She started her service in the Atlantic, and was relocated to the Pacific Fleet in 1937. She left Pearl Harbor on the 5th of December, 1941 for a patrol around the Hawaiian Islands, escaping the Japanese air raid. Then she operated with Task Force 11, before joining Task Force 16, and left for the Solomons.

On 26 October, 1942, in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, USS Porter (Lt Cmdr David Gillies Roberts) was hit by a torpedo from a crashed American torpedo bomber. When the plane ditched the torpedo broke loose and hit the Porter. The crew abandoned her, and she was scuttled by gunfire from USS Shaw. USS Porter received 1 Battle Star for her services before her loss.