USS Miami 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.

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.

Though still neutral, the United States recognized that war was likely and the urgent need for additional ships ruled out an entirely new design, so the Clevelands were a close development of the earlier Brooklyn-class cruisers, the chief difference being the substitution of a two-gun 5 in (127 mm) dual-purpose gun mount for one of the main battery 6 in (152 mm) gun turrets.

[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.

On 12 February, Miami moved to the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, before departing two days later in company with the heavy cruiser Quincy and the destroyers Carmick and Doyle.

[4] Over the next two weeks, Miami took part in drills with the other ships in the Gulf of Paria until 3 March, when she and Quincy left to return to Norfolk, this time escorted by the destroyers Baldwin and Thompson.

For the voyage south, she was assigned to Task Group (TG) 27.7, which also included her sisters Houston and Vincennes and the destroyers Edwards, Monssen, Broome, and Simpson.

[4] Miami was next transferred to TG 12.1, which also included the fast battleships North Carolina and Washington, the cruisers Vincennes and Houston, the minelayer Terror, and the destroyers Dortch, Lang, McCalla, Sterett, Wilson and Cotten.

The American fleet embarked on the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, beginning with air strikes against Japanese positions on Saipan on 11 June and continuing over the following week.

Miami contributed to the fleet's anti-aircraft defenses when the Japanese launched an aerial counterattack on 19 June, though she was not heavily engaged.

Later that day, the ship's secondary guns opened fire on what was believed to be a Japanese submarine but was in fact merely an abandoned sampan.

[4][5] Miami continued to escort the carriers as they launched air strikes in support of the invasion of Saipan until 27 June, when she was detached as part of Task Unit 58.4.5 and sent bombard Guam before American forces landed on that island as well.

The fleet thereafter shifted its attention to Japanese airfields in the Philippines from 12 to 15 September; during this period, on the 14th, Miami picked up the pilot of an F6F Hellcat that had been shot down.

[4] As the fleet began preparations for the next major campaign, Miami joined TF 34, along with the battleships Washington, New Jersey, Iowa, and Alabama and the carrier Independence for training exercises that ended the next day.

With the invasion of Leyte approaching, the fleet turned its attention to Japanese forces in the Philippines on 18 October, striking targets in Aparri and Laoag.

[4] The following day, Miami and the rest of TG 38.2 briefly withdrew eastward before resuming operations against Japanese forces in the Philippines.

She was present when the fleet was struck by Typhoon Cobra on 18 December, which sank three destroyers and inflicted serious damage to several ships, including Miami.

[4] After repairs were completed, Miami joined TG 38.3, which sortied on 1 January 1945 to carry out the South China Sea raid.

The raid was an effort to isolate Japanese forces in the Philippines by neutralizing airfields in occupied China, Formosa, and Southeast Asia.

The carriers then launched strikes on Japanese-occupied French Indochina before turning back north to attack Formosa again on 15 and 16 January.

The fleet thereafter passed through the Balintang Channel and then the Luzon Strait, continuing north to launch an attack on Okinawa on 20 and 21 January.

[4] Later that month, Miami was detached to form Task Unit 58.1.22 along with her sister ships Vicksburg and Vincennes, the cruiser San Diego, and fifteen destroyers.

Still part of TG 58.1, she escorted the carriers Hornet, Bennington, and Belleau Wood as they directly supported American forces during the battle of Okinawa beginning on 1 April.

She departed for Pearl Harbor on 20 August, arriving four days later; by that time, Japan had announced it would surrender, ending the war.

Miami left for Guam on 30 August, and while en route on 2 September, the formal surrender took place aboard the battleship Missouri.

Her crew conducted a survey of the damage inflicted during Operation Hailstone, a major carrier raid on the atoll during the war.