Meanwhile, the Navy continued looking ahead. (The seventh, the Taney [WPG-37], would spend most of World War II in the Pacific.) The pace of US destroyer construction accelerated with the wartime Fletcher class. Normally all four ships in the division would be moored to the same buoy. While the vessels drifted clear of each other, the Campbell's 20-mm and 3-inch guns raked the U-boat's conning tower and deck. Once this was accomplished, the OOD would pass the order to stand by to answer all bells to the engine room and them report ready to get underway to the CO. To prevent anyone mistaking their identity at night, the cutters steamed with all lights on and each flew a large American flag illuminated by a spotlight. With no injuries to the crew, the damage was repaired and the ship was underway again on May 11, 1953. sidewalk tractor for sale; who are the parents of chaunte wayans It was early on at this point in her career when she picked up the nickname that would become her trademark. The 327s were later converted to amphibious-force flagships and served in the Pacific theater. Regardless of who it was, it was very important for him to announce I have the Conn so that all bridge personnel would know who to take their orders from. By 1971, all ships remaining in the US Navy had decommissioned but not until 2001 was Mexicos Cuitlhuac, the former John Rodgers and the last active Fletcher, retired. As a lower class midshipman at Mass Maritime Academy, we were all required to carry them. The Steering Gear room (After Steering) would be manned. The ship had to approach very carefully directly into the current and hold itself in position during this process. The Fletcher class formed the backbone of U.S. destroyer forces in World War II. She returned to San Diego and was decommissioned on December 10, 1946, placed in the Reserve Fleet until such time as she would be called upon again. This article describes destroyer operations as I remember them during the late 1950s. KIDDs 20mm and 40mm gunners took the plane under fire, scoring several hits, to no avail. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types. The KIDD would become the only vessel in the history of the United States Navy to ever have such leave granted to fly the flag of piracy. But through the efforts of many dedicated people, she avoided the scrapping yard to make one final voyage. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. Taking their mascot pirate to heart, crew members began to ransom rescued pilots for ice cream mix and other delicacies from their comrades aboard aircraft carriers so that her reputation grew as the Pirate of the Pacific. Other destroyers conducted this practice, but KIDD did so with a certain flair. The USS KIDD (DD-661) is a Fletcher-class destroyer, the six hundred sixty-first destroyer built by the United States Navy. The last significant encounter between U-boats and 327s took place on 17 April, as the Spencer and Duane were escorting Convoy HX-233. Allan B. Roby, the Silver Star for gallantry. On 4 January 1945, Fletcher sortied from San Pedro Bay to provide close cover for the Luzon Attack Force as it sailed toward its objective. . Instead, she struck a glancing blow and the U-boat's hydroplane opened a large gash in the Campbell's hull. While Commander McCabe was certain he had sunk a U-boat, the Navy was not convinced. . Reg Ingraham, First Fleet (Cornwall, NY: Bobbs-Merill Company, 1944). It was an entirely different Navy! USS John D. Henley (DD 553) Destroyer Squadron 51 in World War II was a squadron whose 2,100-ton Fletcher -class destroyers were deployed in thirteen diverse operations in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Downtown Baton Rouges Fletcher-class destroyer USS KIDD (DD-661) and the Louisiana Veterans Museum. With a gaping hole in her side, most of her forward super-structure severely damaged, and radio communications down for the first hour after the attack, KIDD withdrew from the area under the covering fire of her sister ships. Two more depth charges were quickly dropped, and at full speed the Ingham turned and headed back to make another attack. The latter part of 1958 saw her engaged in a similar role patrolling the straits between Formosa (Taiwan) and mainland China while international tempers flared over the Chinese bombardment of the offshore islands of Quemoy and Matsu. Simultaneously, Armed Guard gunners on merchant vessels in the rear columns of the convoy also opened fire. There, the earliest ones saw action in the nighttime surface battles in the Solomon Islands, many fought at Leyte and all completed in time for fleet screening and shore bombardment assignments and the notorious anti-kamikaze radar picket duty at Okinawa. She saw her first duty covering the North Atlantic sea lanes near Argentia, Newfoundland. