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. This would be followed by Now Set Material Condition Yoke Throughout the Ship followed by The Officer of the Deck is Shifting his Watch from the Quarterdeck to the Bridge. The plane departed trailing smoke. East Coast deployments tended to be much better because ports in the Mediterranean are much closer together than in the Far East and there never were as many potential shooting situations over there that demanded that we be underway for prolonged periods. Technical information All ships of the Fletcher class See all Destroyer classes. For six days the ships battled heavy seas. When Congressman W. Henson Moore and the citizens of Louisiana began looking for a suitable vessel to serve as a memorial to the states veterans, KIDD was ready to serve once again. Next we will describe the process for getting underway from alongside another ship or a pier. Without waiting for Bruns' order, the U-boat's engineer gave the command to surface. As they neared Reykjavik on 29 January 1942, the Hamilton turned the tow over to a British tug. After the three ships met at night on 9 September, the cutters helped care for and transport the survivors back to the United States. In Greece, the former Charrette, renamed Velos (Arrow), is a popular attraction. 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. The torch was kept in a small pot filled with diesel oil. 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. On July 03, 1997, KIDDs torpedo tubes were reloaded for the first time since 1964, finishing out her full armament. The Navy, however, did not have enough ships to watch the vast area effectively and immediately asked for Coast Guard assistance. An explanation of Material Conditions is in order. Lieutenant Bruns was one of the first killed as the U-boat crew began climbing out of the sub and attempted to abandon ship. That number was necessary to allow around the clock manning of gun mounts, repair parties, and other watch stations. There were 39 casualties and extensive damage in the after part of the ship. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. Navy ships never use this method any more, as sufficient pier space is provided in all of the navys home ports and all necessary services are provided from shore. 6. I am a retired Navy Chief. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. The 2,050-ton Fletcher -Class destroyer was considered one of the best destroyers of the period. The island-hopping campaign continued across the Pacific and KIDD continued to go in harms way. She saw action again in the Marshall Islands in January of 1944, and was the first to follow minesweepers into the lagoon at Majuro. Pingback: Manning Fletcher Class Destroyers | Naval Historical Foundation, Pingback: Fletcher Class Destroyer Operations - Part II | Naval Historical Foundation. Some 2,100-tonners served off Korea in the 1950s and some even off Vietnam in the 60s. That call to action came in 1951 during the Korean War. Allied Warships Destroyers Fletcher class 175 ships The destroyer USS Saufley (DD 465) of the US Navy . The cycle would start at the end of a shipyard overhaul, in our case at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Shortly thereafter, at 1313, a torpedo fired by U-132 ripped into the cutter's starboard side, exploding between the boiler and engine rooms and rupturing steam pipes. "The tower was a mass of twisted steel. . USS Halsey Powell backs away from a pier in Subic Bay. Robert E. Jeffery, KIDD sailed for the western Pacific arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, in July. She provided escort for the carrier task force which launched air raids on Wake Island in October of 1943 and then again, in November, for the carriers ESSEX (CV-9), BUNKER HILL (CV-17), and INDEPENDENCE (CV-22) in strikes against Rabaul and Bougainville. I made six month WESTPAC deployments in 1957 and 1958. Of the four preserved Fletcher-class destroyers, she is the only destroyer remaining in her World War II appearance and is now on exhibit in her wartime camouflage paint, Measure 22.. 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. 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. (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. Chevalier. Screened by McNAIR (DD-679), KIDD retreated southward. The Fletcher design permitted significant increases over preceding classes in hull, armament, machinery, ammunition, stores and fuel bunkerage. 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. But most of the other wartime functions still remained. At this point, we were underway. Under the command of Cdr. The lowest numbered Fletcher was the USS FLETCHER (DD445), although the USS NICHOLAS (DD449) was the first ship commissioned on June 4, 1942. The Coast Guard, however, maintains that the cutter's attacks two days later destroyed the same U-boat. From tax deductible donations to your time and skills, there are many ways you can contribute! 4. The plaque was mounted on KIDDs quarter deck in their memory. In August of 1943, she transited the Panama Canal along with three other destroyers providing escort for USS ALABAMA (BB-60) and SOUTH DAKOTA (BB-57) and proceeded to Pearl Harbor. Though built with the Pacific in mind, Fletchers also served in the Atlantic theater. They would pick up an eastbound convoy from a Canadian escort group, protect it through storms and U-boats, and then turn it over to a British escort group off Ireland. No. 