World's first nuclear cruiser up for auction as scrap

SEATTLE (Reuters) - The world's first nuclear-powered surface warship, the USS Long Beach, was put up for auction as scrap metal on Tuesday to be dismantled and recycled, after spending the past 17 years mothballed in a naval shipyard in Washington state.

The 720-foot (219-metre) vessel, the first American cruiser since the end of World War Two to be built new from the keel up, boasted the world's highest bridge and was the last such U.S. vessel with teakwood decks, according to Navy history.