did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic?
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. Tickets for NAO TRINIDAD are available to purchase in person for $25ea. 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. "The contact was fast; there was a lot of motion, a lot of movement," he recalled. The U.S. destroyer was trying to ram the U-boat when a wave cause its bow to come down on top of the U-boat, trapping both in a deadly dance. billie burke great grandchildren; balmoral restaurant closing; how much money did the vampire diaries gross. With carrier-based aircraft pounding the Japanese installations on the island, KIDD moved off to investigate a submarine contact miles away from the formation. It soon became clear that it was traveling in the opposite direction of the convoy. 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. Now, on the eve of impending war, the U.S. was ready to take destroyer design to the next level. They were also the first US destroyers fitted with radar as built. During that same period, Germany lost 783 of its 1,100 U-boats. At 1138, U-175 popped up 2,500 yards from the Spencer, and the cutter's gunners opened fire. A Greyhound fact check reveals that the USS Keeling (codenamed "Greyhound") is fictional and was not a real-life Navy destroyer. City of Flint's crew picked up 238 survivors, some of whom had been wounded in the attack or were suffering from exposure. Starting on April 24, 1962, KIDD was assigned to the Naval Destroyer School at Newport, Rhode Island. As well as other tasks, most of the ships served on weather station patrols, monitoring conditions in specific areas of the Atlantic. 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 KIDD would become the only vessel in the history of the United States Navy to ever have such leave granted to fly the flag of piracy. The Navy, however, did not have enough ships to watch the vast area effectively and immediately asked for Coast Guard assistance. It is set under battle conditions. The actual hookup was made by detaching one of the anchor chains from its anchor and passing it down to the mooring crew on the buoy, who would then connect it to a shackle. Allied long-range shore-based aircraft extended their patrols as far as 600 miles, but there remained a significant gap in their coverage. Normally all four ships in the division would be moored to the same buoy. Built at Federal Shipbuilding & Dry-dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey, KIDD was one of four destroyers [USS BULLARD (DD-660), USS THORN (DD-647), and USS TURNER (DD-648)] launched on February 28, 1943 in a record-breaking fourteen minutes. With these symbolic changes, the Navy subsumed the Coast Guard for the duration of the war. May her victories be triumphant and conclusive!. Over the next 3?? That call to action came in 1951 during the Korean War. The American ships then headed to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, for supplies, training, and, hopefully, liberty. 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. 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. The preparations for getting underway have been simplified a great deal as it is not necessary to start the engines until sea detail has been set. . gun mounts were still in place. KIDD was one of several destroyers which stood guard for the beleaguered carrier while her crew fought to keep her afloat. Twiggs also operated in the Atlantic early in her career, from Norfolk as a training ship until May 1944. The Alexander Hamilton was one of the first cutters actively engaged in convoy escort duty. The Chief Engineer would write Lighting Off Orders to be carried out by the duty section. We were forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan as part of DESRON 15. Robert E. Jeffery, KIDD sailed for the western Pacific arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, in July. 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. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. 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). All Rules of the Road situations were handled by whistle signals. 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. 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. If we were backing out of a slip you would hear a prolonged blast on the whistle. I much preferred WESTPAC! 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. 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. The sailor suffered a minor abrasion from a fleck of debris. 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. Cdr. The Campbell and Spencer, meanwhile, worked out of Argentia, Newfoundland. 7. Losing the supply lines was a constant worry for the Allies. Their detonations practically lifted the U-boat out of the water and badly shook the cutter, which was rapidly losing speed. 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 Steering Gear room (After Steering) would be manned. Instead, she struck a glancing blow and the U-boat's hydroplane opened a large gash in the Campbell's hull. Faced with a shortage of escort ships, the Navy requested on 31 October that all Coast Guard cutters be transferred to its control. About once per quarter we would be assigned an availability alongside a Destroyer Tender for routine repairs. Your email address will not be published. Full right rudder was ordered, and the cutter closed to ram the submarine. But on her third pass, the cutter again attacked, dropping 5,000 pounds worth of explosives. There wouldn't have been enough men, food, weapons, or resources to make weapons. The second was CASSIN YOUNG. I spent 22 years in the Navy. The conning officer would then use an appropriate combination of rudder, engines, and lines to get the ship underway. 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. Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations. 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. In 1959, KIDD was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. 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. I made six month WESTPAC deployments in 1957 and 1958. By any standard, that was an impressive display of warship mass production. With that change came the order to paint the gleaming white cutter hulls regulation Navy haze gray. The lone suicide bomber crashed into her forward boiler room killing everyone inside. The winter of 1942-43 would be the Battle of the Atlantic's most bitterly fought season. Just before 1100, one of the Spencer's sonarmen detected a U-boat attempting to slip past the convoy's escort screen. Next. Completed in June 1942, she arrived at Guadalcanal in October and soon proved herself during a vital time when the US Navy's posture in the Pacific war was changing from defensive to offensive, an auspicious beginning to a 27-year career. I also served aboard USS CORAL SEA (CVA43) for 2 years before joining the submarine force, which I spent 26 years in. The Fletcher class formed the backbone of U.S. destroyer forces in World War II. But the rules of warfare are: Kill or be killed.". Not wishing to dishonor RADM Kidd, however, the crew obtained permission from Mrs. Kidd first. But through the efforts of many dedicated people, she avoided the scrapping yard to make one final voyage. 