Operation Sea Orbit assembles an all-nuclear task force

The opening of Operation Sea Orbit identifies the three ships that made the demonstration possible. Bainbridge began as a nuclear-powered destroyer leader or frigate before later cruiser reclassification, while Long Beach already carried cruiser status. Bainbridge's 1975 cruiser redesignation is linked to Soviet cruiser totals and to a period when cruiser commands tended to receive more senior captains. Vice Admiral John S. McCain Jr. promoted a voyage consciously reminiscent of the Great White Fleet. Long Beach and Bainbridge crossed the Atlantic with the conventionally powered Franklin D. Roosevelt before joining Enterprise for all-nuclear trials in the Mediterranean. The three nuclear ships then loaded maximum provisions and departed as Task Force One for a voyage designed to avoid underway replenishment.