In need of repairs and shore leave for her crew, KIDD returned to Pearl Harbor in August of 1944. 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. Destroyers, dubbed "tin cans" because of their lack of armor . . 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 cutters would then usually escort fully loaded ships from either an SC or HX convoy back to Iceland. 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. The U-boat was too close for the destroyer's guns, so the crew members opened fire with rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns. Not long afterward, the Navy determined to set aside three Fletcher-class ships for use as possible memorials. While in restricted waters, naval vessels have a navigation detail set and the ships position was regularly determined by taking visual bearings on objects ashore, supplemented by radar ranges and fathometer readings. On April 30, Cdr. 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. Under her new commander, KIDD returned to battle during the invasion of the Philippines in October and November. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. The only ports we got to visit during my deployments were Yokosuka and Sasebo in Japan, Hong Kong, Kaoshung Taiwan, and Subic Bay in the Philippines. Not a member of the Naval Institute? Cdr. Destroyer Squadron 51
In an emergency program to expand capacity, some shipyards were upgraded and other new ones were brought on line. 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. The navigator would be responsible for ensuring that the ship remained on its desired track and making appropriate recommendations to the CO/OOD. Also at this time, long-awaited American destroyer escorts (DEs) and patrol frigates (PFs) appeared in significant numbers, augmenting or replacing older cutters and destroyers. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. 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! But through the efforts of many dedicated people, she avoided the scrapping yard to make one final voyage. During Operation War Dance in December of that year, KIDD cruised at 10 knots around the harbor at Wonsan, drawing the fire of enemy shore batteries in order to reveal their positions. City of Flint's crew picked up 238 survivors, some of whom had been wounded in the attack or were suffering from exposure. This article describes destroyer operations as I remember them during the late 1950s. USS The Sullivans (DD-537) The USS Sullivans was a long-range, large destroyer used for anti-submarine warfare, anti-aircraft warfare, and surface action. One hundred seventy-five of these ships were built between 1941 and 1945 - more than any other destroyer class. Normally all four ships in the division would be moored to the same buoy. For the Leyte landings in October 1944, all nine ships operated with the Third Fleets Logistic Group. 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. Authorized for fiscal year 1941, construction of the first ships was already under way when the United States entered the war. But while the Mahans were all in service before World War II, the first Fletcher class vessels was not introduced into service until the middle of 1942, which is after the February 1942 date in which the movie is set. In September 1941, it requested studies for a destroyer with greater anti-aircraft capability. While at San Diego, Cdr. ), Bloody Winter, rev. . Of the 1,103 passengers on board, 118 men, women, and childrenincluding 28 Americanswere killed. Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, the Bibb, Duane, and Ingham covered small convoys out from Reykjavik that were joining westbound ON convoys. The Navy, however, did not have enough ships to watch the vast area effectively and immediately asked for Coast Guard assistance. Instead, she struck a glancing blow and the U-boat's hydroplane opened a large gash in the Campbell's hull. The lead ship of the class was the USS Fletcher (DD-445). 1. Battery containers were smashed, releasing toxic chlorine gas, and two of the bow torpedoes began hot runs but could not be fired because of the sub's depth. She put in at Inchon to wait out the storm, after which time she proceeded to the island of Koje to join a slow carrier task force traversing Koreas western coast. As well as other tasks, most of the ships served on weather station patrols, monitoring conditions in specific areas of the Atlantic. 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. None of the Germans hoisted a white flag, and the one-sided close-range battle continued. 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. 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. 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. The ship's CO, Commander George McCabe, knew from hard experience that the sonar's pinging could be heard by a U-boat beyond the range an escort could detect the sub. Allan B. Roby, the destroyer moved across New York Harbor for delivery to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards . 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. Enter the Fletcher Class. 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. She saw her first duty covering the North Atlantic sea lanes near Argentia, Newfoundland. In addition, the Coast Guard ships' commissioning pennants were replaced with the Navy flags. That call to action came in 1951 during the Korean War. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. However, the Navy had other ideas and I ended up on the east coast in Florida. There were 39 casualties and extensive damage in the after part of the ship. 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. Destroyers were normally tied up to a pier with six mooring lines, numbered consecutively from forward to aft. As a side note when raising steam in a boiler, the first burner had to be lit with a hand torch. 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. From the 1958 Halsey Powell cruise book. So the next order was Single up all lines. The Conning Officer could be the CO, XO, or OOD. Faced with a shortage of escort ships, the Navy requested on 31 October that all Coast Guard cutters be transferred to its control. In Greece, the former Charrette, renamed Velos (Arrow), is a popular attraction. 