The U.S. Navy has used cruisers and destroyers since around the 1800s to serve similar yet different roles. ... The USS Atlanta, USS Boston, USS Chicago and the Dolphin gunboat, ...

The protected cruiser USS Chicago. ... In 2008, the cruiser USS Lake Erie shot down USA 193, a failing U.S. government satellite, with a SM-3 missile at an altitude of 150 miles.

In 1968, the Boston-class guided-missile cruisers were reclassified back to heavy cruiser (CAs), in large part because of consistent shore bombardments during the Vietnam War using their 8-inch guns.