Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:38:38-1:39:21

U.S. neutrality in a River Plate encounter

A River Plate counterfactual separates the fighting value of USS Portland from the political improbability of an American attack in 1939.

Admiral Graf SpeeBattle Of The River PlateHeavy CruisersUS NavyUS Neutrality
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Question

Would USS Portland and three destroyers near the River Plate have attacked Admiral Graf Spee and brought the United States into the war?

Short answer

Portland could fight, but an attack order was politically very unlikely because the United States was not ready to enter the war in 1939.

Notes

USS Portland was broadly as vulnerable as other treaty-era 8-inch cruisers: powerful but poorly protected for a fight with Admiral Graf Spee. The more decisive constraint is political. American public opinion in 1939 was not ready for war, so Roosevelt would be unlikely to order a neutral U.S. force to attack simply because it was nearby.