Porterfield (DD 682) - Naval Cruise Book

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19 5 Z CRUISING RECORD 19 5 3 C DD 682 D Foreword As we fznzsh our second Korean voyage zt zs fzttzng that fwe summarzze esvents both large and small teclzous ana' excztzng sorrowful ana' humorous that made up all our lzoes for sefven months so far afway from home Whether zt fwzll he zn recallzng the calmest fwaters or the roughest seas oa'afs are that many of us fwzll thznlz upon these days just past as some of the most aaffventuresome of our lrves It zs hopea' that thzs hook swzll serfve to recall or each of you ana' your lofoeaf ones alzhe of these days zn years to come RECHVED USTTQALQE F LT QJGD W. H. WHIT R. R. PASCHKE, EMFM EAVY DEPARTMENT LIBRARY Uf S.S. PGRTERFIELD

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Ship's History The USS PORTERFIELD was launched at Bethlehem Steel Company's shipyard, Terminal Island, California, in June of 1943. On October 30th of the same year the ship was commissioned at San Pedro, California. The PORTER- FIELD, a Fletcher-class destroyer, was named in honor of Rear Admiral Lewis Broughton Porterfield. After her Shakedown cruise the PORTERFIELD sailed westward in mid-January of 1944. From that date until her return to the U. S. in July of 1945 she operated with Task Forces 53 and 58 and with various amphibious groups. The ship earned ten battle stars for her operations in the Marshall Islands, New Guinea, Truk, Saipan, Guam, the Philippines and Okinawa. She received credit for the destruction of 16 enemy aircraft and one surface ship. In September of 194-5 the PORTERFIELD was decom- missioned and placed in mothballs at Long Beach, California. The breakout of fighting in Korea found the need for moreglactive Navy vessels and on Z7 April 1951 the PORTER- FIELD was re-commissioned at the U. S. Naval Station in Long Beach. After fleet training in and around San Diego she got under way as a part of Destroyer Division 171 for her first tour of duty in the Far East in late July of 1951. During this cruise while off the east coast of Korea she was slightly damaged by an enemy shore battery. No one was injured. In early March of 1952 she returned to San Diego and proceeded on to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco for an annual upkeep period of three months. The PORTERFIELD returned to San Diego in June and for the next three months participated in a variety of exercises in that' area. This Cruise On the 4th of October, 1952, in company with DesDiv 171, the PORTERFIELD got under way for her second tour of duty in the Far East in a year and a half. After brief, but pleasant, stops in Pearl Harbor and Midway the ship arrived in Yokosuka, japan, the last week in October. Into the wind and out of the wind with Task Force 77 was the initial assignment, followed by anti-submarine exercises fand typhoon runningj at Okinawa and on our way to Yokosuka. From there the ship headed for Sasebo, taking time out on the trip to act as a lifeguard ship along the line of President- elect Eisenhowerls historic plane flight to Korea. Following our upkeep in Sasebo the PORTERFIELD joined Task ,Group 95.1 in early December on the west coast of Korea. For a month The Mighty P stood plane guard positions and patrolled in the cold Yellow Sea. Here the crew spent both Christmas and the New Year. The next assignment, in mid-January, was patrol duty in the Formosan Straits. This was highlighted by a three-day visit to Hong Kong. After that a week of patrol was followed by a week at Kaohsiung, Formosa, where the PORTER- FIELD acted as station ship. The northbound trip from Formosa to Yokosuka included ASW exercises around Okinawa. Following a short, but en- joyable, two weeks upkeep the ship again reported to Task Force 77. Except for a short upkeep in Sasebo the last of March the PORTERFIELD remained with the carriers and conducted occasional shore bombardment missions until her departure for the States on April 18th. The second cruise came to an end the 6th of May when the ship arrived home in San Diego and tied up at the Naval Station, having steamed about 55,000 miles in seven months. 3