USS Portland (CA-33)

USS Portland (CA-33), at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 14 June 1942.
History
United States
Name	Portland
Namesake	City of Portland, Maine
Ordered	13 February 1929
Awarded	15 August 1929
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation's Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts
Cost	$10,753,000 (contract price)
Laid down	17 February 1930
Launched	21 May 1932
Sponsored by	Mrs. Ralph D. Brooks
Completed	15 August 1932
Commissioned	23 February 1933
Decommissioned	12 July 1946
Stricken	1 March 1959
Identification	Hull symbol: CL-33 Hull symbol:CA-33 Code letters: NACB
Nickname(s)	"Sweet Pea"
Honors and awards	16 × battle stars
Fate	Sold for scrap, 6 October 1959
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Class and type	Portland-class cruiser
Displacement	9,800 long tons (9,957 t) (standard)
Length	610 ft 3 in (186.00 m) oa 582 ft (177 m) wl
Beam	66 ft 1 in (20.14 m)
Draft	17 ft 1 in (5.21 m) (mean) 24 ft (7.3 m) (max)
Installed power	8 × Yarrow boilers 107,000 shp (80,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Parsons reduction steam turbines 4 × screws
Speed	32.7 kn (60.6 km/h; 37.6 mph)
Range	10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) @ 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Capacity	Fuel oil: 1,600 long tons (1,626 t)
Complement	91 officers 757 enlisted men
Armament	9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3) 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns 8 × caliber 0.50 in (13 mm) machine guns
Armor	Belt: 3+1⁄4–5 in (83–127 mm) Deck: 2+1⁄2 in (64 mm) Barbettes: 1+1⁄2 in (38 mm) Turrets: 1+1⁄2–2+1⁄2 in (38–64 mm) Conning Tower: 1+1⁄4 in (32 mm)
Aircraft carried	4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities	2 × Amidship catapults
General characteristics (1945)[2]
Armament	9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3) 8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns 2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns 4 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 4 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns 17 × single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons

USS Portland (CL/CA–33) was the lead ship of the Portland class of cruiser and the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Portland, Maine.^[1] Launched in 1932, she completed a number of training and goodwill cruises in the interwar period before seeing extensive service during World War II, beginning with the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942, where she escorted the aircraft carrier Yorktown and picked up survivors from the sunken carrier Lexington. She screened for Yorktown again in the Battle of Midway, picking up her survivors as well. She then supported the carrier Enterprise during the initial phase of the Guadalcanal Campaign later that year, and was torpedoed during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The torpedo inflicted heavy damage which put her out of action for six months as she was repaired in Sydney, Australia, and later San Diego, California.

Returning to combat in mid-1943, Portland saw action in many of the major engagements of the Pacific War, conducting shore bombardments in support of campaigns at the Aleutian Islands, Gilbert and Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, and New Guinea. She was involved in the October 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf, engaging Japanese ships in the decisive Battle of Surigao Strait. She then conducted shore bombardments at Lingayen Gulf and Corregidor Island, and in 1945 supported landings during the Battle of Okinawa until the end of the war.

Following World War II, Portland accepted the Japanese surrender in the Caroline Islands and then undertook several Operation Magic Carpet cruises to bring U.S. troops home. She was decommissioned in 1946 and scrapped by 1962. In her extensive service she accrued 16 battle stars, making her one of the most decorated ships in the U.S. fleet.