Talk:USS Porter (DD-356)

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Military history: Maritime / North America / United States / World War II

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Source of torpedo which sunk Porter

I don't have access to a copy of Frank (1990) which is cited as the source for the assertion that the Porter was sunk by a torpedo inadvertently launched from a US Avenger torpedo bomber which ditched near Porter. I find it extremely unlikely that a torpedo could become live as a result of a ditching of an Avenger, which carried its torpedo in an internal bomb bay. This would require an incredible sequence of events including (a) the opening of the aircraft's bomb bay after ditching, (b) the torpedo inadvertently released after opening of the bomb bay, (c) the torpedo becoming live and armed, (d) the torpedo heading straight for the Porter without having been aimed there (or alternatively, the torpedo circling, which it was not programmed to do.)

While the records related to Japanese submarine I-21 may not support the torpedoing of Porter by i-21, there is substantial evidence that the Porter was sunk by a torpedo launched by a submarine and not by one from the ditched Avenger. See Hammel, Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles, Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1987, pp. 411-413, which contains a detailed account of the sinking of the Porter, including (a) three eyewitness accounts (including one from an aircraft overhead) that multiple torpedoes were sighted, one passing ahead, one astern, and one hitting the Porter, (b) a description of the rescue of the Avenger crew which indicates there was significant time between the ditching of the plane and the sighting of the torpedo which hit Porter. --Navyhistorybuff (talk) 06:56, 7 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"Mk33 directors" in Infobox

The PORTER class were not fitted with Mark 33 directors for main battery control as the article states. They were equipped with Mark 35 single-purpose directors - this should be changed immediately. Ianroberts0415 (talk) 05:24, 18 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]