Rear Admiral Barry Kennedy Atkins (August 2, 1911 – November 15, 2005) was an officer of the United States Navy best known for his achievements as a destroyer captain in World War II. Atkins graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1932, and was commissioned as a career naval officer. He commanded the destroyer USS Melvin in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and received the Navy Cross for "extraordinary heroism" for action during the Battle of Surigao Strait in the Philippines. On October 25, 1944, the Melvin fired a torpedo at the Japanese battleship Fusō, setting off a chain reaction of explosions that sank the ship; according to Jack Green, spokesman at the Naval Historical Center, "the Melvin probably was the only destroyer to sink a battleship in World War II." [1]