text: uss portland ( ca - 33 ) uss portland ( cl / ca – 33 ) , the lead ship of her class of cruiser , was the first ship of the united states navy named after the city of portland , maine . launched in 1932 , she saw a number of training and goodwill cruises in the interwar period . in world war ii , she saw extensive service beginning at the 1942 battle of coral sea , 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 action in mid - 1943 , she saw action in many of the major campaigns 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 . design and construction portland was the lead ship of the third class of " treaty cruisers " to be constructed by the united states navy following the washington naval treaty of 1922 , following the two vessels of the pensacola - class ordered in 1926 and the six vessels of the northampton - class ordered in 1927 . ordered for the u.s. navy in fiscal year 1930 . portland was originally designated as a light cruiser , because of her thin armor , and given the hull classification symbol cl - 33 . she was reclassified a heavy cruiser , because of her 8 - inch guns , with the symbol ca - 33 on 1 july 1931 , in accordance with the london naval treaty . portland was designed for a standard displacement of 10 , 258 long tons ( 10 , 423 t ) , and a full - load displacement of 12 , 755 long tons ( 12 , 960 t ) . however , portland only displaced 9 , 800 long tons ( 10 , 000 t ) when completed . in 1943 , a light tripod was added forward of the second funnel on the ship , and a prominent fire - control director was installed aft . her four parsons gt geared turbines each drove a propeller shaft using steam provided by eight yarrow boilers . portland 's power plant generated 107 , 000 shaft horsepower ( 80 , 000 kw ) and she had a designed maximum speed of 32 knots ( 59 km / h ; 37 mph ) . the ship reached , however , 32 . 7 knots ( 60 . 6 km / h ; 37 . 6 mph ) on sea trials . she rolled badly until fitted with bilge keels . portland was designed for a range of 10 , 000 nautical miles ( 19 , 000 km ; 12 , 000 mi ) at 15 knots ( 28 km / h ; 17 mph ) . the ship was armed with a main battery of nine mark 9 8 " / 55 caliber guns arrayed in three triple mounts , a superfiring pair forward and one aft . she was armed with eight 5 " / 25 caliber guns for anti - aircraft defense , and she also had two qf 3 pounder hotchkiss saluting guns . in 1945 , her anti - aircraft defenses were upgraded , receiving twenty four bofors 40 mm guns which were arranged in four quad mounts and four twin mounts . portland was also upgraded with seventeen oerlikon 20 mm cannons . she was originally designed with 1 inch ( 25 mm ) of armor for deck and side protection , but during construction her armor was increased . as completed , the ship was protected with 3 . 25 inches ( 83 mm ) of belt armor which increased to 5 inches ( 130 mm ) around the magazines . her armor was between 2 inches ( 51 mm ) and 5 . 75 inches ( 146 mm ) thick on the transverse bulkheads , while armor on her main deck was 2 . 5 inches ( 64 mm ) thick . armor on her barbettes was 1 . 5 inches ( 38 mm ) thick , armor on her gunhouses was 2 . 5 inches ( 64 mm ) thick , and armor on her conning tower was 1 . 25 inches ( 32 mm ) thick . additionally , the portland - class cruisers were designed with space to be outfitted as fleet flagships , with accommodations for an admiral and his staff to operate . the class also featured two aircraft catapult amidships , and she could carry four aircraft which were stored in a hangar . her total crew complement varied , with a regular designed crew complement of 848 , a wartime complement of 952 , and a complement 1 , 229 when the cruiser was operating as a fleet flagship . portland was laid down by bethlehem steel at its quincy shipyard on 17 february 1930 . the machinery was provided by the builders . portland was launched on 21 may 1932 and commissioned on 23 february 1933 . she was the first ship named for the city of portland , maine , and sponsored by the daughter of ralph d. brooks of portland , and with captain herbert f. leary as her first commander . her sailors would later nickname her " sweet pea . " service history departing boston on 1 april 1933 , the cruiser arrived gravesend bay , new york late in the day on 3 april . the next evening , she was dispatched on her first assignment to the scene of the airship akron , which had crashed at sea . thirty six minutes after receiving the message , she was underway and on route to the crash site . she was the first naval vessel on scene , and began coordinating the search and rescue effort with other ships arriving . in spite of her efforts , 73 were killed in the crash , including admiral william moffett , chief of the bureau of aeronautics . portland steamed from san diego , california on 2 october 1935 along with houston , which was carrying president franklin d. roosevelt . the president spent much of his trip fishing with his party . after visiting panama and several other ports , the two ships steamed to charleston , south carolina , where the president disembarked . portland spent the remainder of the interwar era with the scouting force , cruiser division 5 and later in the united states pacific