Tartar missiles. The U.S. frigate classification was not used by any other navy; similar vessels were either cruisers or destroyers in foreign service. The ocean escort type corresponded to foreign frigates (convoy escorts). The "cruiser gap" The Soviets defined "guided missile cruisers" as large warships armed with long range anti-ship missiles. The term "cruiser" included also two large helicopter carriers (Moskva class). The ships equivalent to U.S. frigates were classified as "large anti-submarine ships", but the larger of them were designated as "cruisers" by Western navies. This led to a conclusion, that by 1974, there were only six ships in U.S. service classified as cruisers, but the Soviets had 19 cruisers in service with seven more being built. (All totals exclude gun-only cruisers). All but two of the Soviet ships were relatively small vessels, roughly equivalent to U.S. frigates and far smaller than U.S. cruisers. However, most included a heavy anti-ship cruise missile battery that US surface combatants lacked until the introduction of the Harpoon missile circa 1980. The differing U.S. and Soviet definitions of "cruiser" caused political problems when comparisons were made between U.S. and Soviet naval forces. A table comparing U.S. and Soviet cruiser forces showed six U.S. ships vs. 19 Soviet ships, despite the existence of 21 U.S. "frigates" equal or superior in size to the Soviet "cruisers". This led to the perception of a non-existent "cruiser gap". Closing the gap To close this "gap," the U.S. frigate (DL/DLG) classification was eliminated on 30 June 1975. All the gun frigates (DL) had already been stricken or converted to DDGs. Most of the DLGs became cruisers (CG), but the smaller Farraguts became destroyers (DDG). All of the nuclear-powered DLGNs, existing or in construction, were redesignated as CGNs. The change from DLG to CG redefined "cruiser" as smaller ships, more like large destroyers. Cruiser classifications were also simplified, with the guided missile light cruisers (CLG) simply becoming CGs. Gun cruisers retained the "CA" designation although the last remaining gun cruiser, Newport News, was decommissioned three days earlier on 27 June 1975. The ocean escorts (DE/DEG) and patrol frigates (PF) became frigates (FF) or guided missile frigates (FFG). These changes brought U.S. Navy classifications into line with foreign classifications, and eliminated the perceived "cruiser gap." A final change came on 1 January 1980, when the guided missile destroyers (DDG) became guided missile cruisers (CG). References Sources . United States Navy