william d. porter (azur lane)

USS William D. Porter was a Fletcher-class destroyer serving in the US Navy during WWII. She is, infamously, the "unluckiest ship of WWII".

Her bad luck streak began when President Roosevelt, relaxing in an easy chair upon the deck of the USS Iowa, was watching an exercise that Willie Dee was a part of and Willie Dee accidentally launched a live torpedo at the USS Iowa to which the USS Iowa only barely outmaneuvered. The sailor who accidentally fired the torpedo was thrown into the brig but Roosevelt immediately pardoned him so he could get back to his duties.

While this particular event was only the start of her ill fortune, said ill fortune apexed dramatically at her end. A Japanese kamikaze barely missed hitting the Willie Dee during the final days of the conflict, hitting the water before colliding with the ship. The momentum of the kamikaze plane, carrying a torpedo, sent the submerged plane and its now deceased pilot directly underneath the Willie Dee, where the torpedo then activated and exploded, bifurcating her and sending her under.

Willie Dee has been with Azur Lane since the game started, but only as a loading graphic and as a temporary placeholder for other ships and the only official artwork of her is in the background of image of the other Fletchers. She has (as of April 2025) yet to be released to the player as an actual ship.