they were designed to be the best
they made enemies face to face
endured tragedies and enjoyed victories
they went down in history due to the bravery of their crews
and deserve to be called
naval legends
in this episode
Kidd, a pirate's tour of duty
my name is Tim Nessma, I'm the ship's superintendent for the USS Kidd
DD 661 the kid is a Fletcher class destroyer to serve in World War two from 1943 to 1946
she served again during the Korean War starting in 1951
and ended her service and 1964 during the Cold War
the ship derive surname from rear admiral
Isaac C. kid who died on the bridge of the USS Arizona flagship during the attack on Pearl Harbor
the Arizona sank after magazines were directly hit by a bomb from the air
pass to his leave, Kidd was awarded with the Medal of Honor
the highest US military honor
after the vessel was built, the crew decided to choose a lucky talisman and decided upon the namesake Pirate Captain William Kidd
An English sailor who lived in the 17th century who is widely known in folklore
he is even considered to be one other direct inspirations for captain Flint
from the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Mrs. Kidd thought that was a great idea and got permission for them
to fly our flag and also to paint a pirate upon the Fort smokestack
Admiral Kidd nickname as it turns out part of the reason
that this actually worked in the Navy gave permission
was cap after Captain Kidd the pirate
initially they ship served in the Atlantic protecting convoys
then she was included in the 48th destroyer squadron and transferred to the Pacific
consequently she participated in the battles of Bougainville
Rabaul, Philippines, Tenyan, Guam and Okinawa
Width: 12 meters
Length: 150 meters
gross displacement: up to 3,000 tons
Draft: 4 meters
Armament: major caliber: 5 turrets with 127 millimeter MK.12 versatile cannons
low caliber AA guns: 5 chained Bofors auto cannons 40 millimeter
and seven 20 millimeter Oerlikon
torpedo tube: a couple of 5 tube launchers
anti-submarine weapons: K-Gun howitzers with 28d bombs
hull armor: up to 90 millimeters
Proportion: 60,000 SHP
with speed up to 38 knots and range of 6,500 NMI
people of certain age could be poured into military service
came from all walks of life they might have ended the Navy without any
particular skill
they were trained in boot camp
or they once got on board ship
there was a phrase called striking to rate the 330 people coming from all walks of life
a lot of people different religions different ethnicities
that had different cultural backgrounds to the mix
in a small little ship
it’s an interesting time for a lot of
a major part of world war two she spent in hot moist climates
the crew had a really hard time facing temperatures up to 35 to 40 degrees Celsius
and even hotter inside the hull
at the beginning of World War two five weeks after pearl harbor
and 17 years old i join the Navy
I went through training center in San Diego
and welded up in Pearl Harbor Hawaii
on savage crew savage the sunken ship that was sunk during attack on December 7th 1941
I work for sixty days without stopping
10 to 12 hours a day cleaning up removing ammunition
standing by while they picked up bodies and never did that
us young boys school with the bodies thankfully
destroyers those days really lacked internal space
the placement of living space was predominantly ruled by ships design and convenience was secondary
enlisting crew slept on top in the magazine that they took it
there and there's an explosion
unfortunately you would lose those crew members
and for that reason
the crew did not sleep
segregated according to their division all the engineers wouldn't be in one spot
all the Gunners would be in another spot
you would have them scattered throughout the ship so that if he did take a hit like that
you wouldn't lose a large percentage one area
the US fleet has always longed to maximize survivability events vessels
all expedient equipment was designed in order to help the crew to repair any damage possible
for instance the cruise hammocks were made water and fireproof
these could easily be used to plug modest sized holes in the ship and stamp out a fire
we are in radio central here bored the Kidd
during the kamikaze attack in 1945
this area was hit pretty hard by the bomb blast that shredded the entire portside
a lot of the wounded from that attack came from this area
the situation in the pacific became quite heated by the end of the 1930
Japan had invaded China and was preparing to advance towards the US
moreover the Japanese fleet grew very rapidly
the thread didn't remain unnoticed from over the ocean
the US military machine developed classes have ships
one after another gradually improving their characteristics
all the ships in the Navy the battle wagons get all the attention and
