USS Kidd

[Shar2]

USS Kidd

Squadron On Deck book

The United States have been very fortunate in the preservation of many historical ships throughout the country. Squadron Publications have taken advantage of this and produced a series of On Deck books, giving readers a great insight into the detail of a ships construction. This latest release in the series is on USS Kidd. A Fletcher class destroyer, she was launched in April 1943 as one of the later square bridged version of the class. Named after the Captain of the USS Arizona killed during the attack on Pearl Harbour, USS Kidd served on successful operations in the Atlantic, before being transferred to the Pacific where she was hit by a Kamikaze taking the ship out of battle and out of the fleet until August 1945, when she rejoined briefly before being de-commissioned and placed into reserve for the first time in December 1946. In March 1951 she was re-commissioned to join the fleet off Korea as an active ship. In 1964 she was once again de-commissioned and placed in reserve in June 1964. In May 1982 she was towed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and transferred to the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission, which has painstakingly restored her.

Other than two photographs at the beginning of the book, all are in full colour. Most of these very well taken photographs are of the upperworks and weaponry, which most concerns the modeller. The captions with each photo are informative and interesting. Every part of the ship is covered from bow to stern, each turret, AA gun, torpedo tubes and depth charge rails are well photographed at different angles and views. There are several pictures of the internal parts of the ship, such as the bridge/wheelhouse, Captains day cabin, galley, steering compartment and interiors of the gun mounts including shell and powder rooms.

Conclusion

It makes me sad at how many of our Royal Navy ships have been scrapped, leaving us with a void in our maritime history. How could it have been if we had groups like those in the US that take these ships on and make them available to the general public to view in such a close way? Still, this book shows well the build and detail of an important class of ship which has been beautifully restored. Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of