Alt 60s US Navy

[Scott Kenny]

Is it fair to say that Long Beach was the only nuclear cruiser built?

By the US, correct.

Bainbridge and Truxtun were initially called frigates.

DL by hull type, spoken "frigate"

Why the USN called them Frigates is a mystery to me, although it was a confusing era with lots of new tech coming online and roles changing as a result.

It was a deliberate throwback to the Original Six Frigates of the USN.

(sail) Frigates were the strongest non-capital ship back in the day. But part of the definition of "Frigate" was that they had a full ship's sailing rig. When steam ships came around, the role of "biggest warship not a ship of the line" went to the ships called "cruisers" and the term "frigate" just wasn't used after the 1880s and the last sailing frigates left service. It wasn't until after WW2 that ASW Destroyer Escorts started being called Frigates in the European navies.

 

[Rule of cool]

was a deliberate throwback to the Original Six Frigates of the USN.

We're these one the ones that fought the battle of Penobscot? The Warren?

 

[MrTopaz]

We're these one the ones that fought the battle of Penobscot? The Warren?

No, that was the Revolutionary War. The Original Six were from the mid 1790s onward. They were the Constitution, President, Chesapeake, Congress, United States and Constellation. They were most famous for their actions in the War of 1812.

 

[Scott Kenny]

We're these one the ones that fought the battle of Penobscot? The Warren?

As MrTopaz said: Constitution, President, Congress, United States, Chesapeake, and Constellation. The only ships that the RN had to give orders to never face alone.

 

[Rule of cool]

In any case my query about nuclear destroyers turned out to be a dead end, there was no reactor for an actual destroyer sized ship, just options for DLGs. The best 'atom punk' would be for USS America to be a repeat of Enterprise and JFK to have A3Ws. 3 or 4 more nuclear DLGs to escort them, likely another Truxtun for America and an earlier Calfornia for JFK and the 5th Virginia gets built.