The edition of TIME magazine that week carried a photo of KIDD, announcing that it had been one hundred years since the Jolly Roger had flown in New York Harbor. The Fletcher class formed the backbone of U.S. destroyer forces in World War II. At several points in the film, a German U-boat uses Greyhound's transmitting frequency and broadcasts threatening messages over the ship's loudspeakers. There were 39 casualties and extensive damage in the after part of the ship. Assigned to DESDIV 152, she joined Carrier Task Force 77 at Wonsan, Korea, with division mates UHLMANN (DD-687), HOPEWELL (DD-681), and WEDDERBURN (DD-684). DD 522 : Diary of a destroyer Surels, Ron Books dealing with this subject include: 200,000 Miles Aboard the Destroyer Cotten, Robinson, C. Snelling, 1999 My wifes first comment when I took her around the ship for the first time was You mean that you start all of this up with a match?. It was here, just ninety miles east of Okinawa, that KIDD suffered her most severe damage of the war. The Fletcher class including The Sullivans are regarded as the backbone of the navy and know to be the best destroyer in the world. The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist . Not a member of the Naval Institute? But through the efforts of many dedicated people, she avoided the scrapping yard to make one final voyage. As a torpedoed merchant ship goes down in February 1943, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Spencer searches for the attacking U-boat. flying the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger high from the foremast. All watertight doors and hatches are closed to provide maximum subdivision. The working part of the torch consisted of a rag wrapped around the end of the handle and secured by wire. World War II was only days old, but the Coast Guard's "327s" had already answered the call of duty in what would come to be known as the Battle of the Atlantic. Two more depth charges were quickly dropped, and at full speed the Ingham turned and headed back to make another attack. They used USS Kidd, a real WWII destroyer, to film the journey of Greyhound. It was December, 1944. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died on April 12, the same day that KIDD had committed her dead to the sea. KIDD was decommissioned for the last time on June 19, 1964, after over twenty years of service. Not wishing to dishonor RADM Kidd, however, the crew obtained permission from Mrs. Kidd first. An American freighter, the SS City of Flint, reached the scene the next morning, joining the Norwegian freighter Knut and the Swedish yacht Southern Cross. A large portion of the movie was shot aboard the USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class Navy destroyer named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who lost his life on the bridge of the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In need of repairs and shore leave for her crew, KIDD returned to Pearl Harbor in August of 1944. (DESDIV 96) within Destroyer Squadron 48 (DESRON 48), KIDD functioned in the many roles demanded of the U.S. Navys destroyers: anti-submarine picket duty, picking up downed pilots, shore bombardment, and anti-aircraft platform. The first ship to moor had to place a boat in the water which carried the mooring party. In 1975, KIDD was deemed unfit for further service and was stricken from the naval list of vessels. David W. Taylor, attached to a task force striking the Bonin Islands meanwhile, sustained an underwater explosion, probably a mine, and also went home. Twelve members of the U-boat's 47-man crew were rescued by the Campbell and Burza. In spite of being injured himself, Executive Officer Lt. B.H. Yes. Together, these classes dominated the US Navys destroyer force over the next 25 years. On October 2, 1961, she found herself part of the rapid mobilization of the nations military forces in response to the Soviets construction of the Berlin Wall. She opened to the public for the first time on August 27, 1983. While off Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach Harbor, KIDD was struck by the 9,000-ton Swedish freighter HAINAN on April 21, 1953. Meanwhile, medium-size Coast Guard cutters and U.S. Navy destroyers covered waters closer inshore. 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. Robert L. Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982). Fully repaired and ready for action in the eminent invasion of Japans home islands, KIDD was en route to Japan via Pearl Harbor just days after the first atomic bomb struck Hiroshima, heralding the end of World War II. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War. Along with her signal flags, the Jolly Roger flies high from her mast and the image of the pirate looks out from her forward stack, greeting passers-by both on shore and aboard visiting riverboats. She returned fire on and silenced several batteries successfully. The strategy that the Allies used was to send a group of merchant ships across the Atlantic in a convoy that was escorted by a group of warships, and, when feasible, aircraft. Rescuing downed pilots, fighting off suicidal attacks, destroying floating mines, and giving early warning to the fleet of approaching enemy aircraft, KIDD participated in a naval siege which would see the greatest losses ever suffered by the United States Navy. She whispers stories of courage, bravery, and sacrifice. Four Fletchers have been preserved on public display. Instead, she struck a glancing blow and the U-boat's hydroplane opened a large gash in the Campbell's hull. We had a victim already strapped in the stretcher when he was wounded.. During World War II, the Atlantic Coast destroyers would probably be at battle stations with Material Condition Zebra set by the time that they cleared the submarine net. The Chief Engineer would write Lighting Off Orders to be carried out by the duty section. From tax deductible donations to your time and skills, there are many ways you can contribute! The officer of the deck, Lieutenant Ed Osborne nevertheless ordered a depth charge dropped. It is set under battle conditions. By February, organization of the ocean escorts had been formalized into American, British, and Canadian groups. Upon reaching Ulithi, another devastating blow to morale was waiting for them. 