Three vessels named Atlanta have graced the navy of the United States since the Civil War, all were cruisers and the second of them--designated CL 51--dates from World War Two. Built by the Federal Yard at Kearny, the second Atlanta was the nameship of the "Atlanta" class of eleven identical cruisers ordered by the Navy Department in advance of America's involvement in the Second World War. Laid down on 22 April 1940, Atlanta was launched on 6 September 1941 and completed the following year. Displacing 8,340 tons fully loaded, she measured 541½ feet in length with a 53¼ foot beam, and was powered by twin-shaft Westinghouse turbines fired by four Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Producing 75,000 horsepower, these gave her a top speed of 32½ knots, and she had bunkers for 1,360 tons of fuel. Her main armament consisted of 16-5in. guns and in addition to her anti-aircraft weapons, she also carried 8-21in. torpedo tubes.

Her active service commenced in May, 1942, as part of Task Force 16 based at Pearl Harbor under Rear-Admiral Spruance and, thereafter, she took part in the Battle of Midway (June 3 to 7) and then the prolonged operations leading up to the landings on Guadalcanal throughout the late summer and autumn of the same year. During these operations, she was part of the fleet which was engaged by a strong Japanese force after dark on 13 November and was one of the five U.S. vessels to be sunk as a result of enemy action.

We are grateful to Michael Naxton for his assistance in cataloguing this lot