USS Atlanta (CL-104)

USS Atlanta (CL-104), leaves Seattle, Washington, for a Naval Reserve training cruise to Alaska, 27 June 1948.
History
United States
Name:	Atlanta
Namesake:	City of Atlanta, Georgia
Builder:	New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down:	25 January 1943
Launched:	6 February 1944
Sponsored by:	Margaret Mitchell
Commissioned:	3 December 1944
Struck:	1 October 1962
Decommissioned:	31 August 1965
Reclassified:	IX-304, 15 May 1964
Struck:	1 April 1970
Reinstated:	15 May 1964
Identification:	Hull symbol:CL-104 Hull symbol:IX-304 Code letters:NBDZ
Honors and awards:	2 × battle stars
Fate:	Sunk during explosive test on 01 October 1970
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Cleveland-class Light cruiser
Displacement:	11,744 long tons (11,932 t) (standard) 14,131 long tons (14,358 t) (max)
Length:	610 ft 1 in (185.95 m) oa 608 ft (185 m)pp
Beam:	66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)
Draft:	25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) (mean) 25 ft (7.6 m) (max)
Installed power:	4 × 634 psi Steam boilers 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × geared turbines 4 × screws
Speed:	32.5 kn (37.4 mph; 60.2 km/h)
Range:	11,000 nmi (20,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement:	1,255 officers and enlisted
Armament:	4 × triple 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber Mark 16 guns 6 × dual 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns 4 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 6 × dual 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 10 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Armor:	Belt: 3 1⁄2–5 in (89–127 mm) Deck: 2 in (51 mm) Barbettes: 6 in (150 mm) Turrets: 1 1⁄2–6 in (38–152 mm) Conning Tower: 2 1⁄4–5 in (57–127 mm)
Aircraft carried:	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities:	2 × stern catapults

USS Atlanta (CL-104) of the United States Navy was a Cleveland-class light cruiser during World War II. She was the fourth Navy ship named after the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

The ship was laid down on 25 January 1943 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, launched on 6 February 1944, sponsored by Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone with the Wind, who also sponsored the previous Atlanta (CL-51)), and commissioned on 3 December 1944, Captain B. H. Colyear in command.

After commissioning the light cruiser got underway on 5 January 1945 for shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay and the Caribbean. Upon the completion of those exercises, Atlanta arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 14 February and then moved up the coast to Philadelphia. After a period in the navy yard there, she sailed on 27 March for the Pacific. She stopped at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transited the Panama Canal before reaching Pearl Harbor on 18 April. From 19 April to 1 May, the ship conducted training exercises in Hawaiian waters. She then sailed to Ulithi and reported to Task Force 58 on 12 May.

From 22–27 May, Atlanta served with the Fast Carrier Task Force operating south of Japan near Okinawa while the carriers' aircraft struck targets in the Ryukyu Islands and on Kyūshū to support forces fighting for Okinawa. Her task group broke up on 13 June, and Atlanta entered San Pedro Bay, Leyte, Philippines, on 14 June. Following two weeks of upkeep, she sailed on 1 July with Task Group 38.1 and once again protected the fast carriers launching strikes against targets in the Japanese home islands. During these operations, the cruiser took part in several shore bombardment missions against Honshū and Hokkaidō.