USSBalch — the eighth and finalPorter-class destroyer — on 23 September 1936
Class overview
Name	Porter class
Builders	New York Shipbuilding, NJ (4) Bethlehem Fore River, MA (4)
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Farragut class
Succeeded by	Mahan class
Built	1933–1937
In commission	1936–1950
Completed	8
Lost	1
Retired	7
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1,850 tons standard, 2,663 tons full load
Length	381 ft (116 m)
Beam	36 ft 2 in (11.02 m)
Draft	10 ft 5 in (3.18 m)
Installed power	4Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2gearedsteam turbines, 50,000 shaft horsepower (37,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts
Speed	37 kn (69 km/h; 43 mph)
Range	6,380 nautical miles (11,820 km; 7,340 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	13 officers, 193 enlisted (peacetime) 290 (wartime)
Sensors & processing systems	as built: 2 × Mk35 GFCS[1] typical: single Mk35 or Mk37 GFCS. 1 ×SC radar
Armament	As Built: 8 ×5-inch/38 caliber guns (127 mm) (4 × 2) 8 ×1.1-inch/75 caliber guns (28 mm) (2 × 4) 2 ×.50 caliber machine guns (12.7 mm) 8 × 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes (2 × 4), 16torpedoes 2 ×Depth charge stern racks c. 1942: 8 ×5-inch/38 caliber guns (4 × 2) 2 ×Bofors 40 mm guns (1 × 2) 6 ×20 mm Oerlikon cannons 8 × 21 inchtorpedo tubes (2 × 4), 16torpedoes 2 ×Depth charge stern racks
Notes	Armament varied greatly from ship to ship during World War II.

ThePorter-class destroyers were a class of eight 1,850-ton largedestroyers in theUnited States Navy. Like the precedingFarragut-class, their construction was authorized byCongress on 26 April 1916, but funding was delayed considerably. They were designed based on a 1,850-tonstandard displacement limit imposed by theLondon Naval Treaty; the treaty's tonnage limit allowed 13 ships of this size, and the similarSomers class was built later to meet the limit. The first fourPorters were laid down in 1933 byNew York Shipbuilding inCamden, New Jersey, and the next four in 1934 atBethlehem Steel Corporation inQuincy, Massachusetts. All were commissioned in 1936 exceptWinslow, which was commissioned in 1937. They were built in response to the largeFubuki-class destroyers that theImperial Japanese Navy was building at the time and were initially designated asflotilla leaders. They served extensively inWorld War II, in thePacific War, theAtlantic, and in theAmericas.Porter was the class' only loss, in theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942.

The largerdestroyer leader type had been under active consideration since 1921. Indeed, theGeneral Board recommended the construction of five of the type in that year. One factor in favor of leaders was the Navy's total lack of modernlight cruisers, only partly alleviated by the tenOmaha-class ships built in the 1920s. Naval historian Norman Friedman believed that the great number ofWickes andClemson-class destroyers hindered the U.S. Congress from purchasing new leaders. The General Board was very interested in equipping such a type with the new higher pressure and higher temperature steam propulsion equipment also proposed for theFarragut-class destroyers; this would extend the ships' range.^[2] TheLondon Naval Treaty andlarge French destroyers (France did not sign the treaty and built ships well in excess of its limits) seem to have become the tipping points, with the 1930 recommendations beginning the cycle to actually build ships.^[3] TheGeneva proposals for destroyers also seem to have influence the design, as the Destroyer Leader proposals limited themselves to 1,850 tons per the proposals; these tonnage limits were eventually included in the London treaty.^[3]

ThePorters had the same propulsion technology as the immediately precedingFarraguts, with 400 psi (2,800 kPa) steamsuperheated to 645 °F (341 °C). The plant was somewhat larger than in theFarraguts, with designed horsepower increased from 42,800shaft horsepower (31,900 kW) to 50,000 shaft horsepower (37,000 kW), resulting in a speed of 37 kn (69 km/h; 43 mph).^[4] Along with the improved fuel efficiency resulting from superheated steam, the four boilers includedeconomizers to further extend the ships' range by preheating incomingfeedwater. The mainsteam turbines were manufactured byNew York Shipbuilding in the case of the ships built by that yard. However, as in theFarraguts, the main turbines had single-reductiongearing and no cruising turbines, limiting their efficiency.^[5]

