[4] After a shakedown cruise to England, Honolulu engaged in fleet problems and exercises in the Caribbean Sea.

She steamed from New York on 24 May 1939 to join the Pacific Fleet, arriving at San Pedro, California, on 14 June.

Honolulu went unscathed in the first wave, but in the second wave was attacked by Japanese dive bombers, but suffered only minor hull damage from a near miss from a 500-pound bomb that exploded under the water and caved in a section of Honolulu's hull, one of three cruisers to take any notable damage through the attack.

On 8 April, she arrived at San Diego, with the task of escorting a convoy alongside several other US cruisers departing from San Diego to bound for Bora Bora in French Polynesia, leaving on the 13th and arriving on the 28th, and after some guard duties departed back to Pearl Harbor on 19 May.

Admiral Tanaka commanded a total of eight destroyers delivering much needed supplies to Japanese troops on Guadalcanal.

[6][7] Because of this, on the night of 30 November, Honolulu and the other ships intercepted Tanaka's destroyers and opened fire within 12,000 yards, well within the long lance's effective range.

Honolulu, along with Minneapolis and New Orleans, engaged the Takanami, and hit her with shells that set her aflame and rendered her a slowly sinking hulk, but not before Takanami fired her torpedoes, and it would be these torpedoes and hit both New Orleans and Minneapolis, crippling both ships and taking them out of action.

Northampton failed to do the same and continued in a straight line, and she paid the price as she was hit by two torpedoes fired from the Kawakaze which caused her to sink over two hours.

[10] Having been the only cruiser of the battle to survive completely undamaged, Honolulu retreated from Guadalcanal, arriving at Espiritu Santo on 2 December, and remained there for the rest of the month.

By 2:00, Honolulu picked up three Japanese ships on her radar, it was Niizuki, Suzukaze, and Tanikaze closing the range to attack the force with torpedoes.

One of Honolulu's 6-inch (152 mm) shells hit the destroyer Nagatsuki below the waterline, wrecking her engine room and damaging her so badly she was forced to run aground.

After the battle, Honolulu briefly visited Espiritu Santa, before departing on 10 July for additional patrol duties.

[5] On 12 July, Honolulu was still on patrol duties alongside Saint Louis and was now joined by the New Zealand light cruiser HMZNS Leander, which was sent to replace the sunken Helena, alongside 10 destroyers, when allied coastwatchers alerted the ships of a nearby Japanese force.

[5][14][15] By around 1:20, 6-inch (152 mm) gunfire mostly from Honolulu and Saint Louis blasted Jintsū into a floating wreck, setting her on fire and leaving her dead in the water and without a functional gun.

American destroyers closed to point blank range to deliver the final blow, and at least one torpedo probably from USS Taylor finished her off.

However, simultaneously a type 93 torpedo probably from Yukikaze hit Leander, forcing her to retire from the battle (she was damaged so badly she could not be repaired in time to take further part in WW2, and never served as a New Zealand warship again, making up for Jintsū's loss).

Moments later, a third torpedo badly damaged Saint Louis, twisting her bow to the port side, while a fourth sank the destroyer USS Gwin.

Honolulu was taken out of drydock and departed for the Mare Island naval shipyards to be further repaired, arriving four days later.

[5] On 17 November, repairs were finally completed, and Honolulu departed California to continue her role in the struggle against Japan.

She remained on station for three weeks, performing great service with her accurate gunfire, before returning to Purvis Bay on Florida Island in the Solomons on 18 August.

Honolulu remained at Norfolk for the duration of the war, undergoing repairs and alterations which included the installation of four twin 5in/38 gun mounts,[17] and after a shakedown cruise in October 1945, she steamed to Newport, Rhode Island, for duty as a training ship.