fleet conducting peacetime training and a number of goodwill missions . she crossed the equator for the first time on 20 may 1936 during fleet maneuvers . when the japanese attacked pearl harbor on 7 december 1941 , portland was two days away , en route to midway atoll as part of a carrier group escorting aircraft carrier lexington . from december 1941 to 1 may 1942 , she operated between the west coast , hawaii , and fiji on patrol . battle of coral sea portland joined task force 17 ( tf 17 ) , commanded by rear admiral frank jack fletcher and centered around the carrier yorktown escorted by portland as well as cruisers astoria and chester plus the destroyers hammann , anderson , perkins , morris , russell , and sims and oiler neosho and tippecanoe . tf 17 departed tongatabu on 27 april en route to the coral sea . on the morning of 1 may , tf 17 joined with task force 11 ( tf 11 ) about 300 nmi ( 350 mi ; 560 km ) northwest of new caledonia . tf 17 completed refueling the next day , but tf 11 reported that they would not be finished fueling until 4 may . fletcher elected to take tf 17 northwest towards the louisiades . at 17 : 00 on 3 may , fletcher was notified that a force of japanese troops had been sighted at tulagi the day before , approaching the southern solomons . tf 17 changed course and proceeded at 27 kn ( 31 mph ; 50 km / h ) towards guadalcanal to launch airstrikes against the japanese forces at tulagi the next morning . on 4 may , from a position 100 nmi ( 120 mi ; 190 km ) south of guadalcanal ( 11 ° 10 ′ s 158 ° 49 ′ e ) , tf 17 launched airstrikes against japanese forces off tulagi after recovering its aircraft late in the evening of 4 may , tf17 retired towards the south . the next morning , tf 17 rendezvoused with tf 11 and task force 44 ( tf 44 ) at a predetermined point 320 nmi ( 370 mi ; 590 km ) south of guadalcanal ( 15 ° s 160 ° e ) . prompted by reports the japanese would attack port moresby , the force moved to the louisiades to engage the japanese the next day . portland was assigned to task group 17 . 2 under rear admiral thomas c. kinkaid together with cruisers minneapolis , new orleans , astoria , chester , and five destroyers from destroyer squadron one . she screened for yorktown throughout the operation , including during japanese air attacks on the two carriers on 8 may . following the battle , she was to escort the damaged lexington , but after fires on that carrier became uncontrollable she was abandoned and sunk . portland took on 722 of her survivors . she suffered no casualties herself , though at least four of her sailors were transferred to the neosho shortly before the battle and were lost when that ship was sunk . battle of midway after brief repairs at tongatabu , portland took on a new commander , captain laurence dubose . she then steamed for pearl harbor escorting yorktown , before heading to midway atoll to set a trap for japanese forces attacking there . on 4 june , after dive - bombers from carriers yorktown and enterprise had sunk three japanese carriers , aircraft from japanese carrier hiryū responded with an attack on yorktown that afternoon . portland was to her port , providing anti - aircraft defense along with cruisers pensacola and vincennes . a japanese air attack came at 14 : 00 and another after 16 : 30 , and yorktown was struck several times with torpedoes . with increasing damage , the carrier was abandoned and its survivors picked up by five destroyers and then transferred to portland . in all , 2 , 046 of yorktown 's crew transferred to the cruiser . she then steamed toward pearl harbor and met the submarine tender fulton and transferred the yorktown survivors aboard her on 6 june . during 7 june she searched for downed naval aviators and the next day joined the group of carrier saratoga . they steamed for the aleutian islands to counter a japanese force there but were recalled to pearl harbor two days later . guadalcanal campaign portland accompanied the invasion fleet to guadalcanal , escorting enterprise . she remained off the coast protecting the landings at tulagi and guadalcanal from 7 – 9 august . in this duty , she missed the battle of savo island and withdrew two days later following enterprise . she then remained in the area to support the guadalcanal operations and to protect communications lines for the attacking forces . remaining with enterprise , she later participated in the battle of the eastern solomons . on 24 august she was posted to air defense to the port of enterprise , and though she and her sisters were able to down a number of japanese aircraft , the carrier was hit at 18 : 34 . she continued to protect the carrier through 25 august , when allied forces prevented reinforcement of japanese units in the solomons by a large naval armada under admiral isoroku yamamoto . following the battle she escorted enterprise to pearl harbor and was then ordered on a secret mission to the gilbert islands to conduct a raid on tarawa with light cruiser san juan . she took aboard rear admiral mahlon s. tisdale and was designated task unit 16 . 9 . 