Atlanta and Juneau first broke the air attack

Before the night surface action at Guadalcanal, Atlanta and Juneau helped break up a Japanese air attack that threatened to overwhelm their formation. Atlanta then suffered a Japanese torpedo hit and nineteen 8-inch shell hits from San Francisco during the confused night battle. She withheld return fire after the gun flashes revealed an American ship. With suitable salvage facilities unavailable, Atlanta was eventually scuttled. The loss comparison counts three torpedo hits against Juneau across the surface action and the later attack by I-26, and recalls the five Sullivan brothers among her dead. These losses need to be weighed against the accumulated damage and the ships' earlier success in air defense.