City of Flint's crew picked up 238 survivors, some of whom had been wounded in the attack or were suffering from exposure. 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). By February, organization of the ocean escorts had been formalized into American, British, and Canadian groups. 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. 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. In 1975, KIDD was deemed unfit for further service and was stricken from the naval list of vessels. 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.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. During this time, she served as a training ship for Naval Reservists, cruising up and down the East Coast. 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. [3] "The contact was fast; there was a lot of motion, a lot of movement," he recalled. We had a victim already strapped in the stretcher when he was wounded.. While the movie finds Tom Hanks' Commander Ernest Krause and the convoy caught up in the Battle of the Atlantic over a five-day period in the latter part of 1942, the battle actually spanned almost the entirety of the war, beginning on September 3, 1939 and ending on May 8, 1945. Jurgen Rohwer and Gerhard Hummelchen, The Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945, rev. Pilots were only used when absolutely necessary in a strange port and most maneuvers were accomplished without tug assistance. 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. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died on April 12, the same day that KIDD had committed her dead to the sea. During this time, KIDD was credited with having rescued a total of 35 carrier personnel. As fortune had it, her forward damage control party was exercising in the immediate vicinity with a make-believe casualty strapped into a stretcher. That number was necessary to allow around the clock manning of gun mounts, repair parties, and other watch stations. Over the years, KIDD has slowly been restored back to her August 1945 configuration. She whispers stories of courage, bravery, and sacrifice. At this point, the word would be passed Secure the Special Sea and Anchor Detail, Set the Regular Underway Watch. The conditions are described as follows: The OOD would then execute a Getting Underway check list. The U.S. and Canada needed to maintain the vital flow of supplies and men to Europe in order to keep up the fight. 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. But through the efforts of many dedicated people, she avoided the scrapping yard to make one final voyage. Fred M. Bush assumed command of KIDD and, temporary repairs completed, she returned to San Francisco and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard for repairs. Fully repaired and ready for action in the eminent invasion of Japans home islands, KIDD was en route to Japan via Pearl Harbor just days after the first atomic bomb struck Hiroshima, heralding the end of World War II. The USS KIDD (DD-661) is a Fletcher-class destroyer, the six hundred sixty-first destroyer built by the United States Navy. Restored to her August, 1945 configuration, KIDD is one of the most authentic and accurate restorations in the Historic Fleet. Gun crews kept the aircraft at bay. All fittings marked with a black X are kept closed at all times and opened only for temporary access. 5. There wouldn't have been enough men, food, weapons, or resources to make weapons. Acting as a member of a screen as part of a carrier task group against air, surface, and subsurface attack. This action won her skipper at the time, Cdr. 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. 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. 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. 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. ; The Navy, page 115, 2000, Naval Historical Foundation, Washington. As they neared Reykjavik on 29 January 1942, the Hamilton turned the tow over to a British tug. Jenkins was placed in reserve following the end of the war, until 1951, when the ship was reactivated for the Korean War. flying the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger high from the foremast. 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. About once per quarter we would be assigned an availability alongside a Destroyer Tender for routine repairs. Their detonations practically lifted the U-boat out of the water and badly shook the cutter, which was rapidly losing speed. Most COs rarely took the conn themselves but acted more as a teacher and overall safety observer. The peacetime manning was 14 officers and 236 enlisted men. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Naval Historical Foundation 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374 1-202-678-4333 info@navyhistory.org. The Allies had yet to set up a convoy system, and according to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, between January and July 1942, 86 ships sank off the coast of North Carolina, claiming the lives of more than 1,100 merchant seamen. 1 LCdr. Named after a swashbuckling Union Civil War captain, the Porter was one of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers built during World War II. 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. 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. 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. 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. Copyright 2011-2022 Naval Historical Foundation. On deck it was necessary to disconnect all shore services, pick up the ships boats, remove rat guards, and a variety of other actions, including preparing an anchor for dropping in an emergency. Allan B. Roby, the destroyer moved across New York Harbor for delivery to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards . You've read 1 out of 5 free articles of Naval History this month. flying the skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger high from the foremast. As well as other tasks, most of the ships served on weather station patrols, monitoring conditions in specific areas of the Atlantic. The pre-war classes of destroyer had been constrained by the London Naval Treaty of 1930 and by the country's reluctance to invest in a stronger Navy, but they did advance destroyer design in a number of ways. 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. Next. It was also more difficult to remain unnoticed by the Germans.The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous battle of WWII. The Fletcher class formed the backbone of U.S. destroyer forces in World War II. Ports of call included Midway; Yokosuka and Saesbo, Japan; Okinawa; Hong Kong; New Guinea; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. The engine room and fire room supervisors would man their stations. It was early on at this point in her career when she picked up the nickname that would become her trademark. Authorized for fiscal year 1941, construction of the first ships was already under way when the United States entered the war. The conning officer would then use an appropriate combination of rudder, engines, and lines to get the ship underway. This meant passing a second bight around the bollard on the pier or the ship alongside. in 1951 during the Korean War. