USS Phoenix ( CL - 46 ) USS " Phoenix " ( CL - 46 ) , a " Brooklyn " - class light cruiser , was the third " Phoenix " of the United States Navy . After World War II the ship was transferred to Argentina in 1951 and was ultimately renamed the " General Belgrano " . " General Belgrano " was sunk during the Falklands War in 1982 by the British nuclear - powered submarine . She was the first ( and so far only ) ship to have been sunk in combat by a nuclear - powered submarine during wartime . She was laid down on 15 April 1935 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation , Camden , New Jersey ; launched on 13 March 1938 ; sponsored by Mrs . Dorothea Kays Moonan ; and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 3 October 1938 , Captain John W . Rankin in command . Her name was in honor of the capital city of the state of Arizona . Inter - war period . Shakedown took her to Port of Spain , Trinidad . She continued to Santos , Brazil , then to Buenos Aires , Argentina , to Montevideo , Uruguay , and finally to San Juan , Puerto Rico . The new cruiser returned to Philadelphia in January 1939 . World War II . " Phoenix " then operated off the West Coast and was later based at Pearl Harbor . On 7 December 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor she was anchored southeast of Ford Island near . Observers on board " Phoenix " sighted the rising sun of Japan on planes coming in low over Ford Island and a few seconds later the ship ' s guns took them under fire . " Phoenix " escaped the disaster unharmed and shortly after noon was underway to join , and several destroyer s in an impromptu task force searching , unsuccessfully , for the enemy aircraft carrier s . " Phoenix " next escorted the first convoy to the United States from Pearl Harbor after the attack and returned at once with another convoy . After a month of convoy duty between the United States and Hawaii , she departed San Francisco with a force bound for Melbourne , Australia . For some time the cruiser operated in Australian waters escorting troop ships , once steaming as far north as Java . While " Phoenix " was steaming toward Ceylon in February 1942 with a convoy which included and , these ships were ordered to leave the convoy and proceed at top speed to Java with precious airplanes needed to stem the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies . " Langley " was attacked and sunk by Japanese planes on 27 February , and " Seawitch " escaped the same fate only by being too slow to keep up with the carrier . During the following months , " Phoenix " patrolled in the Indian Ocean , escorted a convoy to Bombay , and was present at the evacuation of Java . Under the command of Captain Joseph R . Redman , " Phoenix " was a part of Task Force 44 in late 1942 . With her accompanying destroyers , and , she participated in Operation " Lilliput " , alternating with the Australian light cruiser HMAS " Hobart " and her accompanying destroyers to cover the convoys south of New Guinea . " Phoenix " departed Brisbane , Queensland , Australia for overhaul in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in July 1943 before carrying Secretary of State Cordell Hull to Casablanca . She was then assigned to the 7th Fleet and sailed for the South Pacific . On 26 December , in company with , she bombarded the Cape Gloucester area of New Britain , smashing shore installations in a four - hour shelling . " Phoenix " covered landing forces as they went ashore and furnished support fire against enemy strong points which had not been demolished . On the night of 25 – 26 January 1944 , the ship took part in a night raid on Madang and Alexishafen , New Guinea , shelling shore installations . " Phoenix " then moved to the Admiralty Islands to support the 1st Cavalry Division in a reconnaissance - in - force on Los Negros Island on 29 February . When the troops went ashore after the prelanding bombardment , enemy resistance was so weak that a withdrawal was not necessary and the island was occupied . General Douglas MacArthur was on board during the course of the operations . On 4 and 7 March , " Phoenix " , " Nashville " , and bombarded Hauwei Island of the Admiralty Group . Enemy guns on this island had threatened Allied positions in the Admiralties , particularly on Manus Island ; and , although return fire from the beach was heavy , enemy batteries ceased firing when shells from the cruisers burst in their vicinity . Hollandia ( currently known as Jayapura ) , New Guinea , was next to fall to the mounting amphibious offensive . This largest assault till then undertaken by American forces , was launched by 200 ships . " Phoenix " shelled the shore in the Humboldt Bay - Hollandia area as the troops went ashore on 22 April , and supported them as they consolidated their gains and prepared for further attacks along the northwest coast of the big island . " Phoenix " shelled airfields and plane dispersal areas at Wakde and Sawar on the night of 29 – 30 April to neutralize the danger of air attack on newly - won Allied positions on New Guinea . General Douglas MacArthur ' s troops next landed at Arare on 17 May to secure airfields to support further operations in the Netherlands New Guinea area . This beachhead was later extended to include Wakde Island by a shore to shore movement of troops . " Phoenix " bombarded the Toem area and escorted the troops to the landing beach . An amphibious assault on Biak Island , Geelvink Bay , followed . There , MacArthur planned to establish a forward base for heavy bombers . With " Nashville " and , " Phoenix " sortied from Humboldt Bay on 25 May and two days later supported the landing . Resistance was stubborn . While