The Porter class raised boiler pressure to 400 psi and power to about 50,000 shaft horsepower while retaining a speed near 37 knots. Across the class, American builders supplied machinery that included turbine practice derived from Parsons designs. Single-reduction gearing and the absence of cruising turbines limited cruising efficiency despite the plant's high-speed performance. American firms had capable engineers, but they had gone years without designing a destroyer plant that had to fit efficient cruising and high speed into a small hull. Starting from proven work limited the chance of an early failure. That caution also had a political purpose because a failed restart could threaten further support from Congress.
Notable Point · 27:22-29:24
Porter machinery reduced the risk of an expensive restart
Domestic builders supplied Porter's boilers and turbines, but parts of the machinery practice still came from Parsons designs after the long gap in American destroyer work.