Launched on 26 August 1937, the Brooklyn-class light cruiser USS Honolulu (CL-48) was the second U.S. warship to bear that name. The Honolulu was moored at Pearl Harbor Naval Station when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941. Suffering only light damage to her hull, she was quickly repaired and assigned to escort duty in Australia, Samoa, and the United States, which she followed until the end of May.
On 7 August 1942, the Honolulu sailed to the Aleutian Island of Kiska to begin a bombardment there. Later that month, she screened American landings at Adak Island, the first such landing in the Aleutians. In November, the ship sailed south from San Francisco, and shortly thereafter she fought in the battle of Tassafaronga which prevented the Japanese reinforcement of Guadalcanal at a serious cost to allied warships.
The Honolulu supported the landings on New Georgia on 4 July 1943. Afterward, she opened fire on Japanese warships in the Kula Gulf region, destroying one destroyer and damaging several others. Later that month, she took part in the battle of Kolombangara on 13 July, where she destroyed a cruiser and a destroyer. In the battle, the Honolulu suffered hull damage from an enemy torpedo which hit her starboard side.
Following repairs at Tulagi and Mare Island, the Honolulu recommenced operations against the Japanese in the early months of 1944. In June she took part in the bombardments of Saipan and Guam, remaining on station for three weeks during the Guam invasion. In September, she supported the landings in Palau Islands and began bombardment of the Philippines on 19 October. During operations supporting the landings an enemy torpedo struck the Honolulu's port side. She spent the remainder of the war undergoing repairs at Manus and Norfolk. The Honolulu was decommissioned on 3 February 1947 and assigned to the Reserve Fleet until she was sold for scrap on 17 November 1949.