the task force fired on shore installations , two of the escorting destroyers were hit by shells from shore batteries . " Phoenix " wiped out the gun emplacement with two salvos from her / 25 cal batteries . On 4 June , off the northwest coast of New Guinea , eight Japanese fighter bomber s attacked " Phoenix " ' s task force . Two confined their attention to " Phoenix " . Although the ship ' s gunfire did not hit the planes , it diverted their bomb runs . Both planes dropped bombs , one of which burst in the water close to " Phoenix " , killing one man and wounding four others with fragments . The ship also suffered some underwater leakage and damage to her propellers . The following night , aircraft again attacked " Phoenix " . This time , low - flying torpedo bomber s struck as she proceeded through Japan Strait , between Biak Island and New Guinea , but her gunfire and evasive tactics prevented damage . " Phoenix " and her task force frustrated an enemy attempt to reinforce their garrisons on the night of 8 – 9 June . When they contacted the American ships , the Japanese destroyers turned and fled at such high speed that only one US destroyer division was able to get within firing range . After a running fight of three hours at long range , " Phoenix " and her sisters broke off action . With " Boise " and ten destroyers , " Phoenix " sortied from Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralties and bombarded shore defenses before American forces landed on Noemfoor Island on 2 July . After the battle , many dead Japanese and wrecked planes were found in the target area assigned to " Phoenix " . " Boise " , " Nashville " , " Shropshire " , " Phoenix " and joined for the occupation of Morotai in the Molucca Islands on 15 September . The cruisers shelled nearby Halmahera Island to cover the landing and protect the assault forces as they went ashore against continuing light opposition . The long - awaited re - conquest of the Philippines began with the landing on Leyte . " Phoenix " , attached to the Close Covering Group , heavily bombarded the beaches before the highly successful landing on 20 October . Her batteries silenced an enemy strong point holding up the advance of a battalion of the 19th Infantry Regiment and continued to furnish effective callfire . In the battle of Leyte Gulf , " Phoenix " was a unit of Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf ' s group which annihilated the Japanese Southern Force in the battle of Surigao Strait . " Phoenix " fired four spotting salvoes , and when the fourth hit , opened up with all of her 6 " ( 152mm ) batteries . The target later proved to be , which sank after 27 minutes of concentrated fire from the American fleet . The Japanese also lost and three destroyers in the battle , and American planes sank the next day . " Phoenix " then patrolled the mouth of Leyte Gulf to protect Allied positions on shore . On the morning of 1 November 1944 , ten enemy torpedo - bombers attacked her and accompanying ships . At 0945 , " Phoenix " opened fire and five minutes later , was hit by a " kamikaze " . Almost at the same instant , hits from " Phoenix " s guns set another plane afire but could not prevent it from diving into the starboard bow of . At 0957 , a plane making a torpedo run on " Phoenix " was shot down by the ship ' s machine - gun fire , but in a few minutes a bomber hit . After a lull of two and a half hours , more " kamikazes " arrived and , at 1340 , scored a hit on . Japanese aircraft attacked the other destroyers as they stood by the sinking ship , but " Phoenix " shot down one of the raiders . " Phoenix " was attacked again by enemy planes on 5 December and was credited with assisting in the destruction of two attackers . Five days later , a " kamikaze " attempted to crash into the ship but was brought down by 40mm fire when only away . While proceeding to the assault area off Mindoro on 13 December , the ship was constantly under air attack by single " kamikazes " . That day , a lone " kamikaze " hit " Nashville " . On 15 December , a 5 " ( 127mm ) shell from " Phoenix " brought down a circling plane at 8 , 500 yd ( 7 . 8 km ) . The ship then furnished her usual fire support and covered the landing forces . This gave the Allies a base from which to strike at Japan ' s shipping lanes through the South China Sea and to soften up Luzon for forthcoming landings . En route to Lingayen Gulf for the invasion of Luzon , lookouts on board " Phoenix " sighted the conning tower of a diving submarine in the Mindanao Sea off Siquijor . The submarine submerged and fired two torpedoes which " Phoenix " dodged . blew the midget sub to the surface and rammed her . Next came Bataan and Corregidor , taken from 13 – 28 February 1945 . " Phoenix " covered minesweeping operations at Balikpapan , Borneo , from 29 June to 7 July . Resistance from coastal guns was unusually heavy . Mines and shellfire sank or damaged 11 minesweepers . " Phoenix " furnished supporting fire and the assault waves landed . " Phoenix " was en route to Pearl Harbor for overhaul when Japan capitulated . She headed home and , upon reaching the Panama Canal on 6 September , joined the Atlantic Fleet . Her status was reduced to in commission , in reserve , at Philadelphia on 28 February 1946 . Argentine service . She was decommissioned on 3 July 1946 , and remained at Philadelphia until sold to Argentina on 9 April 1951 . She was commissioned in the Argentine Navy as " Diecisiete de Octubre " ( C - 4 ) on 17 October 1951 , renamed ARA " General Belgrano " in 1956 , and sunk during the Falklands War on 2 May 1982 by the nuclear submarine . Awards . " Phoenix " earned nine battle star s for World War II service .