USS Helena (CL-50) was a US Navy light cruiser that was commissioned on 18 September 1939. The ship was damaged in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and the ship was at the center of three major battles in the Solomon Islands, including the Battle of Cape Esperance, where she broke formation to attack the Japanese ships. The ship was sunk off Kolombangara during the Battle of Kula Gulf on 6 July 1943.