The Portland class of heavy cruisers was a class of ships designed and constructed by the United States Navy in 1930. The two ships of the class, Portland and Indianapolis, saw extensive service during the Pacific War in World War II.
USS Indianapolis (CA-35) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 10 July 1945
Portland in drydock in Sydney, Australia, in 1942
Portland off California in 1944
Indianapolis off Pearl Harbor in 1937
A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Heavy cruisers were generally larger, more heavily-armed and more heavily-armoured than light cruisers while being smaller, faster, and more lightly-armed and armoured than battlecruisers and battleships. Heavy cruisers were assigned a variety of roles ranging from commerce raiding to serving as 'cruiser-killers,' i.e. hunting and destroying similarly-sized ships
HMS Frobisher, a Hawkins-class cruiser around which the Washington Naval Treaty limits for heavy cruisers were written.
Armoured cruiser USS Tennessee, armed with four 10-inch (250 mm) guns, ca. 1907
HMS Hawkins, lead ship of her class.
HMAS Canberra, a County-class "treaty cruiser".