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. 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. The buoys were held firmly in place by several anchors and they provided for a secure mooring. Lookouts spotted flags flying at half-mast. Not long afterward, KIDD saw action at Tarawa during the Gilbert Island invasion in November of 1943. KIDD was one of several destroyers which stood guard for the beleaguered carrier while her crew fought to keep her afloat. She rests in a unique docking system designed for the near forty foot rise and fall of the river each season. The goal was to have two boilers on line, one in each fire room, and have both engines ready for operation with the plant split (2 independent plant configuration) prior to setting what is referred to as the Special Sea Detail. On 12 June 1944, a new Gearing -class destroyer, USS Chevalier (DD 805) was laid downlike the 451, the third ship of her class from Bath Iron Works. 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. 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 Downtown Baton Rouges Fletcher-class destroyer USS KIDD (DD-661) and the Louisiana Veterans Museum. All Rules of the Road situations were handled by whistle signals. Allan Roby was reassigned at this time, with Cdr. From the 1958 Halsey Powell cruise book. 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. Shortly after the U-boat surfaced, the Campbell's radar found her. Starting on April 24, 1962, KIDD was assigned to the Naval Destroyer School at Newport, Rhode Island. At the time scheduled in the plan of the day, the boatswains pipe would whistle and the word would be passed Now set the Special Sea and Anchor Detail. She whispers stories of courage, bravery, and sacrifice. David W. Taylor returned to join them in time for Okinawa, after which she and John D. Henley closed out the war with the Third Fleet off Japan while the other surviving ships of the squadron returned home. Left full rudder was applied; the ship had just barely begun to turn. 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. The skipper reported to the task force commander: KIDD claims to be the best prepared ship in the Navy. 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. In 1975, KIDD was deemed unfit for further service and was stricken from the naval list of vessels. 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. By VJ Day, 67 Sumners55 destroyers and 12 destroyer-minelayer conversionsplus 45 ships of a lengthened production variant, initially referred to as the 2,200-ton long hull class and later as the Gearing class. Serving as part of Destroyer Division 96 (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. She serves as a reminder of all those who have gone before us. Commander-in-Chief, U.S.; Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic; and Eastern Sea Frontier Operations logs, message logs, and after-action reports; NARA. The next order would be to Take in the Brow. U-boat U-405 was swallowed by the sea that night, adding to the Atlantic's WWII seabed graveyard. During a simulated torpedo attack in September of that year, KIDD was struck by two star-shells fired from the NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55). . Bennett (DD 473) lays stack and chemical smoke in the Shortland Islands, 1944. off Korea in the 1950s and some even off Vietnam in the 60s, she was condemned in 2010 as a derelict and hazard to navigation and scrapped in 20102011. Once the first burner was lit, subsequent burners could be lit from the adjacent burner. 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. As U-606 cleared her stern, the cutter dropped two depth charges set at 50 feet. "The contact was fast; there was a lot of motion, a lot of movement," he recalled. RoR tickets are $75ea in the online store. Of the 1,103 passengers on board, 118 men, women, and childrenincluding 28 Americanswere killed. 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. The Pirate of the Pacific began a series of WESTPAC cruises which lasted from 1954 to 1959. Some that we were called upon to perform included: There are probably some others that I have forgotten about. 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. Pacific deployment, USS Halsey Powell, taken from the 1958 cruise book. Copyright 2011-2022 Naval Historical Foundation. KIDD was in the vanguard position with BULLARD the following morning when they steamed to within eleven miles of the Japanese shoreline, her navigator taking bearings on enemy lighthouses. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. In 1945, the seven ships remaining in the war zone participated in the Iwo Jima operation. Posted on 26 Feb in greenshield pharmacy intervention codes 0 Likes She serves as a reminder of all those who have gone before us. The KIDDs first voyage was one of some notoriety. Allan B. Roby, the destroyer moved across New York Harbor for delivery to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards . Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. This is the third in a series of articles by Captain Stewart detailing the technical specifications, manning, and operations of the U.S. Navys Fletcher class destroyers. There wouldn't have been enough men, food, weapons, or resources to make weapons. 