USS Kidd (DD-661)

USS Kidd underway, 1951
History
United States
NameKidd
NamesakeIsaac C. Kidd
BuilderFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down16 October 1942
Launched28 February 1943
Sponsored byMrs. Isaac C. Kidd
Commissioned23 April 1943
Decommissioned10 December 1946
Recommissioned28 March 1951
Decommissioned19 June 1964
Stricken1 December 1974
Identification
Nickname(s)Pirate of the Atlantic & Pacific
Honors and
awards
See Awards
StatusMuseum ship in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeFletcher-class destroyer
Displacement2,050 tons
Length376 ft (115 m)
Beam39 ft 8 in (12.09 m)
Draft17 ft 9 in (5.41 m)
Propulsion
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement329
Armament
  • April 1943-December 1944:
  • February–May 1945:
    • 5 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber guns
    • 10 × 40 mm AA guns (5 x 2)
    • 7 × 20 mm AA guns (7 × 1)
    • 10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2 × 5)
    • 6 × K-gun depth charge throwers
    • 2 × depth charge tracks
  • Post-August 1945 and as preserved:
    • 5 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber guns
    • 14 × 40 mm AA guns (3 x 2, 2 x 4)
    • 12 × 20 mm AA guns (6 × 2)
    • 5 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (1 × 5)
    • 6 × K-gun depth charge throwers
    • 2 × depth charge tracks
USS Kidd (DD-661)
Kidd serves as part of the Louisiana Veterans Memorial.
USS Kidd (DD-661) is located in Baton Rouge Downtown
USS Kidd (DD-661)
Location305 South River Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Coordinates30°26′40″N 91°11′29″W / 30.44431°N 91.19151°W / 30.44431; -91.19151
Built1943
ArchitectUS Navy
NRHP reference No.83000502[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP9 August 1983
Designated NHL14 January 1986[2]

USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kidd was the first US flag officer to die during World War II and the first American admiral ever to be killed in action.[3] A National Historic Landmark, she is now a museum ship, berthed on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the only surviving US destroyer still in her World War II configuration. She is one of four remaining Fletcher-class destroyers in the world.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2 November 2013.
  2. ^ "USS Kidd (Destroyer)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  3. ^ "Named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd". America's Navy. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2015.