine torpedo tubes. During subsequent refits, the vessel's secondary battery of 3-inch guns was replaced with Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers, and Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems were installed. Aviation facilities originally intended for the Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH) were later modified to support the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) and the SH-2 Seasprite helicopter.

Following its commissioning, Truxtun conducted multiple deployments to the Western Pacific. During the Vietnam War, the vessel operated in the Gulf of Tonkin on Yankee Station. Its roles included search and rescue missions, plane guard duties for aircraft carriers, and service as a Positive Identification Radar Zone (PIRAZ) picket ship. In this capacity, the ship directed fighter intercepts that resulted in the destruction of eleven North Vietnamese MiGs.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the ship’s operations expanded to include the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel participated in the response to the North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo and maintained a presence in the Indian Ocean during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. In 1986, it operated in the Mediterranean during heightened tensions with Libya. The ship also participated in Operation Praying Mantis in 1988.

During the 1990s, Truxtun deployed for Operations Desert Storm and Earnest Will. It served as the Anti-Air Warfare Commander and as the flagship for Mine Counter-Measure Group One during minesweeping operations off the coast of Kuwait. In its final years of service, the vessel conducted counter-narcotic patrols in the Pacific and Caribbean and enforced United Nations sanctions in the Red Sea by boarding merchant vessels bound for Iraq. The ship was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in September 1995. Final disposal through ship recycling was completed in 1999.