USS Kidd (DD-661)
by Robert F. Sumrall
Tin Can Sailors, 2002, 80 pages
The title gives the impression that this short book will concentrate on the
destroyer USS Kidd (DD-661), now a museum ship in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In
spite of this, about half of the pages present general naval history and
destroyer development in the interwar period (1919-1939) and technical details
related to the general arrangement and armament of the 175 Fletcher-class destroyers
commissioned by the US Navy during WWII. Although the technical sections have
brief references to the destroyer Kidd, which is a Fletcher-class destroyer
commissioned in April 1943, the descriptions delve into engineering details of
the Fletcher-class destroyer compartments and armament that are far beyond that
found in most ship histories. The book's technical focus most likely reflects
the expertise of the author Robert F. Sumrall, who has extensive background
in naval architecture and marine engineering and has written or co-written
several books on individual ships or ship classes in the US Navy such as
Sumner-Gearing Class Destroyers (1995) and Iowa Class Battleships (1989).
As might be expected in a book filled with technical details, it lacks
personal stories and experiences of Kidd's crew. The Introduction covers the
career of Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd for whom the destroyer is named. He
died as the senior officer present on the battleship USS Arizona when the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor sunk the ship. A nine-page section in the book's
last half gives Kidd's operational history with the focus on action in WWII. The most
interesting section tells about the restoration of USS Kidd after being
decommissioned and mothballed in 1964. The destroyer opened to the public in
1983 as a museum ship moored in the Mississippi River along the shore of Baton
Rouge. Over the years the destroyer has been restored as
closely as possible to her August 1945 configuration. Many pieces of equipment and artifacts have
been donated to the museum ship from various sources in order to make possible the restoration
to the wartime configuration.
The many photographs that fill this book probably will be of most interest to
readers. They include numerous ones of USS Kidd as outfitted in different
configurations over time. There are also several line drawings and artist renderings of
the destroyer as outfitted with different equipment and armament. The book also
has photographs of other Sumner-class destroyers, various equipment and
armament (most not on Kidd), and compartments as they appear today on Kidd as a
museum ship.
Three pages describe and show several photos of the kamikaze aircraft attack
on USS Kidd on April 11, 1945, and its aftermath. The attack by a bomb-laden
Zero fighter killed 38 men and wounded 55 others. The kamikaze pilot
first targeted the destroyer Black (DD-666) but passed over her after pulling up
abruptly and continued on skimming the water toward the destroyer Kidd. The Zero crossed the
forward fire room from starboard to port about a foot below the main deck, and
the bomb exploded just outside the port side of the hull. The book has a
photograph of Lieutenant Shigehisa Yaguchi, the kamikaze pilot who attacked Kidd, but
the author does not explain how it was determined that he was the pilot.
This rather dry history has a few entertaining bits of information. It explains
how Scottish pirate William Kidd (the notorious Captain Kidd) became the ship's
mascot. The pirate skull and crossbones flag flew when Kidd moved to the
Brooklyn Navy Yard for fitting out and commissioning. Later the crew had a 13-foot-high image of the
infamous pirate painted on the Number 1 stack. Kidd's nickname became "Pirate of
the Pacific" during WWII.
Kidd moored alongside destroyer tender Hamul (AD-20) for
emergency repairs of damage caused by kamikaze plane that hit
starboard side. The plane's
500-kg bomb continued through the boiler
room exiting the port side of the hull and exploding close aboard
causing numerous
casualties and extensive damage in bridge area.
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