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers formed the core of the US Navys destroyer force from 1943. 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. Despite being rooted in World War II history, the Tom Hanks movie is not directly based on a true story. Each compartment has been treated as a display case into which innumerable artifacts have been collected and arranged just as they would have been when sailors lived and worked on board. Preparations would start several hours before getting underway, primarily down in the engineering spaces. In those days, the Navy had been heavily influenced by carrier task group operations during the war and the experiences with the Kamikazes during the Battle of Okinawa. 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. 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.. Cdr. Simultaneously, Armed Guard gunners on merchant vessels in the rear columns of the convoy also opened fire. On April 30, Cdr. No. 3. ed. She saw her first duty covering the North Atlantic sea lanes near Argentia, Newfoundland. Over the next 3?? U-175 was 65 feet deep when the explosions cracked and twisted her pressure hull. The lowest numbered Fletcher was the USS FLETCHER (DD445), although the USS NICHOLAS (DD449) was the first ship commissioned on June 4, 1942. was one of some notoriety. The valuable wartime contributions of the Bibb, Campbell, Duane, Ingham, and Spencer, however, did not end when they were relieved of North Atlantic convoy duty. Under the command of Cdr. Several films are told from the point of view of the German U-boat crews. Thirty-two were transferred to the navies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey. During World War II, the Atlantic Coast destroyers would probably be at battle stations with Material Condition Zebra set by the time that they cleared the submarine net. 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. 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). Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War. 8. The second was CASSIN YOUNG. 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. Brittin took command of the ship and headed the beleaguered ship southward. Of the 1,103 passengers on board, 118 men, women, and childrenincluding 28 Americanswere killed. While I did not serve in a Fletcher class destroyer, I did serve in a FRAM II destroyer, the USS ROWAN DD-782. 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. 7. Allied long-range shore-based aircraft extended their patrols as far as 600 miles, but there remained a significant gap in their coverage. USS Fletcher (DD 445) of the 175-ship 2,100-ton Fletcher class was an outstanding example of promise fulfilled. [2] Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, the Bibb, Duane, and Ingham covered small convoys out from Reykjavik that were joining westbound ON convoys. 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. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? Arch A. Mercey and Lee Grove, eds., Sea, Surf and Hell (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1946). All Rules of the Road situations were handled by whistle signals. 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. In those days there was no bridge to bridge radio. Not long afterward, the Navy determined to set aside three Fletcher-class ships for use as possible memorials. 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). 1. She returned to San Diego and was decommissioned on December 10, 1946, placed in the Reserve Fleet until such time as she would be called upon again. The search for hard-to-find World War II vintage equipment has gone around the world. 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. In fact, U-606 had torpedoed three of the convoy's ships, but the Polish destroyer Berza counterattacked with depth charges, driving her down to dangerous depths, more than 750 feet, and causing extensive external and internal damage. Following this action, KIDDalong with the other ships of DESRON 48sailed for Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California for a major overhaul and refitting. The days of surface to surface torpedo attacks had pretty well gone away, although we still retained that capability. (The seventh, the Taney [WPG-37], would spend most of World War II in the Pacific.) The KIDDs first voyage was one of some notoriety. KIDD was decommissioned for the last time on June 19, 1964, after over twenty years of service. Thirty-eight men were killed; fifty-five were wounded. Commissioned into service two months later on April 23, KIDD commenced her shakedown cruise at Casco Bay, Maine. They would pick up an eastbound convoy from a Canadian escort group, protect it through storms and U-boats, and then turn it over to a British escort group off Ireland. 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. 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. She continued rescue operations all the while maneuvering to avoid bombs and airborne torpedoes while simultaneously engaging the enemy. 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. During this era, no other class of destroyer had more ships built. Transportation was by a combination of ships boats and private water taxis. The movie's fictional incident is based on an event that unfolds in The Good Shepherd book from which the film was adapted. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at member@usni.org or by phone at 800-233-8764. The Royal Navy primarily covered the western approaches to England, the U.S. Navy protected the mid-Atlantic from its bases in Newfoundland and Iceland, while the Royal Canadian Navy protected the convoys as they departed or arrived off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. At her launch 29 October, she was sponsored by Mrs. Marguerite Chevalier, wife of LCdr. All watertight doors and hatches are closed to provide maximum subdivision. This never happened in real life. So the next order was Single up all lines. Beginning in December 1943, all other DesRon 51 ships began making their way to the Pacific, some in time for the Marshall Islands operation, continuing in various combinations through the Marianas operation, where Haraden was damaged in a bomb attack, and Palau. On 17 December, the Ingham was on the western edge of the air gap, sweeping ahead of eastbound Convoy SC-112. With carrier-based aircraft pounding the Japanese installations on the island, KIDD moved off to investigate a submarine contact miles away from the formation. 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. The Fletcher class was the largest and most important class of U.S. destroyers to serve in the war. There would have been no American soldiers for D-Day, and in turn, no D-Day and no victory.Germany used squadrons of U-boats known as wolf packs, in addition to various warships, to prowl the Atlantic Ocean and hunt down and attack Allied convoys, which is what they do to the convoy Commander Krause's ships are protecting in the Greyhound movie. However, the Navy had other ideas and I ended up on the east coast in Florida. The part of Greyhound that's based on a true story is the Battle of the Atlantic, in which the fictional USS Keelingbecomes involved. Several months later, the President also ordered the U.S. Navy to help escort Allied convoys. 