Book description
"Few ships in American history have had as illustrious a history
as the heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA-33), affectionately known by her
crew as 'Sweet Pea.' With the destructionof most of the U. S.
battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor, cruisers such as Sweet Pea carried
the biggest guns the Navy possessed for nearly a year after the start
of World War II. Sweet Pea at War describes in harrowing detail how
Portland and her sisters protected the precious carriers and held the
line against overwhelming Japanese naval strength. Portland was
instrumental in the dramatic American victories at the Battle of the
Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the naval battle of
Guadalcanal--conflicts that historians regard as turning points in the
Pacific war. She rescued nearly three thousand sailors from sunken
ships, some of them while she herself was badly damaged. Only a
colossal hurricane ended her career, but she sailed home from that,
too. Based on extensive research in official documents and interviews
with members of the ship's crew, Sweet Pea at War recounts from
launching to scrapping the history of USS Portland, demonstrating that
she deserves to be remembered as one of the most important ships in U.
S. naval history.
"Gives an excellent 'sailor's eye view of the war." --
NYMAS Review