There were extensive discussions about the armament, the5-inch (127 mm)/25-caliberanti-aircraft (AA) gun being favored as being easy to work and train in a fast-moving and lively type of ship. The other candidate was the5-inch/51-caliber surface type, being very powerful but all but useless against aircraft. It was a discussion made more interesting as the5-inch/38-caliber dual-purpose gun became available in the early 1930s and the Ordnance Department favored it rather strongly. The 5-inch/38-caliber gun was simply a 5-inch/25-caliber gun with the same projectiles and a longer barrel, but significantly increased range against both air and surface targets.^[6][3] The class was originally built with eight Mk 12 guns in four Mark 22 single-purpose (surface action only) twinenclosed mounts; the single-purpose mounts were adopted to save weight.^[6] Anti-aircraft protection was provided by two quadruple1.1-inch (28 mm) mounts; in the 1930s this was considered sufficient. Although thePorters had the same eight 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes as theFarraguts, a full set of reloads was carried. The class was initially equipped with theMark 11 orMark 12 torpedo, which were replaced by theMark 15 beginning in 1938.^[7] The heavy armament proved top-heavy, and aircraft were becoming a greater threat, so during World War II on most of the class, mounts 51 and 54^{[clarification needed]} were replaced with dual-purpose (surface action and air action) twin mounts,^[6] and the original 1.1-inch guns were replaced with40 mm Bofors and20 mm Oerlikons. In some ships, mount 52 was replaced by a quadruple 40 mm mount, and mount 53 became a single 5 in/38 cal dual-purpose mount. Additional 40 mm guns were added amidships along with 20 mm weapons. In most ships, fourK-gundepth charge throwers were added to augment the as-built pair of depth charge racks. In some cases (DD-357, DD-359, DD-360) late in the war, the torpedo tubes, two K-guns, and one depth charge rack were landed, to accommodate additional light AA armament, for a total of sixteen 40 mm in three quadruple and two twin mounts and four 20 mm in two twin mounts.^[8][9][10]

McDougal,Winslow, andMoffett were among the five destroyers and two cruisers that supported theRoosevelt-Churchill conference atPlacentia Bay nearArgentia,Newfoundland that resulted in theAtlantic Charter in August 1941.Selfridge andPhelps were in port during theattack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and engaged enemy aircraft. The class served in theBattle of the Atlantic, in thePacific War, and escorted convoys in theAmericas.Phelps was at theBattle of the Coral Sea and theBattle of Midway, scuttling the disabledaircraft carrierLexington with torpedoes at the former battle and picking up some of the crew from the sea following the orderly ship abandonment.Balch rescued survivors of the aircraft carrierYorktown at Midway. While operating out ofTrinidad in theCaribbean,Moffett assisted in sinking twoU-boats,U-128 andU-604. Notable engagements for other ships of the class included theinvasion of Guadalcanal and theMarianas campaign. By September 1944 the class was concentrated in the Atlantic.Porter was the class's only loss, in theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942.Selfridge lost her bow to a torpedo in theNaval Battle of Vella Lavella on 6 October 1943, but was repaired.McDougal andWinslow were reclassified as AG-126 and AG-127 in September 1945 and modified for anti-kamikaze research in a similar configuration toGearing-classradar picket destroyers. All exceptWinslow were scrapped shortly after the war;Winslow remained in service as a training ship until 1950 and was scrapped in 1959.Winslow was the longest serving by far of all destroyers commissioned in the 1930s and the last by far to go to theship breakers.^[8]

• Somers-class destroyer

 This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991).Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants.Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
• Friedman, Norman (2004).US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History (Revised ed.). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-442-3.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-83170-303-2.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1965).U.S. Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan Ltd.
•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPorter class destroyers.

• Porter-class destroyers atDestroyer History Foundation
• USSPorter, USSSelfridge, USSMcDougal, and USSWinslow General Information Book with as-built data atDestroyer History Foundation
• "Goldplater" destroyers atDestroyer History Foundation
• 1850-ton leader classes atDestroyer History Foundation
• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org -Porter class destroyerArchived 2015-11-24 at theWayback Machine
• NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page

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