USS Portland (CA-33)

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.

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.

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).

[6] 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.

[6] Additionally, Portland-class cruiser USS Indianapolis CA-35 was designed with space to be outfitted as a fleet flagship, with accommodations for an Admiral and his staff to operate.

[7] Portland steamed from San Diego, California, on 2 October 1935 along with Houston, which was carrying President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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.

[7] 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 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.

[14] On 4 May, from a position 100 nmi (120 mi; 190 km) south of Guadalcanal (11°10′S 158°49′E / 11.167°S 158.817°E / -11.167; 158.817), TF 17 launched airstrikes against Japanese forces off Tulagi.

She then steamed for Pearl Harbor escorting Yorktown, before heading to Midway Atoll to set a trap for Japanese forces attacking there.

She then steamed toward Pearl Harbor and met the submarine tender Fulton and transferred the Yorktown survivors aboard her on 6 June.

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.

[24] 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.

[7] 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.

[7] 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.

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.

[31] Then again at 06:30, still circling, Portland opened fire on the abandoned hulk of the destroyer Yūdachi at a range of 6 miles (9.7 km).

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.

[39] Following short stops at Samoa and Pearl Harbor, the ship arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard on 3 March 1943.

[7] 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.

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 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 four hits on her at 04:02, striking the compass platform and AA defense center.

[44] Portland entered Manila Bay on 15 February, and bombarded the south shore of Corregidor in preparation for landings there.

[46] 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 to 24 September embarking 600 troops for transportation to the United States.

USS Portland (CA-33) passing under St. John's Bridge , Portland , Oregon, in the 1930s
Portland , right, transfers survivors of Yorktown to Fulton , left, on 7 June 1942, following the Battle of Midway .
View of the damaged stern of the USS Portland (CA-33) after the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942.
Portland in Sutherland dry dock in Sydney, Australia, in December, 1942, to repair damage suffered during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
Portland wearing Camouflage Measure 32, Design 7D in 1944.
Pennsylvania leading Colorado , Louisville , Portland , and Columbia into Lingayen Gulf in January 1945.
Mainmast and bridge shield from USS Portland , on display at Fort Allen Park.