The Mighty A: The Short, Heroic Life of the USS Atlanta (CL-51): America's First Warship Commissioned After Pearl Harbor

“This microhistory of the birth, life, and death of an American cruiser offers valuable insight into the early years of World War II, including the procedures, processes, and personnel of the Navy, naval life, and naval warfare. The account of its loss in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal is particularly gripping.” ― Craig Symonds, author of Nimitz at War

Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy’s leadership discovered that the surface fleet was highly vulnerable to air attack, thanks to the introduction of drone aircraft that could simulate attacks on its warships. The Navy’s gunners simply did not have the coordinated firepower to knock them down. Recognition of this vulnerability resulted in a new class of warship led by USS Atlanta.
 
The attack on Pearl Harbor shocked the nation. Following the declaration of war, lines formed outside of recruiting stations as Americans desired to don the uniform. With Margaret Mitchell serving as the ship’s sponsor, Atlanta’s commissioning on Christmas Eve 1941 served as a rallying point for a country weary of bad news overseas. Some of those new recruits would find their way to Atlanta’s quarterdeck. For the capital of the Peachtree State, the ship was not only a source of civic pride, but a reason for many young men to join the Navy with the promise of assignment.
 
The commanding officer, Captain Samuel Jenkins, had just weeks to ready a group of nearly 700 sailors—the majority having no seagoing experience—into a crew that could effectively fight the ship in combat. Joining the Pacific Fleet in time for the epic Battle of Midway, Atlanta's guns would fire the first salvos in the vicious Naval Battle of Guadalcanal early on November 13, 1942. Heavily damaged by gunfire and torpedoes, Atlanta would be scuttled later that day, only hours after the tragic loss of sister ship Juneau (CL-52). 
 
Atlanta was awarded five battle stars for her World War II service and a Presidential Unit Citation for her “fighting spirit” in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This first comprehensive account of Atlanta’s war covers her construction, commissioning, and full war service.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. The Construction and Manning of USS Atlanta
2. America Goes to War and Atlanta is Commissioned
3. Enroute To Hawaii
4. Pearl Harbor Out and Back
5. The Battle of Midway
6. Intermission
7. En route to Guadalcanal
8. Cactus and Combat
9. Attrition
10. Action Over the Horizon
11. Engagement
12. Friday the 13th
13. Homecoming
14. Atlanta Reborn

David F. Winkler is a retired Navy commander having received his commission through Penn State NROTC. Having earned his Ph.D. at American University, he served as staff historian at the Naval Historical Foundation for 25 years, has taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College, and held the Charles Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian. He has published five books with the Naval Institute Press and writes a monthly historical perspective column for Sea Power Magazine. He is the author of Witness to Neptune’s Inferno, based on the diary of Atlanta’s Assistant Gunnery Officer Lloyd M. Mustin.