[Coming Soon] USS Long Beach: The First Nuclear-Powered Warship

The Big and Medium trophies contain a powerful American nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser with three types of missiles.

Historical Note

The nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser USS Long Beach holds a twin distinction: the world's first nuclear-powered surface warship and the last cruiser ever built for the US Navy. Commissioned in 1961, she saw active combat during the Vietnam War and conducted patrols across the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulf. Its defining feature was its nuclear power plant, one that granted virtually unlimited range and endurance.

With the Cold War over and defense budgets shrinking, operating nuclear-powered surface combatants smaller than an aircraft carrier was deemed economically unsustainable. Rather than proceed with a planned third reactor refueling and accompanying modernization, USS Long Beach was decommissioned on May 1, 1995, and subsequently scrapped.

USS Long Beach (Rank VI)

Brief Overview

Strengths: Powerful and versatile missile armament, two 127 mm guns, ASROC anti-submarine rockets, and 324 mm torpedoes.
Weaknesses: Large silhouette and lengthy missile reload times.
Role in battle: A master of the devastating salvo, capable of inflicting severe damage on a successful hit, but left nearly defenseless during the long window between shots.

In battle

The world's first nuclear-powered warship arrives in War Thunder Mobile! Meet USS Long Beach: an American missile cruiser featuring three types of guided missiles for engaging surface targets, ASROC anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, and a pair of rapid-firing 127 mm guns.

USS Long Beach's defining advantage is its formidable firepower. A single salvo draws from three types of guided missiles: a pair of massive Tomahawk cruise missiles, four Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and four fast-flying Standard missiles. Against a careless opponent, a well-aimed salvo can inflict catastrophic damage that is difficult to recover from. The price of that destructive power, however, is a punishing reload time.

Yet USS Long Beach's armament does not end there. Against submarines, the ship can deploy specialized ASROC anti-submarine rockets, while for close-quarters engagements with enemy missile ships, the rapid-firing 127 mm guns and 324 mm torpedo tubes stand ready to bear.

USS Long Beach is not a nimble vessel. Her considerable size and moderate top speed of around 30 knots make it difficult to duck behind cover quickly or weave dynamically between islands and icebergs. She is best deployed on the second line within a group of allied ships, where her commander can survey the battlefield clearly and unleash a devastating missile salvo at precisely the right moment.

Premium version of the USS Long Beach (Rank VI)

In the Ship Campaign, only one ship can be taken into battle. Because of this, the Premium version of any ship is not a separate unit, but it completely replaces the standard “gray” version. After obtaining the premium version, the blueprints for the standard version of the ship will disappear from the store and trophies, and the ship itself will become unavailable in trophies and jackpots.

Differences between the Premium and Standard versions:

the ability to get gold after a battle, according to the daily limit;
unique premium camouflage;
fully unlocked upgrades in the Arsenal;
the ship gets the maximum crew level immediately.

Premium version of the vehicle:

As a jackpot or as a random reward when attempting to open the Big Trophy.
By reaching the top-10 in the relevant Leaderboard.
From the Collector's Trophy after adding the vehicle to this trophy type;
In Special Offers.

Standard version of the vehicle:

As a jackpot or as a random reward when attempting to open the Medium Trophy.
Order vehicles for Silver Lions after collecting 1,000 blueprints.

Ways to get blueprints:

From the Medium Trophy: 700 pcs in the guaranteed reward, or 10 to 100 pcs per attempt.
From the Big Trophy: 700 pcs in the guaranteed reward, or 80 to 200 pcs per attempt.
In the in-game store: purchase for Silver Lions a Folder with a number of blueprints (even after the season ends).
In special offers.

*Vehicle specifications and camouflages are still work in progress and may differ on release.

The USS Long Beach (Rank VI) can be obtained in War Thunder Mobile (WTM) from Medium or Big Trophies in the Ship Campaign with the start of the new Season.