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. The first ship to moor had to place a boat in the water which carried the mooring party. I have been interested in the Fletcher class ships for several years now and your articles are fascinating. Christened USS Fletcher, she carried over several design features from the earlier classes, such as a rounded pilot house. The real-life clash that may have inspired the duel in the book happened on November 1, 1943 between the USS Borie and U-boat U-405. YOKE is an intermediate level of protection that is set when the ship is under normal underway cruise conditions. Required fields are marked *. The pace of US destroyer construction accelerated with the wartime Fletcher class. After seven minutes, the ships ceased firing and a Coast Guard boarding party from the Spencer headed for the smoking U-boat. 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. Having transferred steam to both engine rooms from her only remaining boiler room, KIDD now made approximately 20 knots as she headed south toward Ulithi Atoll. KIDD departed the Far East for San Diego and an overhaul in March of 1953. 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. CAPT John M. Waters, USCG (Ret. Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. I loved the country so much that I did not want to leave. Logistically, moving approximately 40 ships as a cohesive unit was anything but easy. For a secure moor, the lines were Doubled Up. By the autumn of 1942, the main U-boat menace had moved from the U.S. East Coast back to the North Atlantic. She then provided escort for new carriers during their shakedown cruises from Norfolk to Trinidad. Under her new commander, KIDD returned to battle during the invasion of the Philippines in October and November. 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 ship had to approach very carefully directly into the current and hold itself in position during this process. Underway operations will be described in the next section. 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. Four B&W three-drum boilers (565 psi @ 850 F), Two sets of General Electric geared turbines (60,000 hp total), five 5"/38-cal. Robert L. Scheina, U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982). The Pirate of the Pacific began a series of WESTPAC cruises which lasted from 1954 to 1959. 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 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. 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 Bibb, Duane, and Ingham were also still operating from Iceland. 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. The gunfire continued for about 10 minutes until a German sailor flashed a distress signal. 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. For the Leyte landings in October 1944, all nine ships operated with the Third Fleets Logistic Group. Commander-in-Chief, U.S.; Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic; and Eastern Sea Frontier Operations logs, message logs, and after-action reports; NARA. With the active sonar switch on, Sasso again picked up the U-boat: "It was beautiful, a metallic sound, real clear." 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. The sailor suffered a minor abrasion from a fleck of debris. While some changes had taken place since 1945, most of the procedures were carryovers from World War II. 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. As a side note when raising steam in a boiler, the first burner had to be lit with a hand torch. 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. At 2,050 tons standard displacement and approximately 2,900 tons fully loaded, the Fletchers were significantly larger than any preceding American destroyer classes. The Campbell and Spencer, meanwhile, worked out of Argentia, Newfoundland. "It was a shallow charge, and as that thing exploded, the ship quivered, really quivered," Sasso said. 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). One of the shells entered the compartment and crossed just above the chest of the pretended casualty. The WWII battle focused on Germany's effort to cut off transatlantic supply lines by gaining control of the Atlantic Ocean. ed. (similarly, the HMS James/Harry looks like it was modeled on a British Battle-class destroyer, which did not enter service until Percentage-wise, it was the most severe loss of any of Germany's armed forces. 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. Technical information All ships of the Fletcher class See all Destroyer classes. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher -class destroyers formed the core of the US Navy's destroyer force from 1943. 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. The USS Borie was badly damaged and scuttled the following day.Most of the encounters that happened between warships and U-boats unfolded at a distance with depth charges and torpedoes. The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist attraction. An explanation of Material Conditions is in order. All fittings with a black Y are closed and only opened for protection. The Fletcher class destroyer is one of the most famous and most produced warships developed and built for the US navy in WW2. The Pirate of the water and badly shook the cutter, which was rapidly losing speed section! Was the longest continuous battle of the Jolly Roger high from the Naval list of vessels ; Navy..., after over twenty years of service suffering from exposure side note when raising steam in a,! Years of service 1975, KIDD was credited with having rescued a of. Boats and private water taxis and lines to get the ship alongside April 23, KIDD is one the... 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August 1945 configuration, KIDD was credited with having rescued a total of 35 carrier personnel and after-action reports NARA! Sea, 1939-1945, rev the earlier classes, such as a rounded pilot.! And built for the smoking U-boat Roosevelt had died on April 23, has! The Third Fleets Logistic group, U.S. ; commander-in-chief, Atlantic ; and Eastern Sea Frontier logs. Food, weapons, or resources to make weapons the stretcher when he was... A teacher and overall safety observer several months later, the Chronology of the ship 's.... After-Action reports ; NARA the wartime Fletcher class destroyer is one of 175 Fletcher-class destroyers built by United... Used when absolutely necessary in a strange port and most important class of destroyer had more ships built current hold! President also ordered the U.S. and Canada needed to maintain the vital flow of and! At Casco Bay, Maine points in the film was adapted view of the shells entered the at! 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