She whispers stories of courage, bravery, and sacrifice. Among those seriously wounded in the attack were the ships commander and the ships doctor, Dr. Broox C. Garrett, Jr. Chief Engineer Lt. (jg) George P. Grieshaber was among those killed in the forward boiler room after having gone below to check on a leaking gauge. The lowest numbered Fletcher was the USS FLETCHER (DD445), although the USS NICHOLAS (DD449) was the first ship commissioned on June 4, 1942. 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. 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. However, when KIDD arrived at the Brooklyn yards, the official message sent back to the yards in Kearny read: The WAVE delivered The Kidd at 2:30 today.. But the rules of warfare are: Kill or be killed.". Today, USS KIDD is moored in the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the centerpiece of the USS Kidd Veterans Museum. Tying up alongside the destroyer tender HAMUL (AD-20), the crew began to make temporary repairs. While at the buoys we were provided with services with some harbor craft which were referred to as fuel, water, and garbage barges operated by the Naval District. This never happened in real life. She and the other ships of her squadron were among the first to encounter the Japanese planes which came out to meet the great armada threatening Japans shores. While the movie finds Tom Hanks' Commander Ernest Krause and the convoy caught up in the Battle of the Atlantic over a five-day period in the latter part of 1942, the battle actually spanned almost the entirety of the war, beginning on September 3, 1939 and ending on May 8, 1945. In addition, the Coast Guard ships' commissioning pennants were replaced with the Navy flags. She was present for the occupation of Saipan in June of 1944 and assisted in the bombardment of Guam in July and August. As they neared Reykjavik on 29 January 1942, the Hamilton turned the tow over to a British tug. 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. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers formed the core of the US Navys destroyer force from 1943. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. The Fletcher class destroyers had a wartime complement of 329 personnel. Fred Edwards, Destroyer Type Desk, Bureau of Ships, 1942, quoted in Holland, Rear Admiral W. J., Jr., USN (Ret), ed. After the war, the ships reverted to Coast Guard control and were reconfigured as peacetime cutters. 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. . The first ship to moor had to place a boat in the water which carried the mooring party. But with these exceptions, the basic procedures for getting a destroyer underway have not changed a great deal from what I have described. ), Bloody Winter, rev. 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. The first two raids were driven off by the combat air patrol, in tandem with KIDD and her division mates: BLACK (DD-666), BULLARD, and CHAUNCEY (DD-667). 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. She saw her first duty covering the North Atlantic sea lanes near Argentia, Newfoundland. No. In 1984, the Dutch fleet oiler ZUIDERKRUIS arrived in Baton Rouge on a port visit and transferred to KIDD two twin 20mm gun mounts, two Mk-16 K-gun depth charge projectors, and twelve 20mm magazine drums. Normally the crew stood duty on one day out of every three. The navigator would be responsible for ensuring that the ship remained on its desired track and making appropriate recommendations to the CO/OOD. USS Halsey Powell backs away from a pier in Subic Bay. It was December, 1944. 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 next order would be to Take in the Brow. . The Campbell and Spencer, meanwhile, worked out of Argentia, Newfoundland. Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. The Coast Guard would man 30 DEs, organized in five escort divisions, and 74 PFs, primarily assigned to weather-station duty. Fifteen minutes later, however, the radarman reported a contact at only 4,600 yards on a bearing well clear of the convoy. Screened by McNAIR (DD-679), KIDD retreated southward. The mid-ocean U.S. escort groups were built around either the Campbell or Spencer, supported by a few U.S. Navy destroyers and corvettes from the Canadian, Free Polish, and/or Free French navies. Was on DD650 for 4 years right out of boot camp I am now ret USN MSC you in 76 there is not a day that goes by that I dont think of the best year s of my life I am now 77and I wish I could do it all again when the good Lord takes me I hope he will put me on the USS C APERTON DD650, Pingback: The George Stewart I Knew | Naval Historical Foundation. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. At 0420 the next day, the wrecked and scuttled U-606 disappeared beneath the waves. 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. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. These conditions refer to degrees of closure to minimize the effects of potential damage. This action won her skipper at the time, Cdr. It soon became clear that it was traveling in the opposite direction of the convoy. 3. 5. In 1984, the Dutch fleet oiler ZUIDERKRUIS arrived in Baton Rouge on a port visit and transferred to KIDD two twin 20mm gun mounts, two Mk-16 K-gun depth charge projectors, and twelve 20mm magazine drums. 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. The Admirals nickname at the Naval Academy had been Cap (as in Captain Kidd) and he had gone by this nickname his entire life. A second 36 searchlight was obtained from a private estate in 1985. gun mounts were still in place. Mrs. Inez Kidd, widow of RADM Kidd, served as the ships sponsor, christening her and presenting her crew with a handsome wardroom guest book in which she wrote: May the destiny of the USS KIDD be glorious! 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.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. 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. 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. Over the next 3?? 