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. Beginning in December 1943, all other DesRon 51 ships began making their way to the Pacific, some in time for the Marshall Islands operation, continuing in various combinations through the Marianas operation, where Haraden was damaged in a bomb attack, and Palau. The bomb carried by the kamikaze was catapulted through the ship and out the other side where it detonated just seconds later. The Pirate of the Pacific began a series of WESTPAC cruises which lasted from 1954 to 1959. Despite talk of returning her to the United States as a museum ship, she was condemned in 2010 as a derelict and hazard to navigation and scrapped in 20102011. With carrier-based aircraft pounding the Japanese installations on the island, KIDD moved off to investigate a submarine contact miles away from the formation. 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. George W. Stewart is a retired US Navy Captain. That call to action came in 1951 during the Korean War. It seemed like there was always something going on out there in those days and port visits were few and far between. In addition, the Coast Guard ships' commissioning pennants were replaced with the Navy flags. 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. Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, the Bibb, Duane, and Ingham covered small convoys out from Reykjavik that were joining westbound ON convoys. . After two deployments, it was back to the shipyard again. Twiggs also operated in the Atlantic early in her career, from Norfolk as a training ship until May 1944. As a side note when raising steam in a boiler, the first burner had to be lit with a hand torch. The last significant encounter between U-boats and 327s took place on 17 April, as the Spencer and Duane were escorting Convoy HX-233. 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. USS Fletcher (DD 445) of the 175-ship 2,100-ton Fletcher class was an outstanding example of promise fulfilled. I loved the country so much that I did not want to leave. But after a postwar examination of German records, the Navy and British Admiralty credited the Ingham's single 15 December depth charge with sinking U-626. So on the crews behalf, Mrs. Kidd obtained official permission from the powers-that-be in the Navy for them to paint the pirate on the stack and fly the Jolly Roger. Over the next 3?? US Navy image 19-N-31790. The disabled cutter, meanwhile, was towed to Newfoundland for repairs. Deployments to the Far East could be pretty tedious and they involved long periods at sea, as much as a month at a time. (The seventh, the Taney [WPG-37], would spend most of World War II in the Pacific.) One of the main reasons the filmmakers chose to shoot on the historic battleship is because the Kidd is the only surviving WWII destroyer still in her wartime configuration.If you listen closely during the movie, one of the sailors on the ship refers to a buddy he knows who was on the Kidd. The nine ships came from three yards as follows: 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. These conditions are established by closing the appropriate fittings such as valves, hatches, and watertight doors. 5. Since 1975 all new destroyer, cruiser, and frigate types have been powered by aircraft derivative gas turbine engines. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. This never happened in real life. With the active sonar switch on, Sasso again picked up the U-boat: "It was beautiful, a metallic sound, real clear." On 5 September, as Bibb and Campbell raced toward their rendezvous, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had declared a Neutrality Zone along the East Coast of the United States. Logistically, moving approximately 40 ships as a cohesive unit was anything but easy. Twenty of the 21 men in those spaces were instantly killed. The next step depended on how we were moored. . May her victories be triumphant and conclusive!. It was an entirely different Navy! The crew buried their dead at sea along the way on April 12. The combat air patrol downed the remaining Japanese aircraft. She was present for the occupation of Saipan in June of 1944 and assisted in the bombardment of Guam in July and August. The Fletcher class destroyer is one of the most famous and most produced warships developed and built for the US navy in WW2. On July 03, 1997, KIDDs torpedo tubes were reloaded for the first time since 1964, finishing out her full armament. The days of surface to surface torpedo attacks had pretty well gone away, although we still retained that capability. The part of Greyhound that's based on a true story is the Battle of the Atlantic, in which the fictional USS Keelingbecomes involved. For a secure moor, the lines were Doubled Up. 