My first ship in the Navy was USS Harry E. Yarnell DLG-17. My mother absolutely hated that term. She was upset that she had to tell people that I was on a guided missile frigate. She would have been quite pleased when they redesignated them guided missile cruisers and changed the hull number to CG-17.
How does a frigate become a cruiser? Did it grow up? :)
I always thought these were based on size as much as function, I always thought cruisers were big since some countries put flat tops on them to carry aircraft.
DLG did not stand for guide missile frigate. DLG stood for Destroyer Leader Guided Missile. These ships were intended to be the Squad Dog’s flag ship with AA missile capability.