USS Kidd
Author: David Doyle
Publisher: MMD-Squadron Signal
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 80
ISBN-13: 9780897476706
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFletcher-class destroyers were the mainstay of the US Navy's destroyer force during WWII. With 175 of the class commissioned, the Fletchers were the most numerous of the US Tin Cans, as destroyers are affectionately known. Today, only one of the type has been preserved in WWII-configuration, the USS Kidd. Named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who gave his life on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, the destroyer USS Kidd (DD-661) conducted two years of successful operations in the Atlantic and Pacific during WWII before being struck by a kamikaze on 11 April 1945. In that incident, Kidd lost 38 of her crewmen killed and another 55 wounded. After repairs, the destroyer rejoined the fleet, only to be decommissioned after the war. Recommissioned and brought back to active service during the Korean War, Kidd remained an active Naval vessel until she was decommissioned for the final time in 1964.