USS Porter (Destroyer No. 59/DD-59) was a built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of both David Porter and his son David Dixon Porter.
Porter was laid down by the William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia, in August 1914 and launched in August of the following year. The ship was a little more than in length, just over abeam, and had a standard displacement of . She was armed with four guns and had eight 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. Porter was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to .
After her April 1916 commissioning, Porter conducted her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Porter was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas. Patrolling the Irish and Celtic Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Porter severely damaged the German submarine in April 1918.
Upon returning to the United States after the war, Porter operated off the east coast until she was decommissioned in June 1922. In June 1924, Porter was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol". She operated under the name USCGC Porter (CG-7) until 1933, when she was returned to the Navy. Later that year, the ship was renamed DD-59 to free the name Porter for another destroyer. She was sold for scrap in August 1934.
Design and construction
Porter was authorized in 1913 as the third ship of the which, like the related , was an improved version of the s authorized in 1911. Construction of the vessel was awarded to William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia, which laid down her keel on 24 August 1914. Twelve months later, on 26 August 1915, Porter was launched by sponsor Miss Georgiana Porter Cusachs, a descendant of the ship's namesakes, Commodore David Porter (1780–1843) and son Admiral David Dixon Porter (1813–1891), both notable U.S. Navy officers.<!-- calibers --> with each gun weighing in excess of . Based at Queenstown, Porter met and escorted convoys from the United States as they entered the war zone. which had been torpedoed by German submarine about south of Mine Head, Ireland. Cassins stern had nearly been blown off and her rudder was gone, leaving the ship unable to steer. Porter arrived at about 16:00 and stayed with Cassin until dusk when two British sloops, and , took over for Porter;
On 28 April 1918, Porter severely damaged while that German submarine was steaming to intercept a convoy. The destroyer was transferred to Brest, France, on 14 June. She returned to the United States at the end of the war, and operated off the East Coast until she was decommissioned on 23 June 1922. Porter was reactivated and transferred to the Treasury Department on 7 June 1924 for use by the Coast Guard.
After the United States Congress proposed the Twenty-first Amendment to end prohibition in February 1933, plans were made for Porter to be returned to the Navy.