1 . between 14 : 10 and 14 : 51 on 15 october she attacked japanese ships near the island , damaging a transport and a destroyer and suffering one damaged aircraft before she withdrew and rejoined the enterprise task group near the solomons . she then steamed south to take part in the battle of the santa cruz islands as one of the escorts for enterprise . the carrier came under heavy air attack at 10 : 12 on 24 october , and portland suffered her first wartime damage as one of her 1 . 1 - inch ( 28 mm ) guns exploded in firing and again when one of her aa guns depressed too low and damaged the splinter shield , injuring 19 officers and enlisted men . in heavy fighting enterprise was hit once but portland and the task group shot down several aircraft . at 11 : 53 the bridge lost control of steering , and before it could regain control , a japanese submarine was spotted . the submarine struck portland with three torpedoes , but all three did not detonate , likely because the submarine had fired too close and they had no time to arm . two weeks later , she participated in the naval battle of guadalcanal from 12 – 15 november , which resulted in heavy damage to both forces but broke up the determined japanese effort to disrupt the landing of 6 , 000 american troops on guadalcanal , to bombard henderson field , and to land 7 , 000 reinforcements of their own . at the outbreak of the battle , portland was escorting a convoy traveling to guadalcanal from new caledonia as part of task force 67 . after a four - day journey they arrived and began to offload supplies on 12 november and were countered by a japanese air attack of 46 aircraft . that night , she was among a force of five cruisers and eight destroyers under daniel j. callaghan which steamed to counter an approaching japanese force . they spotted a japanese force of two battleships , one cruiser and eleven destroyers and immediately opened fire , sinking the japanese destroyer akatsuki . shortly thereafter , portland was struck by a torpedo fired by either the destroyer inazuma or the destroyer ikazuchi at 01 : 58 , causing heavy damage to her stern . the torpedo struck the starboard side , which blew off both inboard propellers , jammed the rudder five degrees to starboard , and jammed her number three turret in train and elevation . a four degree list was quickly corrected by shifting ballast , but the steering problem could not be overcome and the ship was forced to steam in circles to starboard . the blast disrupted her steering column , forcing her to steer in a circle . at the end of her first circle , she fired on japanese battleship hiei , with her forward turrets . the japanese ship returned fire , but all salvos passed over the cruiser . in the four six - gun salvos returned by portland , she succeeded in starting fires in the japanese ship . at dawn , she was one of three u.s. ships still too damaged to withdraw on her own power . then again at 06 : 30 , still circling , portland opened fire on the abandoned hulk of japanese destroyer at a range of 6 miles ( 9 . 7 km ) . after the sixth salvo , exploded , rolled over , and sank within five minutes . she was eventually able to correct the steering problem and withdraw on her own power . she later received a meritorious unit commendation for her actions in the battle . she suffered 18 killed , 17 wounded in the battle . with the assistance of higgins boats , a yp , and a tug , portland anchored at tulagi on 14 november . from there , she was towed to sydney , australia by the tugboat navajo and escorted by the destroyers meade and zane for preliminary repairs prior to overhaul in the united states . she arrived at sydney 30 november but did not enter drydock until 24 december after chester and new orleans were repaired . during this time the crew was given extended shore leave . two of the ship 's sailors died in accidents during this leave . she left australia after preliminary repairs , escorted by destroyer hmas warramunga . following short stops at samoa and pearl harbor , the ship arrived at mare island navy yard on 3 march 1943 . 1943 – 1944 after operational training in southern californian waters , portland steamed for the aleutians late in may , arriving on 11 june and bombarding kiska on 26 july . after covering a reconnaissance landing on little kiska on 17 august , she called at pearl harbor on 23 september , there to san francisco in early october , then back to pearl harbor in mid - october . from november 1943 to february 1944 , portland participated in the gilbert and marshall islands campaigns . she bombarded tarawa on 20 november supporting landings there for several days . she was lightly damaged by a friendly depth charge when a nearby destroyer erroneously detected a japanese submarine . in december 1943 she moved to the marshall islands escorting the new essex - class carrier lexington . while lexington came under air attack , none of the japanese planes came within range of portland and she did not open fire . she returned to pearl harbor on 25 december , and went into drydock to repair her rudder and propellers . after repairs , she joined task group 51 under rear admiral harry w. hill for an attack on , steaming for that island on 23 january and arriving 30 january . after shelling the island for 30 minutes , it was discovered no japanese were ashore . she then moved to support operations