Portland as a scouting and presence cruiser

Portland was ordered in 1929, laid down in 1930, launched in 1932, and commissioned in February 1933. She began as CL-33 and became CA-33 as treaty categories changed, although her protection still suited long-range scouting and fast-reaction work better than a cruiser duel. In 1935 she operated with Houston, which carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a voyage that included ports near the Panama Canal and Charleston. Portland spent most of the interwar period with the Scouting Force and later the US Pacific Fleet, conducting training and presence missions. Her job was to find and shadow an opponent, then report the information needed to bring the slower battle line into action.