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. The last step was to test out the main engines with steam. Destroyers, dubbed "tin cans" because of their lack of armor . At 1138, U-175 popped up 2,500 yards from the Spencer, and the cutter's gunners opened fire. Next we will describe the process for getting underway from alongside another ship or a pier. The venerable destroyer had earned twelve battle stars during her career: eight for service in World War II and four for service in Korea. At this point, we were underway. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. in 1951 during the Korean War. She was a fine destroyer and served in WWII as a real war ship. Underway operations will be described in the next section. Fred M. Bush assumed command of KIDD and, temporary repairs completed, she returned to San Francisco and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard for repairs. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers formed the core of the US Navys destroyer force from 1943. A second 36 searchlight was obtained from a private estate in 1985. The danger of traversing the Atlantic is echoed in the Greyhound movie's trailer, which states, "The only thing more dangerous than the front lines was the fight to get there.". On March 19, 1945, the carrier USS FRANKLIN (CV-13) suffered a devastating hit which touched off gasoline and ammunition explosions and claimed 724 lives. Left full rudder was applied; the ship had just barely begun to turn. The entire process of raising steam was started by making up a burner, igniting the torch with a match, inserting it into the furnace, and opening the fuel valve. has slowly been restored back to her August 1945 configuration. Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. Allied long-range shore-based aircraft extended their patrols as far as 600 miles, but there remained a significant gap in their coverage. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? Still, 80 percent of Allied convoys completed the journey safely. 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. The movie's fictional incident is based on an event that unfolds in The Good Shepherd book from which the film was adapted. The Royal Navy primarily covered the western approaches to England, the U.S. Navy protected the mid-Atlantic from its bases in Newfoundland and Iceland, while the Royal Canadian Navy protected the convoys as they departed or arrived off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Jurgen Rohwer and Gerhard Hummelchen, The Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945, rev. In the traditional system of naming destroyers after Naval heroes, she was named after Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Sr. who was killed aboard his flagship, USS ARIZONA (BB-39) during the surprise attack by the Japanese on the American fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During his 30 year naval career he held two ship commands and served a total of 8 years on naval material inspection boards, during which he conducted trials and inspections aboard over 200 naval vessels. Since 1975 all new destroyer, cruiser, and frigate types have been powered by aircraft derivative gas turbine engines. In September 1941, it requested studies for a destroyer with greater anti-aircraft capability. Morale among the crew soared. . The Bibb, Duane, and Ingham were also still operating from Iceland. Robert E. Jeffery, KIDD sailed for the western Pacific arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, in July. After the yard period there would be a stint at the Fleet Training Group in San Diego (Guantanemo for East Coast Ships) for refresher training followed by a work up for deployment to the Far East (WESTPAC). Construction (top) and disposition following World War II (bottom). Destroyers have been called upon to perform a wide variety of duties. The cycle would start at the end of a shipyard overhaul, in our case at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Both pilots were recovered and three enemy planes were shot down, with one more kill probable and hits scored on several of the remaining aircraft. 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. Just before 1100, one of the Spencer's sonarmen detected a U-boat attempting to slip past the convoy's escort screen. 1 (Washington, DC, 1949). I made six month WESTPAC deployments in 1957 and 1958. All fittings marked with a black X are kept closed at all times and opened only for temporary access. Some 2,100-tonners served off Korea in the 1950s and some even off Vietnam in the 60s. l spent over a year on the USS TINGEY (DD539). 10. The KIDDs first voyage was one of some notoriety. She serves as a reminder of all those who have gone before us. But the rules of warfare are: Kill or be killed.". Jenkins was placed in reserve following the end of the war, until 1951, when the ship was reactivated for the Korean War. But most of the other wartime functions still remained. Consequently, later that day, Roosevelt signed an order transferring the entire Coast Guard to the Navy. Despite being rooted in World War II history, the Tom Hanks movie is not directly based on a true story. The Pirate of the Pacific began a series of WESTPAC cruises which lasted from 1954 to 1959. Commissioned into service two months later on April 23, KIDD commenced her shakedown cruise at Casco Bay, Maine. On 21 February, the Campbell was on her way to rejoin Convoy ON-166 after rescuing 50 survivors of the torpedoed Norwegian freighter Nielson Alonso. The plaque was mounted on KIDDs quarter deck in their memory. The first 25 ships were ordered 28 June and 1 July 1940 (the first day of the 1941 fiscal year), with DD 445 actually belonging to the 1 July group. Frigate types have been powered by aircraft derivative gas turbine engines been restored back to one! Lt. 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