on eniwetok atoll on 8 february , providing shore bombardment on parry island ahead of landings which took place on 19 february . she then screened carriers conducting airstrikes at palau , yap , ulithi , and woleai between 30 march and 1 april . she then joined with a carrier force assigned to cover the landings around hollandia and tanahmerah on new guinea , which took place from 21 – 24 april . she steamed northward with the carrier force and struck truk with five other cruisers and destroyers . portland then bombarded satawan in the group . following this series of operations , portland returned to mare island for a more extensive overhaul , which was completed in august . she returned to the western pacific for shore bombardments of peleliu from 12 – 14 september . the cruiser supported the landing on peleliu on 15 september , providing artillery to support the advance of allied forces . she provided gunfire support at peleliu through 29 september , and then steamed for seeadler harbor , manus island in the admiralties . battle of leyte gulf portland next joined cruiser division 4 for the next major campaign against the philippines . she arrived off leyte on 17 october , entering the gulf the next day , and began two days of shore bombardments to prepare for the troop landings there . on the night of 24 october , a strong japanese force consisting of two battleships , one heavy cruiser , and four destroyers headed for surigao strait with the apparent intent of raiding shipping in leyte gulf . the japanese force advanced in rough column up the narrow strait during darkness , but was met with a large u.s. force of cruisers , destroyers and battleships , including portland . she and her sisters steamed across the top of the strait , crossing the t of the japanese force . the japanese were first met by pt boats , then in succession by three coordinated destroyer torpedo attacks , and finally by devastating gunfire from american battleships and cruisers disposed across the northern end of the strait . portland took the japanese cruiser mogami under fire , scoring three hits on her at 04 : 02 , striking the compass platform and aa defense center . she continued firing on the mogami for ten minutes she continued to fire on the stranded mogami until 05 : 30 , striking several hits , including on the ship 's bridge . the battle of surigao strait was a decisive defeat for the japanese force , with most of its ships being destroyed . 1945 from 3 january to 1 march 1945 , portland participated in the operations at lingayen gulf and corregidor . arriving off lingayen gulf on 5 january , and bombarding the vicinity of cape , she entered the gulf the same day and commenced bombardment of the eastern shore but discontinued immediately when a large wave of japanese kamikaze planes approached . portland entered manila bay on 15 february , and bombarded the south shore of corregidor in preparation for landings there . she returned to leyte gulf on 1 march for repairs and replenishment , having seen five months of continuous action . from 26 march to 20 april , she conducted shore bombardments of okinawa in support of the allied landings during the okinawa campaign . portland endured twenty - four air raids , shot down four japanese aircraft , and assisted in downing two others . from 8 may to 17 june , she supported ground forces on okinawa providing artillery support for ground forces , departing on 17 june for maintenance at leyte before returning to buckner bay on 6 august , where she remained conducting shore bombardments until the end of the war . post - war with the termination of hostilities , portland was designated flagship of vice admiral george d. murray , commander mariana islands , who was to accept the surrender of the carolines . the ship steamed to truk atoll and there murray , acting for fleet admiral chester nimitz , accepted the formal capitulation of the senior japanese military and civilian officials in ceremonies aboard portland . she was then selected for operation magic carpet duty , and returned to pearl harbor from 21 – 24 september embarking 600 troops for transportation to the united states . she crossed the panama canal on 8 october and arrived at portland , maine for navy day celebrations on 27 october . she then conducted two trans - atlantic crossings in november and december , bringing troops home from the european theater . she reported on 11 march 1946 to the philadelphia naval shipyard for inactivation and assignment to the reserve fleet . she decommissioned at philadelphia navy yard on 12 july 1946 and was maintained in the united states reserve fleet . while she was identified as one of the few ships that fought through the entire war and not missed any major battle , no attempt was made to save her as a museum ship at either portland maine , or portland oregon . she was struck from the navy list on 1 march 1959 and sold to union minerals and alloys corp. in new york on 6 october . she was scrapped at wainwright shipyard in panama city , florida during 1961 and 1962 . her tripod mast was preserved at fort allen park , portland . she received 16 battle stars for world war ii service , making her among the most decorated us ships of world war ii .