USS Portland (CA-33)
History of the USS Portland Cruiser
The USS Portland (CA-33) was ordered for the U.S. Navy on February 13, 1929. Her keel was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Company in Massachusetts on February 17, 1930. She was launched on May 21, 1932 and commissioned on February 23, 1933 under the command of Captain H.F. Leary.
Shortly after being commissioned, USS Portland rushed to the site of the downed airship USS Akron to coordinate the search and rescue mission. She later joined the Pacific Fleet out of California. On October 2, 1935, the cruiser escorted the USS Houston as it carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a fishing trip that ended at Charleston, South Carolina. In the years leading up to World War II, she took part in training exercises and goodwill cruises with Cruiser Division 5.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS Portland was covering a carrier group en route from Hawaii to Midway. She spent the next several months on patrol and escort duty between California, Hawaii, and Fiji.
In May 1942, USS Portland operated with Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid’s Attack Group during the Battle of the Coral Sea. She took aboard 722 survivors from the lost USS Lexington. The cruiser joined Task Force 17 for the Battle of Midway. From there, she headed to Tulagi and Guadalcanal to support the troop landings in August.
Later that month, the USS Portland found herself involved in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. At the end of October, she screened the USS Enterprise during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. In November, she moved on to the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The cruiser took a torpedo hit to starboard on November 13, and was forced to circle to stay afloat. She managed to sink the Japanese destroyer Yudachi before she was helped to Tulagi the following day.
From Tulagi, USS Portland was towed to Sydney for temporary repairs before she proceeded to Mare Island Navy Yard in California, arriving there on March 3, 1943. Once her repairs were completed in May, she sailed for the Aleutian Islands, bombarding Kiska on July 26 and covering the reconnaissance landing in August. The cruiser then headed to Pearl Harbor in September before getting underway for San Francisco in October.
The USS Portland moved on to support the campaigns in the Gilbert Islands and the Marianas until February 1944. At the end of March, she screened the carriers for the raids on Palau, Yap, Ulithi,, and Woleai. In April, the cruiser helped cover the troop landings at Hollandia before hitting Truk and Satawan.
After heading back to Mare Island Navy Yard for overhaul, USS Portland returned to action for the pre-invasion bombardments on Peleliu in September. She supported the landing forces until the end of the month. Her next target was the Philippines, and the cruiser bombarded shore targets on Leyte in mid-October.
On October 24, the USS Portland found herself in the middle of the Battle of Surigao Strait, which turned out to be a clear victory for the Americans. In early 1945, she took part in operations at Corregidor and Lingayen Gulf. The cruiser put in at Leyte Gulf on March 1 for her first repair and replenishment period in five months.
Coming under heavy fire from enemy aircraft, USS Portland supported the Okinawa campaign throughout March and April. During this time, she shot down four Japanese planes and shared in the kills of two others. In May and June, the cruiser took part in the invasion of Okinawa. She was at Buckner Bay for upkeep when the war ended in August.
After World War II, the USS Portland served as the flagship of Vice Admiral George D. Murray, Commander Mariana Islands, who accepted the surrender of the Caroline Islands. On her voyage home, she embarked homebound veterans at Pearl Harbor as part of Operation Magic Carpet.
USS Portland celebrated Navy Day at the city of her namesake, Portland, Maine. She was decommissioned on July 12, 1946, struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 1, 1959, and sold for scrap on October 6, 1959. The cruiser was awarded 16 battle stars for her service in World War II.
The use of asbestos was common in shipbuilding components for much of the 20th Century because of its resistance to heat, fire, water and corrosion. Because of their asbestos exposure onboard ship and in the shipyards, seaman, shipyard workers and longshoreman are at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.
Sources include:
Asbestos and Ship-Building: Fatal Consequences, by John Hedley-Whyte and Debra R Milamed