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. 10. Ports of call included Midway; Yokosuka and Saesbo, Japan; Okinawa; Hong Kong; New Guinea; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. 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. "The periscope had probably been knocked off," he recalled. 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. None of the Germans hoisted a white flag, and the one-sided close-range battle continued. 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. The movie's fictional incident is based on an event that unfolds in The Good Shepherd book from which the film was adapted. Deployments to the Far East could be pretty tedious and they involved long periods at sea, as much as a month at a time. The 327s were later converted to amphibious-force flagships and served in the Pacific theater. 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. Under the command of Cdr. Of the 1,103 passengers on board, 118 men, women, and childrenincluding 28 Americanswere killed. Posted on 26 Feb in greenshield pharmacy intervention codes 0 Likes During this time, KIDD was credited with having rescued a total of 35 carrier personnel. 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. The cycle would start at the end of a shipyard overhaul, in our case at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. While I did not serve in a Fletcher class destroyer, I did serve in a FRAM II destroyer, the USS ROWAN DD-782. 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. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? Laid down beginning in 1941, all 175 Fletchers were completed between June 1942 and February 1945, launched an average of 212 days after keel laying and commissioned after an average of 152 days more or 364 days totalnearly 10 per cent faster than the repeat Bensons and Gleaves that preceded them. Reg Ingraham, First Fleet (Cornwall, NY: Bobbs-Merill Company, 1944). 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). The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. In addition, the Coast Guard ships' commissioning pennants were replaced with the Navy flags. (similarly, the HMS James/Harry looks like it was modeled on a British Battle-class destroyer, which did not enter service until During a simulated torpedo attack in September of that year, KIDD was struck by two star-shells fired from the NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55). There were also fueling stops at Midway and sometimes Guam. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. 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. While off Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach Harbor, KIDD was struck by the 9,000-ton Swedish freighter HAINAN on April 21, 1953. The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist attraction. By the autumn of 1942, the main U-boat menace had moved from the U.S. East Coast back to the North 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. Along with the Duane, the Spencer rescued 41 of U-175's 54-man crew. It is set when a ship is in the harbor. No, not exactly. Fred Edwards, Destroyer Type Desk, Bureau of Ships, 1942, quoted in Holland, Rear Admiral W. J., Jr., USN (Ret), ed. The search for hard-to-find World War II vintage equipment has gone around the world. This action won her skipper at the time, Cdr. I loved the country so much that I did not want to leave. KIDD was one of several destroyers which stood guard for the beleaguered carrier while her crew fought to keep her afloat. 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. She serves as a reminder of all those who have gone before us. Following a tumultuous eastbound Atlantic crossing as part of the escort group for Convoy HX-170, she was detached to take in tow the Navy storeship Yukon (AF-9), which was disabled 600 miles southeast of Iceland. At several points in the film, a German U-boat uses Greyhound's transmitting frequency and broadcasts threatening messages over the ship's loudspeakers. Actually this provided for a good deal of camaraderie between ships in the division as we all got to know each other and trade experiences. ; The Navy, page 115, 2000, Naval Historical Foundation, Washington. The USS KIDD (DD-661) is a Fletcher-class destroyer, the six hundred sixty-first destroyer built by the United States Navy. 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. 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. 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. U-175 was 65 feet deep when the explosions cracked and twisted her pressure hull. 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. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? As U-606 cleared her stern, the cutter dropped two depth charges set at 50 feet. I have been interested in the Fletcher class ships for several years now and your articles are fascinating. She participated in a precautionary deployment in November, 1956, of American naval forces during the Suez Crisis. 1 LCdr. 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. 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.". Though built with the Pacific in mind, Fletchers also served in the Atlantic theater. The Admirals nickname at the Naval Academy had been Cap (as in Captain Kidd) and he had gone by this nickname his entire life. 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. 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. Simultaneously, Armed Guard gunners on merchant vessels in the rear columns of the convoy also opened fire. 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. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. For this reason, all sailors of the Boiler Technician (BT) rating were meticulous about carrying a book of matches around with them at all times. There were 39 casualties and extensive damage in the after part of the ship. "It was a shallow charge, and as that thing exploded, the ship quivered, really quivered," Sasso said. As a side note when raising steam in a boiler, the first burner had to be lit with a hand torch. 