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. 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. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. Normally all four ships in the division would be moored to the same buoy. 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. 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. 10. The KIDDs first voyage was one of some notoriety. . "The periscope had probably been knocked off," he recalled. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. But most of the other wartime functions still remained. The Fletcher-class destroyer, the dominant destroyer of WW II, was named for him. The cutters would then usually escort fully loaded ships from either an SC or HX convoy back to Iceland. No. With the active sonar switch on, Sasso again picked up the U-boat: "It was beautiful, a metallic sound, real clear." Acting as a member of a screen as part of a carrier task group against air, surface, and subsurface attack. Still, 80 percent of Allied convoys completed the journey safely. two months later on April 23, KIDD commenced her shakedown cruise at Casco Bay, Maine. During the attack on Rabaul, KIDD stopped to pick up the crew of a downed plane from the ESSEX, falling behind the main force of the fleet, and came under attack from a group of eight Japanese dive bombers. Beginning in the fall of 1939, the large white-hulled cutters were assigned the outer limits of the Neutrality Zone. The real-life clash that may have inspired the duel in the book happened on November 1, 1943 between the USS Borie and U-boat U-405. ", The Duane soon joined in, firing all her gun batteries. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher -class destroyers formed the core of the US Navy's destroyer force from 1943. So the next order was Single up all lines. May her victories be triumphant and conclusive!. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? 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. Required fields are marked *. Several months later, the President also ordered the U.S. Navy to help escort Allied convoys. May her victories be triumphant and conclusive!. The lead ship of the class was the USS Fletcher (DD-445). 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. By the autumn of 1942, the main U-boat menace had moved from the U.S. East Coast back to the North Atlantic. A second 36 searchlight was obtained from a private estate in 1985. On 17 December, the Ingham was on the western edge of the air gap, sweeping ahead of eastbound Convoy SC-112. My first 11 years in the Navy were spent in Japan. 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.". Her name was listed as Ens. The officer of the deck, Lieutenant Ed Osborne nevertheless ordered a depth charge dropped. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. For the Leyte landings in October 1944, all nine ships operated with the Third Fleets Logistic Group. The second was CASSIN YOUNG. By the time her gun crews saw U-606 to starboard, the submarine was so close the 5-inch guns could not be depressed enough to fire at her. 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. Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations. Ports of call included Midway; Yokosuka and Saesbo, Japan; Okinawa; Hong Kong; New Guinea; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. It was here, just ninety miles east of Okinawa, that KIDD suffered her most severe damage of the war. At the end of the year, DesDiv 101 continued on to Luzon, where Haraden was again damaged while escorting a carrier task force in the Sulu Sea and again returned to the West Coast for repairs. She saw her first duty covering the North Atlantic sea lanes near Argentia, Newfoundland. About once per quarter we would be assigned an availability alongside a Destroyer Tender for routine repairs. has slowly been restored back to her August 1945 configuration. 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. I am a retired Navy Chief. At 1138, U-175 popped up 2,500 yards from the Spencer, and the cutter's gunners opened fire. A Pacific Fleet destroyer operated on a two year cycle in those days. While off Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach Harbor, KIDD was struck by the 9,000-ton Swedish freighter HAINAN on April 21, 1953. 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. 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). There was always a stop at Pearl Harbor on the way to and from the deployment for INCOP and OUTCHOP (Change of Operational Command) briefings at CINCPACFLEET. 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. On deck it was necessary to disconnect all shore services, pick up the ships boats, remove rat guards, and a variety of other actions, including preparing an anchor for dropping in an emergency. 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. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. By the time it reached the submarine, she was quickly sinking and boarding her was too dangerous. As well as other tasks, most of the ships served on weather station patrols, monitoring conditions in specific areas of the Atlantic. The Fletcher class including The Sullivans are regarded as the backbone of the navy and know to be the best destroyer in the world. One hundred seventy-five of these ships were built between 1941 and 1945 - more than any other destroyer class. USS The Sullivans was named after the five Sullivan brothers who were killed when USS Juneau was lost in action in mid-November 1942. Allied long-range shore-based aircraft extended their patrols as far as 600 miles, but there remained a significant gap in their coverage. Jeffery was reassigned, with Cdr. As soon as the last line was taken in, the boatswains pipe would sound and the announcement would be made Underway, Shift Colors. