USS Atlanta (CL-104)

USS Atlanta (CL-104): The Third Atlanta

Commissioned on 3 December 1944, USS Atlanta was the third American warship to carry the Georgia capital's name, and she carried it forward from the shadows of two predecessors that had given everything in the Pacific War. The first Atlanta (1884) was a protected cruiser of the "New Navy." The second Atlanta (CL-51) had been scuttled after the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. The third Atlanta commissioned with that legacy as both burden and honor.

CL-104 was a Cleveland-class light cruiser rather than an Atlanta-class AA cruiser like her predecessor, a larger, more capable ship armed with twelve 6-inch guns in addition to an anti-aircraft battery. She entered the Pacific campaign in early 1945 and participated in carrier task force operations during the war's final phase.

Atlanta participated in operations off the Japanese coast through early 1945, contributing to the sustained carrier strikes against Japanese military and industrial targets that were accelerating the war's conclusion. She was present for the final months of the Pacific campaign, the most intense period of kamikaze attacks, the preparations for the invasion of the home islands that never had to happen, and Japan's surrender in August 1945.

Two battle stars for a ship that carried one of the great names of the Pacific War back into combat after it had been lost at Guadalcanal. Later redesignated IX-304 for experimental duty, Atlanta was eventually decommissioned. Tactically Acquired's USS Atlanta (CL-104) collection honors the third ship to carry this name and the men who served aboard her.