USS ''Portunus'' (AGP-4) was an acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

for use during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a motor torpedo boat (MTB) tender. She was named after a Roman god of the sea, who had jurisdiction over ports and the shores. ''Portunus'' was laid down as ''LST-330'' by the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

, 12 November 1942; launched 11 February 1943 as ''Portunus'' (AGP-4); and commissioned at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, 12 June 1943.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

After

shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

along the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

, this motor

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

tender departed the U.S. 23 July 1943 in

task group A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

TG 29.6 for the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, whence she continued to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. At

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, 10 October, she loaded PT Base 4 gear for transport to

Kana Kope are syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , which were Chinese characters used phonetically to ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. On the 20th she arrived at Buna,

, and until 4 July 1944 repaired and serviced U.S. and Australian naval units operating along the New Guinea coast. Underway 4 July in convoy with and 8 units of MTB Squadron 25, ''Portunus'' arrived at Mios Woendi in the

Schoutens The Biak Islands (, also Schouten Islands or Geelvink Islands) are an island group of Southwest Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay (or Geelvink Bay) 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. Th ...

9 July. Through December, she underwent overhaul at

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, and on 29 January 1945 returned to Mios Woendi and resumed repair work.

Invasion of the Philippines

On 20 February she got underway for

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

Island, whence she proceeded to

Ilo Ilo ''Ilo Ilo'' (; literally: "Mom and Dad Are Not Home") is a 2013 Singaporean drama film. The debut feature of director Anthony Chen, the film features an international cast, including Singaporean actor Chen Tianwen, Malaysian actress Yeo Yann ...

, Panay, to support MTB Ron 33 during the assault there and to establish a patrol base after its success. The assault waves met no apparent opposition, the enemy having set fires and demolition charges and evacuated the city.

Okinawa operations

On 2 April ''Portunus'' got underway for

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

and

. On 16 April she joined company with the remainder of TG 78.2 to land the 24th Infantry Division,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and secure

Parang Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, and African heritage, something whic ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

. She steamed between various points on

and

, supplying MTB's, until 16 July when she got underway in

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

for

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. She anchored off

Hagushi Hagushi bay is located in Yomitan, Okinawa Island, Okinawa. The bay is at the mouth of Hija River. The north side of the mouth of the river has a public beach called Toguchi Beach. World War II Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for ...

, 21 July and shifted to Togouchi Harbor the next day. She serviced and repaired MTB Ron 31 and 37 and various other units through 29 September when she prepared to get underway for

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and inactivation.

Post-war decommissioning

Decommissioned at

Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...

, California, 18 April 1946, she was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

13 November 1946, transferred to the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The co ...

6 February 1948 and simultaneously delivered to the Kaiser Co.,

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, for scrapping.

Military awards and honors

''Portunus'' earned 3

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

for

service *American Campaign Medal *Philippines Presidential Unit Citation *Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) *World War II Victory Medal *Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) *Philippines Liberation Medal

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portunus (AGP-4) Portunus-class motor torpedo boat tenders Portunus-class motor torpedo boat tenders converted from LST-1-class ships Ships built in Philadelphia 1943 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States