The Porter-class destroyers were a class of eight 1,850-ton destroyers in the United States Navy (and later American People's Navy.
The first four ships were laid down in 1933 by New York Shipbuilding and the next four in 1934 at Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. All were commissioned in 1936 except the Winslow, which was commissioned in 1937.
They were built in response to the large destroyers that the Japanese Navy was building at the time, and were initially leaders of destroyer flotillas. They were originally built with eight Mk.12 5"/38-caliber guns in four Mk.22 Single Purpose (surface action only) twin mounts. Anti-aircraft protection was provided by two quadruple 1.1" (28 mm) mounts; in the 1930s this was considered sufficient. Both of these proved to be top-heavy, and aircraft were becoming a greater threat, so during the war, mounts 51 and 54 were replaced with Dual Purpose (surface action and air action) twin mounts, and the original 1.1" guns were replaced with 40mm and 20mm weapons. In some ships, mount 52 was replaced by a quad 40 mm mount, and mount 53 became a single 5 in/38 (127/38 mm) Dual Purpose mount. Additional 40 mm guns were added amidships.
Specifications[]
- Type: Destroyer
- Service Period: 1936-1950
- Characteristics:
- Length: 381 feet (116.13 meters)
- Beam: 36 feet 2 inches (11.02 meters)
- Draft: 10 feet 5 inches (3.18 meters)
- Displacement: 1,850 tons
- Crew: 194
- Propulsion: geared steam turbines, 2 screws, 50,000 shp (37,285 kW)
- Range: 6,500 nautical miles (12,038 kilometers) at 12 knots (22.22 km/h)
- Speed: 35 knots (64.82 km/h)
- Armament (As Built):
- 8 × 5"/38-caliber Mk.12 dual purpose guns (4×2)
- 2 × 1.1"/75-caliber Mk.1 anti-aircraft guns (2x4)
- 8 × 21" torpedo tubes (2×4)
- Armament (1942):
- 8 × 5"/38-caliber Mk.12 dual purpose guns (4×2)
- 2 x Bofors 40mm/56-caliber anti-aircraft guns (1x2)
- 6 × 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons (6x1)
- 2 × depth charge stern racks
Unit Run[]
- USS/APNS Porter (DD-356)
- USS/APNS Selfridge (DD-357)
- USS/APNS McDougal (DD-358)
- USS/APNS Winslow (DD-359)
- USS/APNS Phelps (DD-360)
- USS/APNS Clark (DD-361)
- USS/APNS Moffett (DD-362)
- USS/APNS Balch (DD-363)