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. 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. 4. Germany knew that stopping the supply line would essentially give them victory in Britain and the rest of Europe, as well as the Soviet Union, thus ending the war. I also served aboard USS CORAL SEA (CVA43) for 2 years before joining the submarine force, which I spent 26 years in. Her name was listed as Ens. Fittings marked with a Red Z, Black Y, and Black Z are all closed. U.S. Coast Guard Public Information Division, The Coast Guard at War: Transports and Escorts V, Vol. At 0420 the next day, the wrecked and scuttled U-606 disappeared beneath the waves. 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. 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. 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. Normally the crew stood duty on one day out of every three. The Bibb, Duane, and Ingham were also still operating from Iceland. She rests in a unique docking system designed for the near forty foot rise and fall of the river each season. While the U-boats did occasionally eavesdrop after stumbling upon the transmitting frequency of the escort ships, as far as we know, they were never able to transmit on that frequency, nor were they able to hack into and broadcast over the convoy's inter-ship communication system. No. Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. Suddenly, at 2315, Sasso heard the screw beats of a U-boat only 1,200 yards ahead. From tax deductible donations to your time and skills, there are many ways you can contribute! 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. Commissioned into service two months later on April 23, KIDD commenced her shakedown cruise at Casco Bay, Maine. Restored to her August, 1945 configuration, KIDD is one of the most authentic and accurate restorations in the Historic Fleet. In 1945, the seven ships remaining in the war zone participated in the Iwo Jima operation. By early 1942, U-boats had begun to wreak havoc directly off the east coast of North and South America, easily picking off merchant ships that were poorly defended. 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. The Chief Engineer would be in the Forward Engine Room and the Main Propulsion Assistant would be in the After Engine Room. 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). Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher -class destroyers formed the core of the US Navy's destroyer force from 1943. 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. There were also fueling stops at Midway and sometimes Guam. Today, USS KIDD is moored in the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the centerpiece of the USS Kidd Veterans Museum. 5. 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. 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. 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. Fred Edwards, Destroyer Type Desk, Bureau of Ships, 1942, quoted in Holland, Rear Admiral W. J., Jr., USN (Ret), ed. In April, the British and Canadians assumed full responsibility for escorting the North Atlantic convoys, while the U.S. Navy took control of the transatlantic route between the United States and the Mediterranean. 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). A Pacific Fleet destroyer operated on a two year cycle in those days. Today, USS KIDD is moored in the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the centerpiece of the USS Kidd Veterans Museum. She whispers stories of courage, bravery, and sacrifice. 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. [3] As soon as the last line was taken in, the boatswains pipe would sound and the announcement would be made Underway, Shift Colors. With that change came the order to paint the gleaming white cutter hulls regulation Navy haze gray. Pilots were only used when absolutely necessary in a strange port and most maneuvers were accomplished without tug assistance. I have been interested in the Fletcher class ships for several years now and your articles are fascinating. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. A Greyhound fact check reveals that the USS Keeling (codenamed "Greyhound") is fictional and was not a real-life Navy destroyer. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? . We also made fueling stops at Guam and Midway. 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. She then provided escort for new carriers during their shakedown cruises from Norfolk to Trinidad. By the time it reached the submarine, she was quickly sinking and boarding her was too dangerous. She was first launched in 1943 and went in and out of commission during the Korean War and the Cold War. It seemed like there was always something going on out there in those days and port visits were few and far between. 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. 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. A subsequent sonar sweep failed to find a contact, and with the convoy approaching the area, McCabe broke off the search. 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. 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. 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. 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.. She was placed in the Philadelphia Shipyard to await her final fate, one that befell so many of her sister ships: the cutting torch. flying the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger high from the foremast. Thirty-eight men were killed; fifty-five were wounded. When thinking about it at a later date, you wonder how a human can cheer at the sight of another person being killed. At several points in the film, a German U-boat uses Greyhound's transmitting frequency and broadcasts threatening messages over the ship's loudspeakers. The duties of conning officer were rotated around. Some 2,100-tonners served off Korea in the 1950s and some even off Vietnam in the 60s. On July 03, 1997, KIDDs torpedo tubes were reloaded for the first time since 1964, finishing out her full armament. 