Destroyers: Porter Class

[Brian James]

Porter Class Destroyer USS Phelps pictured off Charleston,sporting her Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D livery in November 1944.

[Brian James]

Porter Class Destroyer USS Balch pictured at the oufitting wharf at Bethlehem Steel Company Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, on October 13th 1936, a week prior to her commissioning.
After her commissioning, Balch operated for a period under the Chief of Naval Operations. She departed Newport, Rhode Island, for the Pacific in October 1937, and upon arrival at San Diego, California, she joined Destroyer Division 7, Battle Force. Thereafter as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 12, and later of Destroyer Squadron 6, she participated in fleet training, cruises, and battle problems in the Pacific and Haitian-Caribbean area. After participating in Fleet Problem XXI at Pearl Harbor, Balch steamed to Mare Island Navy Yard where she underwent a yard period in the spring of 1940. Upon the completion of her yard period, she made six cruises alternately between the Hawaiian Islands and the west coast (August 1940-December 1941).
On December 1st 1941, Balch put to sea as a unit of Task Force 8, and remained with the Task Force after the Pearl Harbor attack. She cruised in the Pacific during the early months of the war, and participated in the bombardment of Tarawa Island, Marshall Islands (February 1st 1942). Between February 1942 and June 1944, Balch performed widespread screening, patrolling, and fire support duties during the Wake Island raid (February 24th 1942), the Doolittle Raid (April 18th 1942), the decisive Battle of Midway (4–7 June), during which she rescued 545 survivors of Yorktown; Guadalcanal landings (7–30 August); Attu invasion (11 May-2 June 1943); Toem-Wakde-Sarmi landings (25–28 May 1944) and Biak Island invasion (28 May-18 June).
On July 15th 1944, Balch arrived at New York. Between August 2nd 1944 and May 23rd 1945, she completed five trans-Atlantic convoy escort crossings to various North African ports.On April 12th 1945, Captain Alfred Lind took command and participated in Task Group 60.11 until May 8th 1945 (VE Day). During this time, they rescued 46 survivors from a torpedoed SS Belgium (April 14th) and also anchored at Oran, Algeria, and passed through the Straits of Gibraltar.
On June 16th 1945, she commenced her pre-inactivation overhaul at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was decommissioned October 19th 1945 and scrapped in 1946.

[Brian James]

Porter Class Destroyer USS McDougal,with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on board,pictured as she pulls alongside HMS Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, August 10th 1941.

[Brian James]

Pearl Harbor veteran,Porter Class Destroyer USS Phelps pictured off San Francisco on December 11th 1942

[Brian James]

Porter Class Destroyer USS Selfridge pictured sporting her Measure 32 Design 22D camouflage livery in San Francisco Bay on April 10th 1944.

[designeraccd]

More views of SELFRIDGE............. DFO

[Brian James]

Lead Ship, Destroyer USS Porter pictured at Helsinki in 1936....She was scuttled following the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands on October 26th 1942.

[Brian James]

Porter Class Destroyer USS Clark conducts a RAS with USS Enterprise in December 1941.