USS Atlanta (CL-51)

USS Atlanta (circa November 1941)
History
United States
Name	Atlanta
Namesake	City of Atlanta, Georgia
Builder	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey
Laid down	22 April 1940
Launched	6 September 1941
Sponsored by	Margaret Mitchell
Commissioned	24 December 1941
Stricken	13 January 1943
Identification	Hull symbol:CL-51
Honors and awards	5 × battle stars Presidential Unit Citation
Fate	Scuttled after severe damage in Naval Battle of Guadalcanal by Japanese torpedo and friendly fire from USS San Francisco, 13 November 1942
Notes	Approximate location of sinking: 9°23′S 159°58′E / 9.383°S 159.967°E / -9.383; 159.967
General characteristics (as built)[1][2]
Class and type	Atlanta-class light cruiser
Displacement	6,718 long tons (6,826 t) (standard) 8,340 long tons (8,474 t) (max)
Length	541 ft 6 in (165.05 m) oa
Beam	53 ft (16 m)
Draft	20 ft 6 in (6.25 m) (mean) 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) (max)
Installed power	4 × Steam boilers 75,000 shp (56,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × geared turbines 2 × screws
Speed	32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h)
Complement	673 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	2 × FD fire control radar in Mk 37 director 1 × SC Air search radar (in 1942)
Armament	16 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 12 guns (8×2) 16 × 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 anti-aircraft guns (4 × 4) 8 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor	Belt: 1.1–3+3⁄4 in (28–95 mm) Deck: 1+1⁄4 in (32 mm) Turrets: 1+1⁄4 in (32 mm) Conning tower: 2+1⁄2 in (64 mm)

USS Atlanta (CL-51) of the United States Navy was the lead ship of the Atlanta class of eight light cruisers. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Designed to provide anti-aircraft protection for US naval task groups, Atlanta served in this capacity in the naval battles Midway and the Eastern Solomons. Atlanta was heavily damaged by Japanese and friendly gunfire in a night surface action on 13 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The cruiser was sunk on her captain's orders in the afternoon of the same day.

Atlanta, in some works, is designated CLAA-51 because of her primary armament as an anti-aircraft cruiser. Hence, all of the Atlanta-class ships are sometimes designated as CLAA. However, her entire battery of 5-inch (127 mm) guns were dual-purpose (DP) guns, and were capable of being used against both air and surface targets, able to fire anti-aircraft, high-explosive and armor-piercing shells.

The Atlanta-class ships were lightly armored, making them poor surface combatants compared to a typical light cruiser. In terms of armament, the Atlanta-class was closer to a destroyer, being armed with 5-inch guns, than a light cruiser, which were generally equipped with 6-inch guns; but at well over 500 feet (152 m) in length, and combined with their large battery of sixteen 5-inch (127 mm) guns (reduced to twelve in number for later ships of the class), they were designated as light cruisers. The unusual features of the Atlanta-class is a result of the class originally being intended to be a destroyer leader. A destroyer leader is larger than its destroyer counterparts to accommodate command staff and resources as well as other general utilities to support the destroyers that they would be paired with. In-line with this intended role the ship was given a complement of torpedoes and relatively thin armor compared to other contemporary light cruisers. Later, the dimensions and tonnage of the ship resulted in a change in designation of the Atlanta-class from a destroyer leader to a light cruiser. Despite this change in designation the Atlanta-class of ships maintained their destroyer leader features, including their destroyer-caliber guns (albeit while mounting significantly more 5 in guns than most contemporary destroyers).