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