US Navy Atlanta-class Light Cruisers 1940–49

A comprehensively illustrated account of the Atlanta-class cruisers, warships that found a surprising key role in the Pacific War as the US Navy's superb antiaircraft warships.

In the late 1930s, the US Navy created a class of small, light cruisers intended as a versatile destroyer leader. The Atlantas could provide antiaircraft support, lead and launch torpedo attacks, serve as antisubmarine vessels, and outgun other light warships in a surface engagement. The wartime reality was different. In every surface action they fought, they found themselves pitted against bigger cruisers (or even battleships) instead of the destroyers they were designed to defeat.

In this book, naval historian Mark Lardas explains that despite their flaws, they proved one of the most useful warships in the US Navy: with a main battery of sixteen 5in guns, they proved to be superb antiaircraft cruisers. From the battle of Midway onwards, they protected the Navy's most valuable ships – its aircraft carriers – so effectively that later Atlantas were built to a modified design as specialist antiaircraft ships. The Navy even ordered a follow-on class postwar and considered building a 'super-Atlanta,' armed only with heavy antiaircraft guns.

Packed with illustrations, this book examines the history, development, and modifications of these unusual warships, and their impact on the Pacific War.

About the Author

Mark Lardas has always been fascinated by things related to the sea and sky. From building models of ships and aircraft as a teen, he then studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but his interest in aviation led him to take a job on the then-new Space Shuttle program, where he worked for the next 30 years as a navigation engineer. Currently he develops commercial aircraft systems as a quality assurance manager. He has written numerous books on military, naval or maritime history.

Stefan Draminski is a naval researcher and illustrator. Since 2002 he has worked on numerous publications on military history subjects. Using 3D software, he creates highly detailed and historically accurate digital models of warships, aircraft and vehicles. He is the author and illustrator of several acclaimed recent titles in the Anatomy of the Ship series, most recently The Aircraft Carrier Hiryu. He lives in Torun, Poland, with his wife, children and dog.

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION
• DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
  • Genesis
  • Foreign contemporaries
  • Design
  • Equipment
• VARIANTS, MODIFICATIONS, AND SUBCLASSES
  • Oakland subclass
  • Juneau class
  • CL-154 class
  • Wartime modifications
• OPERATIONAL HISTORY
  • Introduction
  • 1941–43
  • 1944–45
  • Postwar
• CONCLUSION
• FURTHER READING
• INDEX