USS Helena (CL-50)

*USS Helena in the South Pacific, 1943 (note: radar antennas have been brushed out by censors. Below is a drawing of top and side view.)
History
United States
Name:	Helena
Namesake:	City of Helena, Montana
Ordered:	13 February 1929
Awarded:	16 February 1936 (beginning of construction period) 9 September 1935 (date assigned to yard)
Builder:	New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York
Laid down:	9 December 1936
Launched:	27 August 1938
Sponsored by:	Miss Elinor Carlyle Gudger
Commissioned:	18 September 1939
Honors and awards:	7 × battle stars 1 × Navy Unit Commendation
Fate:	Sunk, Battle of Kula Gulf, 6 July 1943
Notes:	Approximate location of sinking: 7°46′S 157°11′E / 7.767°S 157.183°E / -7.767; 157.183
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	St. Louis-class light cruiser
Displacement:	10,000 long tons (10,000 t) (standard) 13,327 long tons (13,541 t) (max)
Length:	608 ft 8 in (185.52 m)
Beam:	61 ft 5 in (18.72 m)
Draft:	19 ft 10 in (6.05 m) (mean) 24 ft (7.3 m) (max)
Installed power:	8 × 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)
Complement:	888 officers and enlisted men
Sensors and processing systems:	SG surface search radar
Armament:	15 × 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber caliber Mark 16 guns (5×3) 8 × twin 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns 8 × caliber 0.50 in (13 mm) machine guns
Armor:	Belt: 3 1⁄4–5 in (83–127 mm) Deck: 2 in (51 mm) Barbettes: 6 in (150 mm) Turrets: 1 1⁄4–6 in (32–152 mm) Conning Tower: 2 1⁄4–5 in (57–127 mm)
Aircraft carried:	4 × SOC Seagull floatplanes
Aviation facilities:	2 × stern catapults
General characteristics (1943)
Armament:	15 × 6 in (150 mm)/47 caliber Mark 16 guns (5×3) 8 × twin 5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber anti-aircraft guns 16 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns (8×2) 12 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons

USS Helena (CL-50) was a St. Louis-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. Completed shortly before World War II, she was damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and participated in several battles in the Pacific War. She was sunk by three surface-fired torpedoes at the battle of Kula Gulf in 1943. She was one of three U.S. light cruisers to be sunk during the war.

In November 1942, Helena became the first US Navy ship to be awarded the Navy Unit Commendation medal.

Four United States Naval vessels have carried the name of Helena, the state capital of Montana. As of October 2015^[update]

The first ship was the gunboat Helena (PG-9), in service from 1896 to 1932. She saw action in Cuban waters during the Spanish–American War and later joined the Asiatic squadron for the Philippine Insurrection and was part of the Yangtze and South China patrols.

The second ship of the name was Helena (CL-50), a light cruiser in service from 1939 to 1943. Damaged at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, she sailed again to action at Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Cape Esperance where she sank a Japanese cruiser and a destroyer. She was lost in Kula Gulf in 1943 with 165 of her crew. Her survivors call her "the fighting ship that went in harm's way."