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. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. In conducting our Greyhound fact check, we discovered that up to 80,000 Allied sailors, airmen, and merchant seamen were killed during the six-year-long Battle of the Atlantic, which spanned almost the entirety of WWII. It soon became clear that it was traveling in the opposite direction of the convoy. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. She provided escort for the carrier task force which launched air raids on Wake Island in October of 1943 and then again, in November, for the carriers ESSEX (CV-9), BUNKER HILL (CV-17), and INDEPENDENCE (CV-22) in strikes against Rabaul and Bougainville. It is set when a ship is in the harbor. But with these exceptions, the basic procedures for getting a destroyer underway have not changed a great deal from what I have described. 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. She then provided escort for new carriers during their shakedown cruises from Norfolk to Trinidad. These conditions refer to degrees of closure to minimize the effects of potential damage. l spent over a year on the USS TINGEY (DD539). The working part of the torch consisted of a rag wrapped around the end of the handle and secured by wire. After seven minutes, the ships ceased firing and a Coast Guard boarding party from the Spencer headed for the smoking U-boat. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? We also made fueling stops at Guam and Midway. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. It is instead based on author C. S. Forester's 1955 novel The Good Shepherd. The part of Greyhound that's based on a true story is the Battle of the Atlantic, in which the fictional USS Keelingbecomes involved. She was a fine destroyer and served in WWII as a real war ship. Still, 80 percent of Allied convoys completed the journey safely. It seemed like there was always something going on out there in those days and port visits were few and far between. In January, 1952, DESDIV 152 returned to San Diego for overhaul and repair. The USS Borie was badly damaged and scuttled the following day.Most of the encounters that happened between warships and U-boats unfolded at a distance with depth charges and torpedoes. (similarly, the HMS James/Harry looks like it was modeled on a British Battle-class destroyer, which did not enter service until With that change came the order to paint the gleaming white cutter hulls regulation Navy haze gray. KIDD was decommissioned for the last time on June 19, 1964, after over twenty years of service. Germany lost roughly 28,000 to 30,000 U-boat crewmen, roughly 70 percent of the 41,000 German seamen who took part in the lengthy battle. From 1939 to 1945, the Allies lost roughly 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships. At 0420 the next day, the wrecked and scuttled U-606 disappeared beneath the waves. About 12 of the enlisted men were Chief Petty Officers. Their detonations practically lifted the U-boat out of the water and badly shook the cutter, which was rapidly losing speed. Krause commands a multi-national group of four escort ships tasked with protecting a convoy of merchant ships that are being hunted by German U-boats. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, subscribe to the History vs. Hollywood YouTube Channel. "The periscope had probably been knocked off," he recalled. The pace of US destroyer construction accelerated with the wartime Fletcher class. While all of this was going on, the crew of the HAMUL cast a brass plaque with the names of KIDDs thirty-eight fallen crewmen. The Fletcher-class destroyer, the dominant destroyer of WW II, was named for him. The crew buried their dead at sea along the way on April 12. The deck divisions would man the line handling stations with the First Lieutenant and Chief Boatswains Mate on the Forecastle and the Gunnery Officer in charge on the fantail. Since his retirement from active naval service in 1986 he has been employed in the ship design industry where he has specialized in the development of concept designs of propulsion and powering systems, some of which have entered active service. Detached from bombardment duty, KIDD was ordered to convey an Admiral to Pusan at flank speed. Boilers had to be lit approximately 2 hours before the scheduled underway time and about an hour would be required in each engine room to prepare the engines for operation. Dan Van der Vat, The Atlantic Campaign (New York: Harper & Row, 1988). Early that summer, President Roosevelt agreed to protect Iceland, and U.S. Marines replaced a British occupying force on the island. As the first big ships to appear and because there were so many of them, however, the Fletchers are remembered as the signature US Navy destroyer class of the Pacific war. Arnold Hague, The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000). The bomb carried by the kamikaze was catapulted through the ship and out the other side where it detonated just seconds later. 