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. The U.S. In my previous two articles (read Part 1 here, read Part 2 here) I gave technical and manning overviews of the U.S. Navys highly successful Fletcher class destroyer. Named after a swashbuckling Union Civil War captain, the Porter was one of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers built during World War II. The night was overcast with the seas running six to eight feet as the Campbell went to general quarters. Not all of the latter 1950s involved Cold War tensions. She screened the amphibious operations, serving as a fire-support ship during the landings on Leyte. 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 Pirates were one of the first tin cansdestroyersto have their very own ice cream machine, something usually reserved for the larger vessels of the fleet. 10. 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. 6. Essentially what this meant was for the first team to take their assigned stations for getting underway. It was early on at this point in her career when she picked up the nickname that would become her trademark. During this era, no other class of destroyer had more ships built. The crew buried their dead at sea along the way on April 12. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War. The skipper reported to the task force commander: KIDD claims to be the best prepared ship in the Navy. They did not appear until the 1970s. Upon reaching Ulithi, another devastating blow to morale was waiting for them. The gunfire continued for about 10 minutes until a German sailor flashed a distress signal. "It was a shallow charge, and as that thing exploded, the ship quivered, really quivered," Sasso said. Though the book's story is fictional, it was heavily researched and takes place at the midpoint of World War II during the Battle of the Atlantic in the winter of 1942. Their detonations practically lifted the U-boat out of the water and badly shook the cutter, which was rapidly losing speed. Less than six weeks after the transfer, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States formally entered World War II. The plant has to be started up from the Central Control Station below decks, but once it is ready for operation throttle control can be transferred to the bridge. 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. In May 1942, before the first Fletcher was even commissioned, it approved a six-gun ship in which the Fletchers five 5-inch single mounts were replaced with three 5-inch twinsthe 2,200-ton Allen M. Sumner class, with 20 per cent more firepower on a Fletcher hull widened by 14 inches. The winter of 1942-43 would be the Battle of the Atlantic's most bitterly fought season. The plane departed trailing smoke. The 2,050-ton Fletcher -Class destroyer was considered one of the best destroyers of the period. CAPT John M. Waters, USCG (Ret. Heres how to join! George W. Stewart is a retired US Navy Captain. KIDD was one of several destroyers which stood guard for the beleaguered carrier while her crew fought to keep her afloat. 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. In the United States, The Sullivans at Buffalo, Kidd (beautifully restored to late-World War II configuration) at Baton Rouge, and Cassin Young, berthed across the pier from the frigate USS Constitution at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, are open to the public. Allan B. Roby, the Silver Star for gallantry. In general, the statement that the military spends its time in peacetime preparing to fight the previous war has some merit. Ports of call included Midway; Yokosuka and Saesbo, Japan; Okinawa; Hong Kong; New Guinea; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. USS Halsey Powell backs away from a pier in Subic Bay. The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist attraction. Early that summer, President Roosevelt agreed to protect Iceland, and U.S. Marines replaced a British occupying force on the island. 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. While her sonar crews were attempting to verify the contact, lookouts spotted 15 low-flying enemy torpedo bombers which were headed toward the large troopships carrying thousands of Marines who would soon be storming the beaches. 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. 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 sailor suffered a minor abrasion from a fleck of debris. Ordered to take a training tour of the Kearny Shipyards, her name was placed on the list of personnel that were scheduled to report on board KIDD for the purpose of accompanying the destroyer across the harbor to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards. 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. 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. She rests in a unique docking system designed for the near forty foot rise and fall of the river each season. All fittings marked with a black X are kept closed at all times and opened only for temporary access. two months later on April 23, KIDD commenced her shakedown cruise at Casco Bay, Maine. 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). Nineteen Fletchers were lost during World War II. The engine room and fire room supervisors would man their stations. 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. During this time, she served as a training ship for Naval Reservists, cruising up and down the East Coast. On 17 December, the Ingham was on the western edge of the air gap, sweeping ahead of eastbound Convoy SC-112. She saw her first duty covering the North Atlantic sea lanes near Argentia, Newfoundland. The Alexander Hamilton was one of the first cutters actively engaged in convoy escort duty. At this point, we were underway. 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.". Is this Fire Controlman? I much preferred WESTPAC! Also in early 1942, Secretary cutters began running a convoy shuttle as part of U.S. Navy Task Force 24. X-RAY provides the least protection. All USN ships are worthy of their tails of history while securing the waters they sail and for protecting all of freedoms we so take for granted every day. 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. Pingback: Manning Fletcher Class Destroyers | Naval Historical Foundation, Pingback: Fletcher Class Destroyer Operations - Part II | Naval Historical Foundation. Eight feet as the Campbell 's hull up the nickname that would become her trademark War II the gunfire for... 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