The U.S.S. Portland at war

The U.S.S. Portland at war. .

"We shot so much, our guns started to melt" , , Jim Bunger, Men of World War II, Times Online August 20, 2015

, world war two Action The U.S.S. Portland returned to base at Pearl Harbor from a training mission just days after Japan's 1941 surprise attack. With many of the Navy's biggest gun ships destroyed, the Portland was entering battle outnumbered and outgunned., Engaged in almost every naval battle: The heavy cruiser Portland fought in the battles of Guadalcanal, Gilbert and Marshall Islands, Luzon, Manila Bay, and Okinawa. She was the only U.S. ship in all the three major battles: Coral Sea, Midway, and Leyte Gulf. Once, the Portland remained at sea for a stunning 20 weeks without re-supply. Ultimately she earned 16 battle stars, more than all but a handful of ships. Called "Sweet Pea" by her crew, she endures., Damaged yet dangerous At Guadalcanal in 1942, a torpedo nearly rips off her stern, killing 18. With a crippled rudder and steaming in circles, her gunners still sink a destoyer from six miles out and severely damage an enemy battleship., Survival skills During the battle of Okinawa, kamikazes filled the sky from dawn to dusk. From March to June, 1945, the Portland avoided an estimated 1,500 attacks. How? By maneuvering like a PT boat, using lights to blind pilots, and aiming at aircraft wings. But mostly, as Ted Waller recalls, "just shoot as fast as you can, and hope you hit the damn thing before it hits us.", U.S.S. Portland is singled out for surrender ceremonies Among all the famous ships of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz selected her to accept the surrender at Truk, the great Japanese naval base. The signing [right] on September 2, 1945, took place at the very same hour as the more widely-known ceremonies on the battleship Missouri.,

"Shortly thereafter, the ship was lifted and was shaken like a mouse in the jaws of a cat." , , R. "Turk" Wirth recalls Guadalcanal torpedo attack in We Remember 1941-1945, "So, there we were, approaching an island that had been home to the Japanese fleet for decades and there had been no other foreign ships in the harbor for years!" , , Jim Young, recalling Portland's approach to Truk and the Empire of Japan's surrender in We Remember, Vol. II, pp. 112-113

, [Captions:] , This memorial preserves the after mast, bridge shield, and bell from one of world war two's most-decorated ships, the U.S.S. Portland, [After mast and bridge shield shown here in blue], Rescue Missions Sweet Pea rescued over 3,000 sailors. A legacy dating back to 1933, when she first hunted for survivors of the blimp U.S.S. Akron, the world's largest airship, which crashed off New Jersey's coast., 1942: Following the battle of Midway, the Portland rescued 700 survivors of the U.S.S. Yorktown., [Right] Survivors suspended on ropes between ships while being transferred to the U.S.S. Fulton.