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. After two deployments, it was back to the shipyard again. Commander James A. Hirschfield, the cutter's skipper, believed the target might be a submarine that had run between ON-166's columns of merchant ships, firing torpedoes at the vessels, and was now making her escape on the surface. Losing the supply lines was a constant worry for the Allies. KIDD was one of several destroyers which stood guard for the beleaguered carrier while her crew fought to keep her afloat. . Charles A. Bellis coming aboard as commanding officer. Destroyers were normally tied up to a pier with six mooring lines, numbered consecutively from forward to aft. We were forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan as part of DESRON 15. By February, organization of the ocean escorts had been formalized into American, British, and Canadian groups. For the Leyte landings in October 1944, all nine ships operated with the Third Fleets Logistic Group. Another unique distinction about KIDDs first voyage was the make-up of her crew. Destroyers have been called upon to perform a wide variety of duties. Enter the Fletcher Class. Robert E. Jeffery, KIDD sailed for the western Pacific arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, in July. The combat air patrol downed the remaining Japanese aircraft. The tenders could then supply us with power, thereby allowing us to shut down and go Cold Iron. ", The Duane soon joined in, firing all her gun batteries. CAPT John M. Waters, USCG (Ret. ), Bloody Winter, rev. In an emergency program to expand capacity, some shipyards were upgraded and other new ones were brought on line. Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. The Campbell and Spencer, meanwhile, worked out of Argentia, Newfoundland. 3. That task accomplished, KIDD departed Philadelphia, arriving under tow at Baton Rouge on May 23, 1982, to a welcoming crowd of over ten thousand. The lead ship of the class was the USS Fletcher (DD-445). Just before 1100, one of the Spencer's sonarmen detected a U-boat attempting to slip past the convoy's escort screen. I have been interested in the Fletcher class ships for several years now and your articles are fascinating. She participated in the bombardments of Roi and Kotje through February of that year, guarded construction of airfields at Emirau from March through April, and then supported the occupation of Aitape and Hollandia in New Guinea in May. Percentage-wise, it was the most severe loss of any of Germany's armed forces. 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). Simultaneously, Armed Guard gunners on merchant vessels in the rear columns of the convoy also opened fire. Your email address will not be published. KIDDs 20mm and 40mm gunners took the plane under fire, scoring several hits, to no avail. As we parsed out theGreyhound true story from the movie, we learned that Commander Ernest Krause is a fictional character based on Commander George Krause from C. S. Forester's book The Good Shepherd. For a secure moor, the lines were Doubled Up. She continued rescue operations all the while maneuvering to avoid bombs and airborne torpedoes while simultaneously engaging the enemy. Bush fulfilled one of his promises to the crew upon taking command at Ulithi: the pirate, which had been ordered painted over in late 44, was restored to the Number One stack. In August of 1943, she transited the Panama Canal along with three other destroyers providing escort for USS ALABAMA (BB-60) and SOUTH DAKOTA (BB-57) and proceeded to Pearl Harbor. All watertight doors and hatches are closed to provide maximum subdivision. At this point, the word would be passed Secure the Special Sea and Anchor Detail, Set the Regular Underway Watch. 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. As soon as the last line was taken in, the boatswains pipe would sound and the announcement would be made Underway, Shift Colors. At several points in the film, a German U-boat uses Greyhound's transmitting frequency and broadcasts threatening messages over the ship's loudspeakers. 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. Deployments were six months in length followed by a six month period in the US, about half of which was spent underway in various fleet exercises off the West Coast. The crew quickly adopted the pirate Captain Kiddwho ironically hailed from New Yorkas their mascot and hired a local cartoonist to paint the famed buccaneers image high of the forward smokestack. A doctor transferred over by highline to care for the wounded from squadron mate HALE (DD-642). Allan B. Roby, the Silver Star for gallantry. Anne Randle was the first member of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) to be assigned to the Office of Shipbuilding in New York City. Mr. Walling served as a commissioned and a senior petty officer in the Coast Guard and is the author of Bloodstained Sea: The U.S. Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944 (New York: International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2004). The disabled cutter, meanwhile, was towed to Newfoundland for repairs. Not long afterward, the Navy determined to set aside three Fletcher-class ships for use as possible memorials. So the next order was Single up all lines. The first ship to moor had to place a boat in the water which carried the mooring party. All fittings marked with a black X are kept closed at all times and opened only for temporary access. To emphasize the importance of the battle, Winston Churchill coined the name "Battle of the Atlantic," intentionally alluding to the Battle of Britain. 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