The ship had two distinctive raked funnels, a tripod foremast, and a small tower and pole mast aft. In 1943, light tripods were added forward of the second funnel on each ship, and a prominent Naval director was installed aft. The ship had four propeller shafts and four Parsons GT geared turbines and eight White-Forster boilers. The gave a design speed of . She was designed for a range of at . She rolled badly until fitted with a bilge keel. The cruiser had nine 8-inch/55 caliber Mark 9 guns in three triple mounts, a superfiring pair fore and one aft. For anti-aircraft defense, she had eight 5-inch/25 caliber guns and two QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss guns. In 1945, she received twenty-four Bofors guns, arrayed in six quad mounts. Both ships were upgraded with nineteen Oerlikon cannons. The ship did not have torpedo tubes. The Portland-class cruisers originally had armor for deck and side protection, but in construction they were given belt armor between (around the magazines) and in thickness. Armor on the bulkheads was between and ; that on the deck was , the barbettes , the gunhouses 2.5 in, and the conning tower . Portland-class cruisers were outfitted as fleet flagships, with space for a flag officer and his staff. The class also had two aircraft catapults amidships. They could carry four aircraft. The total crew varied, with a regular designed complement of 807 and a wartime complement of 952, which could increase to 1,229 when the cruiser was a fleet flagship. Indianapolis was laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation on 31 March 1930. The hull and machinery were provided by the builder. Indianapolis was launched on 7 November 1931, and commissioned on 15 November 1932. She was the second ship named for the city of Indianapolis, following the cargo ship of the same name in 1918. She was sponsored by Lucy M. Taggart, daughter of former Mayor of Indianapolis Thomas Taggart. Interwar period Under Captain John M. Smeallie, Indianapolis undertook her shakedown cruise through the Atlantic and into Guantánamo Bay, until 23 February 1932. Indianapolis then transited the Panama Canal for training off the Chilean coast. After overhaul at the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard, she sailed to Maine to embark President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, on 1 July 1933. Getting underway the same day, Indianapolis arrived at Annapolis, Maryland, on 3 July. She