Logistically, moving approximately 40 ships as a cohesive unit was anything but easy. Of the 1,103 passengers on board, 118 men, women, and childrenincluding 28 Americanswere killed. It is instead based on author C. S. Forester's 1955 novel The Good Shepherd. (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. We were forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan as part of DESRON 15. A member of the Duane's crew, Victor Bogard, remembered that "Whenever a shell exploded on the German submarine, many crew members would shout and cheer. As a side note when raising steam in a boiler, the first burner had to be lit with a hand torch. I loved the country so much that I did not want to leave. Robert E. Jeffery, KIDD sailed for the western Pacific arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, in July. The days of surface to surface torpedo attacks had pretty well gone away, although we still retained that capability. 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. Arch A. Mercey and Lee Grove, eds., Sea, Surf and Hell (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1946). Fred M. Bush assumed command of KIDD and, temporary repairs completed, she returned to San Francisco and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard for repairs. So the next order was Single up all lines. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War. 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. This meant passing a second bight around the bollard on the pier or the ship alongside. Two months later, she was involved in a show of force off the coast of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, which had just overthrown the Trujillo dictatorship. This action won her skipper at the time, Cdr. USS Fletcher: note the open hatch with Black ZEBRA marking. USS Fletcher (DD 445) of the 175-ship 2,100-ton Fletcher class was an outstanding example of promise fulfilled. Acting as a rescue destroyer (Plane Guard). ed. She was dispatched to relieve the destroyer BROWN (DD-546), bombarding targets of opportunity on the eastern coastline of Korea from Nan-Do Island southward below Kansong. Over the next 3?? Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. Shortly after the U-boat surfaced, the Campbell's radar found her. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. Chevalier. The sailor suffered a minor abrasion from a fleck of debris. Together, these classes dominated the US Navys destroyer force over the next 25 years. Destroyers, dubbed "tin cans" because of their lack of armor . It was early on at this point in her career when she picked up the nickname that would become her trademark. All rights reserved. There were 39 casualties and extensive damage in the after part of the ship. 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. My first 11 years in the Navy were spent in Japan. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. Along with the Duane, the Spencer rescued 41 of U-175's 54-man crew. US Navy image 19-N-31790. All fittings with a black Y are closed and only opened for protection. 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.. The Admirals nickname at the Naval Academy had been Cap (as in Captain Kidd) and he had gone by this nickname his entire life. 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. 1 (Washington, DC, 1949). Not long afterward, KIDD saw action at Tarawa during the Gilbert Island invasion in November of 1943. 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 division returned to Korean waters in September of 1952 and the following month, KIDD participated in a mock invasion near Kojo, diverting the enemys attention. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The U.S. But the rules of warfare are: Kill or be killed.". Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War. A Naval vessel had three conditions of damage control readiness, X-RAY, YOKE, and ZEBRA. Not all of the latter 1950s involved Cold War tensions. Required fields are marked *. For six days the ships battled heavy seas. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? Detached from bombardment duty, KIDD was ordered to convey an Admiral to Pusan at flank speed. From 1939 to 1945, the Allies lost roughly 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships. With carrier-based aircraft pounding the Japanese installations on the island, KIDD moved off to investigate a submarine contact miles away from the formation. 1 LCdr. The peacetime manning was 14 officers and 236 enlisted men. 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. As soon as the last line was taken in, the boatswains pipe would sound and the announcement would be made Underway, Shift Colors. 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. This article describes destroyer operations as I remember them during the late 1950s. Restored to her August, 1945 configuration, KIDD is one of the most authentic and accurate restorations in the Historic Fleet. 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. Allan B. Roby, the destroyer moved across New York Harbor for delivery to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards . She returned fire on and silenced several batteries successfully. Lookouts spotted flags flying at half-mast. Earl Skinner, a crewman in the Spencer, observed a 5-inch shell hit the conning tower of the surfaced U-boat as survivors jumped into the water. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? 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. X-RAY provides the least protection. Following this action, KIDDalong with the other ships of DESRON 48sailed for Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California for a major overhaul and refitting. "It was a shallow charge, and as that thing exploded, the ship quivered, really quivered," Sasso said. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? Just before 1100, one of the Spencer's sonarmen detected a U-boat attempting to slip past the convoy's escort screen. From the 1958 Halsey Powell cruise book. The U.S. and Canada needed to maintain the vital flow of supplies and men to Europe in order to keep up the fight. Since 1975 all new destroyer, cruiser, and frigate types have been powered by aircraft derivative gas turbine engines. Robert E. Jeffery, KIDD sailed for the western Pacific arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, in July. 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. Jeffery was reassigned, with Cdr. It was here, just ninety miles east of Okinawa, that KIDD suffered her most severe damage of the war. 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. But most of the other wartime functions still remained. 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). In September of that year, KIDD participated in a top secret mission which carried her to a midnight rendezvous somewhere in the Yellow Sea. She then joined NEW JERSEY (BB-62) on bombardment duty, before being assigned to patrol the Formosa Strait. 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. There were also fueling stops at Midway and sometimes Guam. Previous. While in the shipyards, Cdr. The duties of conning officer were rotated around. In 1941, the US Navy began building a fleet of large destroyers, its first design to rival the Japanese "special type" destroyers that had first entered service more than a decade before. 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. Only one plane drew close enough to drop a bomb: it missed, detonating about twenty feet off the starboard bow. An explanation of Material Conditions is in order. The KIDDs first voyage was one of some notoriety. 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 raids that developed that day werent out of the ordinary, in spite of the fact that three approaching formations of enemy aircraft were reported. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. 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. 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. 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