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USS PORTER (DD-800)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NKSF

CLASS - FLETCHER As Built.
Displacement 2924 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 376' 5"(oa) x 39' 7" x 13' 9" (Max)
Armament 5 x 5"/38AA, 10 x 40mm, 7 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; Westinghouse Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 38 Knots, Range 6500 NM@ 15 Knots, Crew 273.
Operational and Building Data
Built by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding, Seattle, WA (YN 27)
Contract awarded 04 August 1942 (NOBs-315)
Laid down 06 July 1943
Launched 13 March 1944
Commissioned 24 June 1944
Decommissioned 03 July 1946
Recommissioned 09 February 1951
Decommissioned 10 August 1953
Stricken 01 October 1972
Fate Sold 21 March 1974 and broken up for scrap.
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Namesakes
Porter
05017822		 63kPhoto #: 80-G-K-17588. Captain David Porter, U.S.N. (1780-1843) portrait in oils, possibly by John Trumbull. Photographed September 1954 by PHC A.L. Brooks. This portrait is in the collections of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.
David Porter was born at Boston, Massachusetts, on 1 February 1780. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1798 and served in the Quasi-War with France and the Barbary Wars. He became a prisoner-of-war when USS Philadelphia was captured off Tripoli in October 1803. Following his release in 1805, Porter commanded USS Enterprise and later was in charge of naval forces at New Orleans, Louisiana. During the War of 1812, Captain Porter was Commanding Officer of the frigate Essex during her wide-ranging assault on British shipping, a campaign that continued until Essex was overwhelmed by HMS Phoebe and Cherub at Valpariso, Chile, on 28 March 1814. Following the War, Porter was a member of the Board of Navy Commissioners and led an expedition to supress West Indies piracy in 1823-25. He resigned his commission in 1826 and spent three years as commander-in- chief of the Mexican navy. Porter died on 3 March 1843 while serving as U.S. Minister to Turkey.		Bill Gonyo
Porter
05030601		 78kAdmiral David Dixon Porter, USN, (1813-1891) was born at Chester, Pennsylvania, on 8 June 1813, the son of Commodore David Porter (1780-1843). His naval career began as a midshipman in 1829, and included service in the peacetime cruising Navy, the Mexican War and the U.S. Civil War. The latter conflict saw him rapidly rise from the rank of Lieutenant to Rear Admiral. In 1862, he was in charge of the Mortar Flotilla during the campaign to capture New Orleans and the lower Mississippi River. He took command of the Mississippi Squadron in October 1862 and led it through the active phase of the Western Rivers campaigns. Rear Admiral Porter spent the last several months of the Civil War in command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Following the War, Porter was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1866 and served as Superintendant of the Naval Academy. He became the Navy's senior officer, with the rank of Admiral in 1870, and remained an influential figure in naval affairs until his death on 13 February 1891.Bill Gonyo
USS Porter (DD-800)
Porter
0580005		 158kPorter underway during 1944.
National Archives photo 19-N-5404		-
Porter
0580004		 45kCDR Howard R. Prince (center) shown addressing the officers and crew onboard the USS Porter (DD-800) at the ship’s one year anniversary, 24 June 1945. His speech read:

"One year ago today most of us were present at the commissioning of the USS Porter DD 800 in Seattle, Washington.

That day a confused confusion existed aboard the PORTER and she was in no manner ready to give battle to the enemy. It has indeed been a pleasure to me, however, to see what determination all hands turned to in a sincere effort to change that confused confusion into an organized confusion and later into the well organized organization we now have in this ship.

This war has clearly demonstrated that the hazards of the wind and sea and fog still exist for the modern ship, even with the aid of modern radar and navigational equipment.

Weather conditions in the Aleutians throughout the year are generally so bad that being on duty there aboard ship might be classed as attending a “Bad Weather” college. However, during the year we were able to keep our ship in fighting shape continuously, and participate in several shore bombardments against Japanese military installations in the Kurile Islands.

It has been my privilege to be your commanding officer this entire year and I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every man aboard for the loyal support I have received at all times from all hands.

My charge to all of you when I assumed command of the Porter one year ago was “All hands turn to”: I say to you now, “Well done."

Phillip Prince
Porter
0580001		 51kPorter in an unknown port, early 1950s.
Naval History & Heritage Command photo NH 107117		-
USS PORTER DD-800 History
View This Vessels DANFS History entry at the Naval History & Heritage Command website
Commanding Officers
01CDR Howard Riche Prince (USNA 1930)24 June 1944 - 05 December 1945
02CDR John Haydon Parker (USNA 1930)05 December 1945 - 22 April 1946
03CDR Leon Grabowsky (USNA 1937)22 April 1946 - 03 July 1946
 Decommissioned03 July 1946 - 09 February 1951
04LCDR John Blount Nelson (USNA 1937)09 February 1951 - ????
05CDR John Robert Middleton (USNA 1930)???? - 13 February 1952
06CDR William John Schlacks, Jr. (USNA 1930)13 February 1952 - 10 August 1953

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Contact Name: Joe Mongelluzzo
Address: 1027 Taylor Drive, Folcroft, PA 19032
Phone: (610)461-1944
E-mail: jmongel415@aol.com

Note About Contacts.

The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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