the aircraft carriers all the glory but arguably the backbone in the fleet has always been destroyers
small fast maneuverable ships with dual purpose armament
which can often pack at punch quite above their weight
when the most numerous classes was the Fletcher class destroyer 175 were built
and we r on one right now USS Kidd
which is pretty much 1945 configuration is it wasn't the end the war
work on Fletcher class ships was initiated in 1939
right before world war two broke up
they turned out to be larger than their predecessors
allowing for an increase in their battle potential
a number of additional measures were introduced to so as to increase sustainability
the decks armor was up to 90 millimeters thick
the engine and boiler rooms were placed far away from each other
such an arrangement lowered the chances are the ship's immobilization
even if heavily damaged
Fletchers turned out to be outstandingly robust withstanding multiple successful
a fact that really lifted the spirits of the crews onboard
major caliber canons were designed to engage both aerial and ground targets
the shells were clipped with remote fuses that significantly increased the power of the ship's artillery fire
with a good selection of weaponry from dual-purpose 5 inchess guns and anti-ship torpedoes 90 submarines depth charges
At least I had a fair chance of being a danger to pretty much anything that a matter on the high seas
despite the high battle potential
Fletchers were never designed for solo operations
as a rule, they were used in squadrons similar to any other destroyers
destroyers will be in divisions have three in four squadrons rate of 9
the usual task were escort duty
anti-submarine warfare pickets ships reconnaissance screening and pretty much anything that as ship could do it or could be asked to do
based on their powerful armament unique survivability sophisticated fire control systems
long operational range and decency keeping
Fletchers are rightfully considered one of the best ships at this time
of course along with many other classes of ships they also had their fair share of casualties during the war
there were 25 Fletcher class destroyers that were sunk during world war 2
Japanese kamikaze tactics became their major headache
the ships were quite an easy target patrolling far away from major forces
and it was April 1945 that our Pacific piratefirst encountered kamikaze pilots
Kidd was patrolling in a group of four destroyers
a couple aircraft were spotted in the sky
seemingly having a dog fight with one another
perplexed to have detected an allied plane
the ship's ceased fire and kept observing
Only when the couple started to descend accrues realize
The realize it was a trap set by Kamikaze
1 of the plane was shut down but the other one hit the USS kids Deck
almost a third of the crew was incapacitated
38 killed 45 wounded
the chief mechanic was boiled alive in the ship's boiler rooms
the ship's doctor was cut by a bomb fragment and lost his eyes
making him unable to fulfill his duty
he was carrying a camera that he used to shoot the battle
after the explosion its film was mostly burnt
except for the pregnant displaying the kamikaze plane directly before the impact
the young boy and all the young boys who put in the most dangerous
dirtiest jobs
on my shield I was in the proud a magazine
I had no idea was gonna be here I don't know what happened
well all I know is a bang the lights went out
I went out I woke up
could say anything cuz it was so dark
despite all these casualties the Kidd managed to move away for repairs under her own steam
this surely outlines the outstanding construction of Fletchers
and to the high skill the crews aboard
however this was the end of world war two for the USS Kidd
later she would participate in the Korean War supporting ground force with her cannon
during her service years the USS Kidd was awarded with 12 battle stars
8 during world war 2 and the rest in the Korean events
the ship also participated in numerous landing operations across the Pacific Ocean island's
repel aerial attacks of the Japanese and even scored a film role in"run silent run deep"
a movie dedicated to US submarines
in 1964 after 20 years of service the destroyer now inferior in certain parameters was finally decommissioned
nevertheless a lucky fate save the pirate ship from the doc cutters
as it was decided to leave her among three Fletchers said to be renovated
and turned into floating museums
she's been brought here to Baton Rouge
as a memorial for the States' veterans
destroyer Navy veterans all around the country
and as rated one of the most accurate historical ships
in the historically which spent about five come
the name USS Kidd now belongs to the new Arleigh-Burkeclass a ship
the sole pirate it may now sleep well for flaggers and reliable hands