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. The Sullivans played a large role in World War II and the . While this rarely happened, such destroyer-vs-submarine duels did take place on one or two real-life occasions. At this point, we were underway. The tenders could then supply us with power, thereby allowing us to shut down and go Cold Iron. As fortune had it, her forward damage control party was exercising in the immediate vicinity with a make-believe casualty strapped into a stretcher. Later emphasis on anti-aircraft defense led to a redesigned or square bridge for improved all-around sightlines, beginning with Brownson (DD 518). May her victories be triumphant and conclusive!. I am a retired Navy Chief. Allan Roby was reassigned at this time, with Cdr. Normally the crew stood duty on one day out of every three. 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 sister ship of the Fletcher-class, USS CAPERTON (DD-650), provided the quintuple Mk-14 21-inch torpedo tubes that were missing, as well as a Mk-27 torpedo director, two Mk-63 gun directors, and her boat boom. 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. Today, USS KIDD is moored in the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the centerpiece of the USS Kidd Veterans Museum. 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. The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist . But most of the other wartime functions still remained. Transportation was by a combination of ships boats and private water taxis. But suddenly, there was no movement from the boat, and the Ingham passed over her without dropping any charges. To emphasize the importance of the battle, Winston Churchill coined the name "Battle of the Atlantic," intentionally alluding to the Battle of Britain. The pace of US destroyer construction accelerated with the wartime Fletcher class. Ports of call included Midway; Yokosuka and Saesbo, Japan; Okinawa; Hong Kong; New Guinea; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. 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. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987). She was still very much in appearance as she had been when the Japanese had surrendered on September 02, 1945. Being 376 feet, 6 inches, in length meant that they could carry five five-inch dual-purpose guns, ten torpedoes, depth charges and antiaircraft guns. The night was overcast with the seas running six to eight feet as the Campbell went to general quarters. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The search for hard-to-find World War II vintage equipment has gone around the world. 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. With the active sonar switch on, Sasso again picked up the U-boat: "It was beautiful, a metallic sound, real clear." After seven minutes, the ships ceased firing and a Coast Guard boarding party from the Spencer headed for the smoking U-boat. U-boat U-405 was swallowed by the sea that night, adding to the Atlantic's WWII seabed graveyard. 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. Enemy planes, spotting smoke from the crippled destroyer, attempted to finish her off. 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.. The cutters would then usually escort fully loaded ships from either an SC or HX convoy back to Iceland. She was a fine destroyer and served in WWII as a real war ship. One hundred seventy-five of these ships were built between 1941 and 1945 - more than any other destroyer class. 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. Morale among the crew soared. Thirty-eight men were killed; fifty-five were wounded. After two deployments, it was back to the shipyard again. Next we will describe the process for getting underway from alongside another ship or a pier. 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. At her launch 29 October, she was sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite Chevalier, wife of LCdr. 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. Once clear of the harbor, the navigator would announce that we were entering International Waters, where different Rules of the Road apply. Downtown Baton Rouges Fletcher-class destroyer USS KIDD (DD-661) and the Louisiana Veterans Museum. She serves as a reminder of all those who have gone before us. Once the first burner was lit, subsequent burners could be lit from the adjacent burner. During this era, no other class of destroyer had more ships built. The first ship to moor had to place a boat in the water which carried the mooring party. Since 1975 all new destroyer, cruiser, and frigate types have been powered by aircraft derivative gas turbine engines. Six 25-man balsa life rafts were located in Seal Beach, California. She whispers stories of courage, bravery, and sacrifice. Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, the Bibb, Duane, and Ingham covered small convoys out from Reykjavik that were joining westbound ON convoys. Consequently, later that day, Roosevelt signed an order transferring the entire Coast Guard to the Navy. From there, they picked up an outbound convoy and battered their way west to Newfoundland. The ship's 20-mm guns and aft starboard 3-incher, however, took her in their sights and opened up. 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. 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. Destroyers have been called upon to perform a wide variety of duties. A. Randle, omitting any mention of her gender. Upon departing Pusan, she rounded the southern tip of the Korean peninsula and almost ran headlong into Typhoon Marge. Commissioned back into service on March 28 of that year under the command of Cdr. 1. She screened the amphibious operations, serving as a fire-support ship during the landings on Leyte. The edition of TIME magazine that week carried a photo of KIDD, announcing that it had been one hundred years since the Jolly Roger had flown in New York Harbor. Naval Institute is maintaining and preserving the former Naval Historical Foundation website so readers and former NHF members can still access past issues of Pull Together and other content. That task accomplished, KIDD departed Philadelphia, arriving under tow at Baton Rouge on May 23, 1982, to a welcoming crowd of over ten thousand. 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. KIDD was chosen, in part, due to her condition after years of sitting idle: she had escaped the cannibalization common to ships of the inactive fleet. To dishonor RADM KIDD, however, took her in their sights and opened up, was... Tender for routine repairs, USS KIDD Veterans Museum suffering from exposure screened the amphibious operations, serving a! And sacrifice that same period, Germany lost 783 of its 1,100 U-boats the explosions cracked and her... Was back to the same buoy six month WESTPAC deployments in 1957 and 1958 instead, she rounded the tip. A tourist rescued 41 of U-175 's 54-man crew, which was rapidly losing.... 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