USS Porter - DDG-78

USS Porter (DDG-78)
Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer

Last update: 24 March 2004

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Naval Vessel Registry Information for USS Porter (DDG-78)
The first PORTER (Torpedo Boat # 6, TB-6) - The second PORTER (DD-59)
The third PORTER (DD-356) - The fourth PORTER (DD-800)

More pictures, history, and miscellaneous (of Porter and other ships) are available at the Destroyers Online website.

    USS PORTER is the 28th ARLEIGH BURKE class guided missile destroyer and the fifth of a series of vessels named for a father-son "team" in naval history. The father, Commodore David Porter, USN (1780-1843), had made his name in the frigate battles of the Pseudo-War with France and the subsequent War of 1812. Admiral David Dixon Porter, USN (1813-1891, the Commodore's son, became a hero in his own right during the Civil War, commanding mortar boats bombarding the forts south of New Orleans, then controlling the course of the war as he managed naval operations on the Mississippi.

    Commodore David Porter: David Porter, born 1 February 1780 in Boston, Mass., served in the Quasi War with France first as midshipman on board Constellation, participating in the capture of L'lnsurgente 9 February 1799; secondly, as 1st lieutenant of Experiment and later in command of Amphitrite. During the Barbary Wars (1801-07) Porter was 1st lieutenant of Enterprise, New York and Philadelphia and was taken prisoner when Philadelphia ran aground in Tripoli harbor 31 October 1803. After his release 3 June 1805 he remained in the Mediterranean as acting captain of Constitution and later captain of Enterprise. He was in charge of the naval forces at New Orleans 1808-10. As commander of Essex in the War of 1812, Captain Porter achieved fame by capturing the first British warship of the conflict, Alert, 13 August 1812 as well as several merchantmen. In 1813 he sailed Essex around Cape Horn and cruised in the Pacific warring on British whalers. On 28 March 1814 Porter was forced to surrender off Valpariso after an unequal contest with the frigates HBMS Phoebe and Cherub and only when his ship was too disabled to offer any resistance. From 1815 to 1822 he was a member of the Board of Navy Commissioners but gave up this post to command the expedition for suppressing piracy in the West Indies 1823-25. Commodore Porter resigned his commission in 1826 and became the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy 1826-29. He died on 3 March 1843 while U.S. Minister of Turkey.

    Vice Admiral Davis Dixon Porter: He was born on June 8, 1814, and was a native of Pennsylvania. He was the youngest son of David Porter, who commanded the Essex in the war of 1812-14 with Great Britain. Young Porter entered the service as midshipman in February, 1829, and served in the Mediterranean until 1835, when he was employed for several years in coast survey and river explorations. At the close of 1845 he was placed on special duty at the Washington observatory, resigning in 1846 to take part in the Mexican war. At the outbreak of the late war he was promoted to the rank of commander, and in 1862 the mortar fleet for the bombardment of the forts below New Orleans was placed under his orders. Vice Admiral David Dixon Porter spent much of 1862-1863 along the Mississippi River and in smaller Mississippi Rivers, including the Yazoo, the Coldwater, the Tallahatchie, and the Yalobusha. He directed campaigns against a long list of Confederate positions in the Mississippi Delta, from he Grand Gulf batteries, to the Chickasaw Bluffs to Miliken's Bend and Port Hudson. After the capture of New Orleans he went up the river with his fleet, and was engaged in the unsuccessful seige of Vicksburg in July, 1862. During the second siege of that place, in the summer of 1863, he bombarded the works and materially assisted Gen. Grant, who commanded the besieging army. For this he made rear admiral. Porter did not leave Mississippi until his successful support of General Grant's siege of Vicksburg was completed with General Pemberton's surrender in July 1863. For his Civil War service, Porter received four letters of thanks from Congress, and was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1866. He was also engaged in the two combined attacks on Forth Fisher, which commands the approaches to Wilmington, North Carolina. The first of these attempts, at the close of 1864, miscarried; the second, in January, 1865, was completely successful. In July, 1866, he was made vice-admiral, and after the death of Farragut, was promoted, October, 1870, to the rank of admiral, which carried with it the command of the entire navy of the United States, subject only to the order of the president. Admiral Porter urged the importance of protecting the coast approaches to all the large cities of the United States, with heavily armored minitors, carrying the heaviest guns. David Dixon Porter was nearly forgotten because his career and accomplishments have often been misinterpreted, when, in fact, he was arguably the foremost naval hero of the Civil War. Though Porter rose faster through the ranks, commanded more men and ships, won more victories, and was awarded more Congressional votes of thanks than any other officer in the U.S. Navy, historians have been influenced by his own postwar accounts, which were flawed by an unquenchable ego, thin skin, and a burning desire to vindicate his equally controversial father. David Dixon Porter was a firebrand hero of New Orleans, Vicksburg, and Fort Fisher. His unique tactics and techniques rank among the most imaginative and successful in naval history. The crew onboard Porter's flagship encountered daring, brilliant attacks against the punishing batteries at Vicksburg and Fisher and costly failures at Steele's Bayou and Red River. David Dixon Porter held critical strategy meetings with Sherman and Grant, and a thrilling chase up and down the coast of South America after Semmes on the CSS Sumter. David Dixon Porter was a talented fighter and colorful personality with a marvelous sense of humor, earning respect and friendship from the likes of Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman, but drew the ire of political generals like Butler, Banks, and McClernand. He was a potent mix of energy, ambition, courage, and creativity with rash behavior, paranoia, and a taste for intrigue.

