Service History
All eight ships in this class served during World War II, and six ships survived the war. The lead ship of this class, the USS Atlanta (CL-51), was laid down on 22 April 1940 and launched on 6 September 1941. Atlanta was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 24 December 1941, just a few weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of 7 December. Atlanta participated as an anti-aircraft cruiser in the decisive American victory at the Battle of Midway in June 1942 before she was sent south to fight in the Solomon Islands. The Atlanta (CL-51) was scuttled after receiving a torpedo hit and heavy gunfire damage from IJN surface warships on 13 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The USS Juneau (CL-52) was also heavily damaged in surface combat in the same battle and then sunk by Japanese submarine I-26, on 13 November 1942. USS Reno (CL-96) was torpedoed off Leyte on 4 November 1944 resulting in a large fire and significant flooding, but was saved from sinking by the damage control efforts of the crew.
After the war, the six surviving ships in this class were decommissioned between 1947 and 1949 and placed in the reserve fleet. The ships received a new type designation of CLAA in 1949. None of this ships were recommissioned to serve in an active role; all were ultimately struck and scrapped by 1970s.
Read more about this topic: Atlanta Class Cruiser
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)