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It soon became clear that it was traveling in the opposite direction of the convoy. The plane departed trailing smoke. Her keel was laid on Oct . The next order would be to Take in the Brow. USS Jenkins (DD-447) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, the second ship named after Rear Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins.Beginning service during World War II, the destroyer saw action in the Pacific theatre. My own ship, the USS Halsey Powell (DD 686) had been struck by a Kamikaze while escorting the carrier USS Hancock (CV 19) off Okinawa in 1945. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. Fletcher -class destroyers boasted ten torpedo tubes, depth charge projectors, and five radar-guided 5" dual-purpose guns allowing them to ably combat aircraft, submarines and surface. She is a Fletcher-class destroyer and is named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, the first US flag officer to die during the Second World War. She rests in a unique docking system designed for the near forty foot rise and fall of the river each season. In Greece, the former Charrette, renamed Velos (Arrow), is a popular attraction. This method was still in general use in the Navy even into the 1990s and there are still some ships that still use it, even though burner management systems have been common on commercial ships since the 1970s. Her story begins in 1939 when work on a new generation of US destroyers began as a result of unsatisfactory performance of the current generation of destroyers. Following this action, KIDDalong with the other ships of DESRON 48sailed for Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California for a major overhaul and refitting. But the rules of warfare are: Kill or be killed.". has slowly been restored back to her August 1945 configuration. Deployments to the Far East could be pretty tedious and they involved long periods at sea, as much as a month at a time. There were 39 casualties and extensive damage in the after part of the ship. I spent 22 years in the Navy. Christened USS Fletcher, she carried over several design features from the earlier classes, such as a rounded pilot house. 6. ", The Duane soon joined in, firing all her gun batteries. In 1945, the seven ships remaining in the war zone participated in the Iwo Jima operation. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. X-RAY provides the least protection. She screened the amphibious operations, serving as a fire-support ship during the landings on Leyte. [2] While I did not serve in a Fletcher class destroyer, I did serve in a FRAM II destroyer, the USS ROWAN DD-782. The peacetime manning was 14 officers and 236 enlisted men. Restored to her August, 1945 configuration, KIDD is one of the most authentic and accurate restorations in the Historic Fleet. A Greyhound fact check reveals that the USS Keeling (codenamed "Greyhound") is fictional and was not a real-life Navy destroyer. At 1138, U-175 popped up 2,500 yards from the Spencer, and the cutter's gunners opened fire. The U.S. ed. One of the enemy planes descended to near water level, levelled out, and commenced a run on BLACK which was 1,500 yards off KIDDs starboard beam. Twelve members of the U-boat's 47-man crew were rescued by the Campbell and Burza. 27 2023 . Up until the 1960s, most naval home ports did not provide much in the line of pier space and in San Diego, we usually moored to a mooring buoy in the harbor. In September of 1957, KIDD and the submarine USS REDFISH (SS-395) participated in the filming of the motion picture Run Silent Run Deep off the coast of San Diego. With wars end, KIDD returned to peacetime duties. After the Coast Guard commissioned them in 1936 and '37, one of their main prewar roles had been high-seas search and rescue, and at one time each housed a floatplane in a main-deck hangar. Detached from bombardment duty, KIDD was ordered to convey an Admiral to Pusan at flank speed. For six days the ships battled heavy seas. years the big cutters would play a key role in the United States' efforts to patrol the Atlantic Ocean, escort convoys, and sink U-boats. KIDD sounded the warning to the rest of the fleet and opened fire, downing two of the attackers. During a simulated torpedo attack in September of that year, KIDD was struck by two star-shells fired from the NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55). At 1955 her radar picked up the convoy about 16,000 yards ahead. Sailing for the western Pacific again in February of 1945, KIDD and her sister ships joined Task Force 58, then forming for raids against the Japanese home islands and the invasion of Okinawa. Having transferred steam to both engine rooms from her only remaining boiler room, KIDD now made approximately 20 knots as she headed south toward