DDG-78 USS Porter was the first ship ever to be commissioned at Port Canaveral

USS Porter "Welcome Aboard!" Pamplet
(Not yet available)

General Characteristics:

Keel Laid: December 2, 1996
Launched: November 1997
Commissioned: March 20, 1999
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, West Bank, Pascagoula, Miss.
Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
Propellers: two
Blades on each
Propeller: five
Length: 505,25 feet (154 meters)
Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters)
Displacement: approx. 8.300 tons full load
Speed: 30+ knots
Aircraft: None. But LAMPS 3 electronics installed on landing deck for coordinated DDG/helicopter ASW operations.
Armament: two MK 41 VLS for Standard missiles, Tomahawk; Harpoon missile launchers, one Mk 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun, two Phalanx CIWS, Mk 46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts)
Homeport: Norfolk, VA
Crew: 23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted

Ship's Crest

BLAZON SHIELD: Quarterly Azure and Or two mullets counterchanged, an Aegis shield Gules bordered Argent bearing the torch from the Statue of Liberty Or.

CREST: From a wreath Or and Azure two Naval Officers’ swords saltirewise points down surmounted by a cubit arm between six radiating laurel leaves Proper and supporting a trident Argent.

MOTTO: A scroll Or doubled and inscribed "FREEDOM’S CHAMPION" Azure.

SYMBOLISM SHIELD:Dark blue and gold represent the sea and excellence and are the colors traditionally used by the Navy; red is emblematic of sacrifice and courage. The shield is divided in four recalling the previous USS PORTERS and highlighting the four cardinal compass points and the US Navy’s world-wide mission. The stars commemorate the battle stars earned in World War II by the second and third USS PORTER. The Aegis shield symbolizes DDG 78’s modern warfare capabilities; and is red to reflect courage and action. The torch, from the Statue of Liberty, suggests the ship’s motto and symbolizes the principles of freedom upon which our country was founded.

CREST:The crossed Naval Officers’ swords honor both David PORTER and his son as well as representing the ship’s mission to "Train, Fight and Win." The laurel, arm, and trident are adapted from the US Naval Academy coat of arms; they highlight David Dixon PORTER’s tenure as superintendent of the Academy. The trident, the symbol of sea power, alludes to the Aegis vertical launch system; its three tines reflect the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War that the PORTERs served.

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