(CA-33) USS Portland

Specifications:

Displacement: 9,950 tons
Length: 582 ft (177 m) (waterline); 610 ft 3 in (186.00 m) (overall)
Beam: 66 ft 1 in (20.14 m)
Draft: 17 ft 1 in (5.21 m)
Propulsion: 4-shaft Parsons turbines, 8 × Yarrow boilers, 107,000 shp (80,000 kW)
Speed: 32.7 kn (37.6 mph; 60.6 km/h)
Range: 10,000 nmi (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) @ 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Capacity: Fuel oil: 1,600 tons
Complement: 876 officers and enlisted
Armament: 9 × 8 in (200 mm)/55 cal guns (3x3)
8 × 5 in (130 mm)/25 cal AA guns,[1]
8 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns
Armor:

* Belt: 3 to 4 in (76 to 100 mm)
* Deck: 2 in (51 mm) + 2 in (51 mm)
* Turrets: 1.5 to 3 in (38 to 76 mm)

Aircraft carried: 4 × floatplanes
Aviation facilities: 2 × catapults


History:


USS Portland (CA–33), the lead ship of her class of heavy cruiser, was the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Portland, Maine.

Portland was authorized on 13 February 1929; laid down by Bethlehem Steel Co., Shipbuilding Div., Quincy, Massachusetts on 17 February 1930; launched on 21 May 1932; sponsored by the daughter of Mr. Ralph D. Brooks of Portland (Mary Doughty); and commissioned on 23 February 1933, Captain H. F. Leary in command.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Portland was two days out, en route to Midway with a carrier group. From December 1941-1 May 1942, she operated between the west coast, Hawaii, and Fiji.

Portland served in Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid's Attack Group from 4-8 May, when a Japanese invasion force was turned back from Port Moresby, New Guinea during the two-day Battle of the Coral Sea. When Lexington was lost, the cruiser took on 722 survivors. She was in Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher’s Task Force 17 (TF 17) carrier screen during the Battle of Midway from 2–6 June when the Japanese lost four of their carriers. Portland provided cover and support for the Marine landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal from 7-9 August. She then remained in the area to support the Guadalcanal operations and to protect Allied communications lines.

The cruiser participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons from 23–25 August, when Allied forces prevented reinforcement of Japanese units in the Solomons by a large naval armada under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. She then steamed south to take part in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26–27 October as one of the escorts for Enterprise. Two weeks later, she participated in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (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.

During this action on 13 November, Portland took a torpedo hit at 01:58 on the starboard quarter, which blew off both inboard propellers, jammed the rudder 5° to starboard, and jammed her No. 3 turret in train and elevation. A 4° list was quickly corrected by shifting ballast, but the steering casualty could not be overcome and the ship was forced to steam in circles to starboard.

At the end of the first circle, Hiei, illuminated by nearby burning ships and flares, was taken under fire by Portland's forward turrets. The enemy returned the 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. Then again at 06:30, still circling, Portland opened fire on the abandoned hulk of Yudachi at a range of 6 mi (9.7 km). After the sixth salvo, Yudachi exploded, rolled over, and sank within five minutes.

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 for preliminary repairs prior to overhaul in the United States. Following short stops at Samoa and Pearl Harbor, the ship arrived at Mare Island Navy Yard on 3 March 1943.

this is just some of the information that can be found on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Portland_%28CA-33%29