USS Portland (CA-33)

USS Portland (CA-33): Sweet Pea of the Pacific

Commissioned on 23 February 1933, USS Portland was the lead ship of the two-ship Portland class, heavier and better protected than the Northampton class, benefiting from lessons learned in earlier treaty cruiser designs. Her crew called her "Sweet Pea," a nickname that belied sixteen battle stars of brutal Pacific combat. She was at Coral Sea before the battle. She was at Guadalcanal during the bloodiest nights. She was at Leyte Gulf. She was there when the Japanese surrendered. Portland did not miss much of the Pacific War.

At the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, Portland was part of the task force screening the carriers Lexington and Yorktown in the first carrier battle in history, the first naval engagement where the opposing surface ships never saw each other. It was a tactical draw with a strategic American victory, the first check on Japanese expansion in the South Pacific.

During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of 13–14 November 1942, Portland was struck by a torpedo from the Japanese destroyer Yūdachi. The explosion blew off her stern, jamming her rudder and sending her steaming in helpless circles. Yet Portland's guns kept firing. Circling uncontrollably, she managed to sink the already-crippled Yūdachi, a small satisfaction in a chaotic night battle that cost the U.S. Navy Rear Admirals Scott and Callaghan along with two destroyers and significant cruiser damage. Portland was towed to Tulagi and eventually to Sydney for emergency repairs.

Back in action by mid-1943, Portland rejoined the Pacific Fleet and never stopped. She participated in the Aleutians campaign, the Gilbert Islands landings, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, and the pivotal engagements around the Philippines. At Leyte Gulf in October 1944, she was part of the force that finally broke the back of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the largest naval battle in history.

Portland supported the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945 and was present at Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945 when Japan signed the instruments of surrender. She then brought American veterans home as part of Operation Magic Carpet. Sixteen battle stars, one of the highest totals of any U.S. cruiser in the Pacific War.

Tactically Acquired's USS Portland (CA-33) collection honors Sweet Pea and every man who kept her fighting from 1941 to 1945's last moment.