For other ships of the same name, see USS Juneau. USS Juneau in June 1942. The first USS Juneau (CL-52) was a United States Navy Atlanta class light cruiser sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 13 November 1942. In total 687 men, including the five Sullivan brothers, were killed in action as a result of its sinking.he was down 12 ft (4 m) by the bow, but able to maintain 13 kn (15 mph, 24 km/h). A few minutes after 1100, two torpedoes were launched from I-26. These were intended for San Francisco, but both passed ahead of her. One struck Juneau in the same place that had been hit during the battle.