USS Kidd (DDG-100) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the third Navy ship named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was on board Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was the first American flag officer to die in World War II. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 1 of Carrier Strike Group 1[1] which is currently headed by the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).

USS Kidd on 18 May 2011
History
United States
NameKidd
NamesakeRear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd
Ordered6 March 1998
BuilderIngalls Shipbuilding
Laid down29 April 2004
Launched22 January 2005
Commissioned9 June 2007
HomeportEverett
Identification
MottoOn To Victory
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeArleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement9,200 tons
Length509 ft 6 in (155.30 m)
Beam  66 ft (20 m)
Draft  31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speed30+ knots (55+ km/h)
Complement380 officers and enlisted
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

Construction and career

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Kidd was christened by Admiral Kidd's granddaughters, Regina Kidd Wolbarsht and Mary Kidd Plumer on 22 January 2005, at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Commander Richard E. Thomas of Westwood, New Jersey, served as her first commanding officer until February 2008. Commander Charles P. Good of Huntington Beach, California, took Kidd on her maiden deployment.

While in the midst of final outfitting, the ship was holed and partially flooded at the shipyard docks during Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, requiring a return to dry dock for repairs, which included cutting out a turbine, delaying her commissioning and deployment with the Navy. She was commissioned at Galveston, Texas on 9 June 2007. Kidd is currently homeported in Everett, Washington.

On 5 January 2012, Kidd rescued the 13-member crew of the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel Al Molai from Somali pirates who had been holding them hostage for over 40 days, capturing fifteen pirates in the process with no casualties.[2]

Search for Malaysia Airlines MH 370

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USS Kidd in San Diego in May 2008

On 10 March 2014 the ship joined the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 two days after it went missing over the South China Sea. Kidd was the second Navy ship to be deployed in the search. It joined USS Pinckney, and more than 40 other ships and 32 aircraft from Malaysia, Australia, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan,[3] Vietnam, New Zealand, and the Philippines taking part in the search and rescue.[4] On 14 March it was announced that Kidd would be relocated to the Indian Ocean in search of the plane, since new evidence pointed to the possibility of the plane being there.[5]

2020 COVID-19 pandemic

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On 24 April 2020, the United States Navy reported that a sailor assigned to Kidd had tested positive for the virus after being medically evacuated the previous day from operations at sea.[6] After the sailor's test returned positive, the Navy sent a medical team to the ship to conduct contact tracing and test sailors for the virus on board.[6] By the morning of 24 April, 17 additional sailors tested positive, with additional cases expected as testing continued.[6]

The initial patient was stable and recovering at a medical facility in San Antonio, Texas.[6] It was planned for Kidd to return to port so that it could be disinfected.[6] This was the second instance of the coronavirus being found aboard an American naval ship that had been deployed.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet Administrative Organization Chart" (PDF). Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  2. ^ Stanglin, Douglas (6 January 2012). "U.S. Navy rescues Iranian sailors from pirates". USA Today. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Taiwan joins search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370". Taiwan Today. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  4. ^ "U.S. bolsters support for search of lost plane". Malaysia Sun. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. ^ Starr, Barbara; Carter, Chelsea J. (15 March 2014). "USS Kidd relocated to Indian Ocean". CNN. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e Office of the Navy Chief of Information (24 April 2020). "USS Kidd Evacuates Sailor, Embarks COVID-19 Medical Response Team". Navy.mil. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. ^ Werner, Ben (23 April 2020). "26 Navy Battle Force Ships Have Had COVID-19 Cases - USNI News". News.usni.org. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

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