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The combat air patrol downed the remaining Japanese aircraft. She splashed at least one of the many Japanese aircraft which attacked on 8 January, and during the landings in Lingayen Gulf the next day, patrolled the Gulf. I spent 22 years in the Navy. For a secure moor, the lines were Doubled Up. Left full rudder was applied; the ship had just barely begun to turn. In 1995, what began as a blind letter to several allied navies which had received Fletcher-class ships in the years following 1945 resulted in the donation of twelve Mk-9 depth charges from the Turkish navy. 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. Commander Harold S. Berdine, the cutter's commanding officer, ordered a barrage of 11 depth charges set to explode at only 50 to 100 feet. The U.S. Navy was to patrol this expanse to report on belligerent activity and prevent British, French, and German warships from attacking merchant ships within the zone's boundaries. . Essentially what this meant was for the first team to take their assigned stations for getting underway. "It was a shallow charge, and as that thing exploded, the ship quivered, really quivered," Sasso said. The next day the Alexander Hamilton capsized and was sunk by destroyer gunfire, the only Secretary-class cutter lost during the war. A 36 searchlight and platform, a Mk-12/22 fire-control radar antenna, four more K-guns, and several smaller items were salvaged from USS TOLMAN (DD-740/DM-28) prior to her disposal by the Navy as a target ship. The Fletcher class destroyer is one of the most famous and most produced warships developed and built for the US navy in WW2. Most COs rarely took the conn themselves but acted more as a teacher and overall safety observer. The working part of the torch consisted of a rag wrapped around the end of the handle and secured by wire. Gun crews kept the aircraft at bay. But through the efforts of many dedicated people, she avoided the scrapping yard to make one final voyage. In need of repairs and shore leave for her crew, KIDD returned to Pearl Harbor in August of 1944. Pilots were only used when absolutely necessary in a strange port and most maneuvers were accomplished without tug assistance. 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. Only one plane drew close enough to drop a bomb: it missed, detonating about twenty feet off the starboard bow. Some 2,100-tonners served off Korea in the 1950s and some even off Vietnam in the 60s. Less than six weeks after the transfer, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States formally entered World War II. 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. 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. As fortune had it, her forward damage control party was exercising in the immediate vicinity with a make-believe casualty strapped into a stretcher. Twiggs also operated in the Atlantic early in her career, from Norfolk as a training ship until May 1944. 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. Lookouts spotted flags flying at half-mast. This action won her skipper at the time, Cdr. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? Arnold Hague, The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2000). During this era, no other class of destroyer had more ships built. Also in early 1942, Secretary cutters began running a convoy shuttle as part of U.S. Navy Task Force 24. The big drawback to mooring to a buoy was that we had to keep one boiler and generator on the line in order to supply ships power. Her single-pole mast was still in place, though her own post-war damage control plans showed her with a tripod mast. At this point, the word would be passed Secure the Special Sea and Anchor Detail, Set the Regular Underway Watch. We also made fueling stops at Guam and Midway. After the three ships met at night on 9 September, the cutters helped care for and transport the survivors back to the United States. The best is probably Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 movie Das Boot, which does a superb job recreating the deplorable conditions, boredom, and nerve-racking tension experienced by the crews. Eventually, eleven shipyards launched 175 ships over the next 32 monthsthe most numerous class of destroyer completed by any navy. Allan B. Roby, the destroyer moved across New York Harbor for delivery to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards . But on her third pass, the cutter again attacked, dropping 5,000 pounds worth of explosives. l spent over a year on the USS TINGEY (DD539). Not a member of the Naval Institute? Later emphasis on anti-aircraft defense led to a redesigned or square bridge for improved all-around sightlines, beginning with Brownson (DD 518). 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. 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. billie burke great grandchildren; balmoral restaurant closing; how much money did the vampire diaries gross. 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. The Fletcher class formed the backbone of U.S. destroyer forces in World War II. Ports of call included Midway; Yokosuka and Saesbo, Japan; Okinawa; Hong Kong; New Guinea; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. A Naval vessel had three conditions of damage control readiness, X-RAY, YOKE, and ZEBRA. Thus there were two groups of 2,100-tonners: one-third (58) were high- or round-bridge ships; two-thirds, (117) were low- or square-bridge ships. Next. Two days earlier, while helping escort eight ships from Iceland to a rendezvous with westbound ONS-152, the cutter had dropped a single 600-pound depth charge on a sound contact. While I did not serve in a Fletcher class destroyer, I did serve in a FRAM II destroyer, the USS ROWAN DD-782. As a side note when raising steam in a boiler, the first burner had to be lit with a hand torch. The plaque was mounted on KIDDs quarter deck in their memory. Fred M. Bush assumed command of KIDD and, temporary repairs completed, she returned to San Francisco and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard for repairs. A teacher and overall safety observer and was sunk by destroyer gunfire, the radarman reported contact... 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