USS Amsterdam was a Cleveland-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, which were built during World War II.

The start of the war led to the dissolution of the treaty system, but the dramatic need for new vessels precluded a new design, so the Clevelands used the same hull as their predecessors, but were significantly heavier.

The ship was laid down on 3 March 1943 at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, launched on 25 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. William E. Hasenfuss (the first "Gold Star Mother" of Amsterdam, New York, who had lost her son William E. Hasenfuss, Jr. in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor), and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard Portsmouth, Virginia, on 8 January 1945, Captain Andrew P. Lawton in command.

Following the start of World War II in September 1939, Britain announced it would suspend the treaty for the duration of the conflict, a decision the US Navy quickly followed.

[2] The ship's belt armor ranged in thickness from 3.5 to 5 in (89 to 127 mm), with the thicker section amidships where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces.

After completing that work on 20 April, the ship embarked on another round of training, initially in the Chesapeake and then in the Caribbean Sea off Culebra and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

[4] Rather than join the main elements of Task Force 38 for a major attack on Japan, Amsterdam was assigned to a detachment centered on the aircraft carrier Wasp.

The ship entered Sagami Bay on 27 August with the rest of TF 38 to begin preparations for the formal surrender of Japan, which took place aboard the battleship Missouri on 2 September.

After passing through Pearl Harbor, she arrived in Portland, Oregon, on 15 October, where she took part in the celebration of Navy Day two weeks later.

She embarked another contingent of men and equipment to transport back to California, departing on 12 December and arriving in San Pedro on the 18th.

She was ultimately sold to the ship breaking firm National Metal and Steel Corporation, Terminal Island, California, on 11 February 1972 and dismantled.