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 in (127 mm) guns were dual-purpose (DP) guns, and were capable of being used against both air and surface targets, able to fire proximity-fused, high-explosive and armor-piercing shells. Also, the Atlanta class was the only class of World War II American cruisers to be armed with a battery of torpedoes.
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" guns, than a light cruiser, which were generally equipped with 6" guns; but at well over 500 feet in length, and combined with their large battery of 16 5 in (127 mm) guns (reduced to 12 in later ships of the class), they were designated as light cruisers. Typical destroyers of the time only carried five or six 5-inch guns. Despite being under-armored for light cruisers, they had thicker armor than destroyers, which were notoriously underprotected.
The abrupt end of the air attack gave Atlanta and her colleagues only a brief respite, however, for trouble approached from yet another quarter. A Japanese surface force, made up of two battleships, one cruiser and six destroyers, was detected steaming south toward Guadalcanal to shell Henderson Field. Admiral Callaghan's support group was to "cover [the retiring transports and cargo vessels] again enemy attack." TG 67.4 departed Lunga Point about 1800 and steamed eastward through Sealark Channel, covering the withdrawal of TG 67.1. An hour before midnight, Callaghan's ships reversed course and headed westward.
Helena's radar picked up the first contact at a range of 26,000 yd (24,000 m). As the range closed, Atlanta's surface search radar, followed by her gunnery radars, picked up a contact on the enemy ships.
Admiral Callaghan's order for a course change caused problems almost at once, as Atlanta had to turn to port (left) immediately to avoid a collision with one of the four destroyers in the van, the latter having apparently executed a "ships left" rather than "column left" movement. As Atlanta began moving to resume her station ahead of San Francisco, the Japanese destroyer Akatsuki[1] illuminated the light cruiser; and immediately suffered the consequences. Atlanta shifted her main battery to fire at the enemy destroyer, opening fire at a range of about 1,600 yd (1,500 m) and, along with other US ships that concentrated on Akatsuki’s searchlights, simply overwhelmed the hapless destroyer.[2][3]
As two other Japanese destroyers crossed her line, Atlanta engaged both with her forward 5 in (130 mm) mounts, while her after mounts continued to blast away at the illuminated ship. An additional, unidentified assailant also opened up on the light cruiser from the northeast. At about that time, at least one torpedo plowed into Atlanta's forward engine room from the port side, fired almost certainly by either Inazuma or Ikazuchi[4] (Akatsuki’s destroyer consorts). Atlanta lost all but auxiliary diesel power, suffered the interruption of her gunfire, and had to shift steering control to the steering engine room aft. Meanwhile Akatsuki, now a floating charnel house, drifted out of the action and soon sank with heavy loss of life. Michiharu Shinya, Akatsuki's Chief Torpedo Officer, one of her few survivors, was rescued the next day by US Forces and spent the rest of the war in a New Zealand Prisoner Of War camp.[5] (He latter stated unequivocally that Akatsuki had not been be able to fire any torpedoes that night before being overwhelmed by gunfire.[6])
Soon after being torpedoed, Atlanta was then hit by an estimated nineteen 8-inch (200 mm) shells when San Francisco, "in the urgency of battle, darkness, and confused intermingling of friend or foe", fired at her. Though almost all of the shells passed through the thin skin of the ship without detonating, scattering green dye, fragments from their impact killed many men, including Admiral Scott and members of his staff. Atlanta prepared to return fire on her new assailant, but San Francisco's own gun flashes disclosed a distinctly "non-Japanese hull profile" that resulted in a suspension of those efforts. San Francisco's shells, which passed high through Atlanta's superstructure, may have been intended for a Japanese target further beyond her from San Francisco's perspective.[7]
After the 8 in (200 mm) fire ceased, Atlanta's Captain Jenkins took stock of the situation, and, having only a minor foot wound, made his way aft to Battle II. His ship was badly battered, largely powerless, down by the head and listing slightly to port, and a third of his crew was dead or missing. As the battle continued, the light cruiser's men began clearing debris, jettisoning topside weight to correct the list, reducing the volume of sea water in the ship, and succoring the many wounded.
Sinking
Daylight revealed the presence nearby of three burning American destroyers, the disabled Portland, and the abandoned hulk of Yudachi, which Portland summarily dispatched with three salvoes. Atlanta, drifting toward the enemy-held shore east of Cape Esperance, dropped her starboard anchor, and her captain sent a message to Portland
explaining the light cruiser's condition. Boats from Guadalcanal came
out to take her most critically wounded. By mid-morning, all of those
had been taken.Bobolink arrived at 0930 on 13 November, took Atlanta under tow, made harder by the cruiser's still lowered anchor, and headed toward Lunga Point. During the voyage, a "Betty" bomber neared the disposition, and one of the two surviving 5 in (130 mm) mounts, the one powered by a diesel generator, fired and drove it off. The other mount, on manual control, could not be trained around in time.
Atlanta reached Kukum about 1400, at which point Captain Jenkins conferred with his remaining officers. As Jenkins, who was later awarded a Navy Cross for his heroism during the battle, later wrote, "It was by now apparent that efforts to save the ship were useless, and that the water was gaining steadily." Even had sufficient salvage facilities been available, he allowed, the severe damage she had taken would have made it difficult to save the ship. Authorized by Commander, South Pacific Forces, to act at his own discretion regarding the destruction of the ship, Jenkins ordered that Atlanta be abandoned and sunk with a demolition charge.
Accordingly, all remaining men except the captain and a demolition party boarded Higgins boats sent out from Guadalcanal for the purpose. After the charge had been set and exploded, the last men left the battered ship. Ultimately, at 2015 on 13 November 1942, Atlanta sank 3 mi (5 km) west of Lunga Point in about 400 ft (120 m) of water. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 January 1943.
Light Cruiser 1942
Scale: 1/8 M: 1:96
Length: 68” Height: 20” Bredth: 8”
Price: $1450
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