USS Porter ( DD - 59 ) 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 and 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 torpedo tube s . " 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 decommission ed 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 and 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 . As built , " Porter " was in length and abeam and drew . The ship had a standard displacement of and displaced when fully loaded . " Porter " had two Curtis steam turbine s that drove her two screw propellers , and an additional steam turbine geared to one of the propeller shafts for cruising purposes . The power plant could generate and move the ship at speeds up to . " Porter " s main battery consisted of four / 50 Mark 9 guns , with each gun weighing in excess of . The guns fired armor - piercing projectile s at . At an elevation of 20° , the guns had a range of . " Porter " was also equipped with eight torpedo tube s . The General Board of the United States Navy had called for two anti - aircraft gun s for the " Tucker " - class ships , as well as provisions for laying up to 36 floating mine s . From sources , it is unclear if these recommendations were followed for " Porter " or any of the other ships of the class . United States Navy career . USS " Porter " was commissioned into the United States Navy on 17 April 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Ward K . Wortman . Following her commissioning , " Porter " s shakedown was conducted in the Caribbean . After the United States entry into World War I on 6 April 1917 , " Porter " was readied for overseas duty and departed from New York on 24 April with the other five ships of her division — ( the flagship ) , , , , and . The sextet arrived at Queenstown , Ireland , on 4 May and began patrolling the southern approaches to the Irish Sea the next day . Based at Queenstown , " Porter " met and escorted convoys from the United States as they entered the war zone . On 16 October 1917 , " Porter " came to the aid of American destroyer , which had been torpedoed by German submarine about south of Mind Head , Ireland . " Cassin " s 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 " ; " Cassin " was towed to safety and later returned to patrol duty . 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 decommission ed on 23 June 1922 . United States Coast Guard career . On 17 January 1920 , Prohibition was instituted by law in the United States . Soon , the smuggling of alcoholic beverages along the coastlines of the United States became widespread and blatant . The Treasury Department eventually determined that the United States Coast Guard simply did not have the ships to constitute a successful patrol . To cope with the problem , President Calvin Coolidge in 1924 authorized the transfer from the Navy to the Coast Guard of twenty old destroyers that were in reserve and out of commission . " Porter " was reactivated and transferred to the Treasury Department on 7 June 1924 for use by the Coast Guard . Designated " CG - 7 " , " Porter " was commissioned on 20 February 1925 , and was stationed in New York for duties on the " Rum Patrol " to aid in the attempt to enforce prohibition laws . During her Coast Guard service , " Porter " captured the rum - running vessel " Conseulo II " ( the former " Louise " ) off the coast of Long Island . 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 . On 27 May 1933 , " Porter " arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , and was decommissioned nine days later , on 5 June . " Porter " was transferred back to the Navy on 30 June . Later in 1933 the ship was renamed " DD - 59 " in order to free the name " Porter " for a new destroyer of the same name . " DD - 59 " remained in noncommissioned status until struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 5 July 1934 . She was sold for scrap on 22 August in accordance with the London Naval Treaty .