Ulithi Atoll. Subscribe now and never hit a limit. During this time, she served as a training ship for Naval Reservists, cruising up and down the East Coast. My dad (Richmond Thomas (RT) Ezzell) was on the TAYLOR DD468 during WWII .Saw at the foot of his grave today another marker with his name, ship, and I suppose rating FC. The first of these was USS THE SULLIVANS (DD-537), named after the five brothers killed aboard USS JUNEAU (CL-52) in 1942 off of Guadalcanal. It was also more difficult to remain unnoticed by the Germans.The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous battle of WWII. Together, these classes dominated the US Navys destroyer force over the next 25 years. When thinking about it at a later date, you wonder how a human can cheer at the sight of another person being killed. Built at Federal Shipbuilding & Dry-dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey, KIDD was one of four destroyers [USS BULLARD (DD-660), USS THORN (DD-647), and USS TURNER (DD-648)] launched on February 28, 1943 in a record-breaking fourteen minutes. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. Cdr. A. Randle, omitting any mention of her gender. 1. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987). two months later on April 23, KIDD commenced her shakedown cruise at Casco Bay, Maine. Brittin took command of the ship and headed the beleaguered ship southward. After two deployments, it was back to the shipyard again. She continued rescue operations all the while maneuvering to avoid bombs and airborne torpedoes while simultaneously engaging the enemy. The bomb carried by the kamikaze was catapulted through the ship and out the other side where it detonated just seconds later. I much preferred WESTPAC! Their detonations practically lifted the U-boat out of the water and badly shook the cutter, which was rapidly losing speed. She was a fine destroyer and served in WWII as a real war ship. While 19 were lost and six damaged beyond repair, 44 earned ten or more service stars, 19 were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and 16 received the Presidential Unit Citation. The tenders could then supply us with power, thereby allowing us to shut down and go Cold Iron. 9. Her name was listed as Ens. In January, 1952, DESDIV 152 returned to San Diego for overhaul and repair. While in the shipyards, Cdr. A sister ship of the Fletcher-class, USS CAPERTON (DD-650), provided the quintuple Mk-14 21-inch torpedo tubes that were missing, as well as a Mk-27 torpedo director, two Mk-63 gun directors, and her boat boom. Lieutenant Bruns was one of the first killed as the U-boat crew began climbing out of the sub and attempted to abandon ship. Is this Fire Controlman? Half of the year, she rides the currents of the Mississippi; the other half, she sits dry-docked in a cradle where visitors can see her full dimensions. The disabled cutter, meanwhile, was towed to Newfoundland for repairs. "The periscope had probably been knocked off," he recalled. Fred Edwards, Destroyer Type Desk, Bureau of Ships, 1942, quoted in Holland, Rear Admiral W. J., Jr., USN (Ret), ed. In addition, the Coast Guard ships' commissioning pennants were replaced with the Navy flags. In 1941, as U-boat attacks on British and Canadian convoys in the central Atlantic increased, the United States was drawn into a more active role in the conflict. Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. USS Halsey Powell backs away from a pier in Subic Bay. The valuable wartime contributions of the Bibb, Campbell, Duane, Ingham, and Spencer, however, did not end when they were relieved of North Atlantic convoy duty. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Naval Historical Foundation 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374 1-202-678-4333 info@navyhistory.org. Finally, the third Fletcher selected was KIDD, largely due to the efforts of Harold Monning, who served aboard her during World War II, and the shipmates of the DESRON 48 Reunion Association. The venerable destroyer had earned twelve battle stars during her career: eight for service in World War II and four for service in Korea. Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, the Bibb, Duane, and Ingham covered small convoys out from Reykjavik that were joining westbound ON convoys. As the cutter neared the target, however, Sasso lost the contact. Instead, the party began picking up German survivors. The freighters bow sliced nearly halfway through the destroyers hull at the deck line, leaving a 15-ft. v-shaped hole that extended three feet below the waterline and flooding the sonar compartment. Slow but reliable, the Coast Guard's Secretary-class cutters were the backbone of the United States' North Atlantic escort force during World War II. Robert L. Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982).