.jpg) USS Kidd (DDG-993) |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kidd class destroyer |
| Builders: | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| Operators: |  United States Navy Republic of China Navy (as Kee Lung class) |
| Preceded by: | Spruance-class destroyer |
| Succeeded by: | Arleigh Burke class destroyer |
| Built: | 1978 |
| In commission: | 1981-present |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Active: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Displacement: | Light Displacement: 7,289 tons Full Displacement: 9,783 tons Dead Weight: 2,494 tons |
| Length: | 563 ft (172 m) |
| Beam: | 55 ft (17 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp (60 MW) |
| Speed: | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) 3,300 nautical miles (6000 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
SPS-48E Air Search Radar SPG-60 Gun Fire Control Radar SPS-55 Surface Search Radar SPQ-9A Gun Fire Control Radar SQS-53 Sonar |
| Electronic warfare and decoys: |
AN/SLQ-32(V)3 OUTBOARD II EW Suite |
| Armament: | 2 x 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns 2 x Mk 26 launchers for Standard Missile 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns 2 x MK 141 quadruple Harpoon missile canisters 2 x Mark 32 triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes) |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 SH-3 Sea King helicopter or 2 SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS helicopters or 2 SH-60B/S-70C(M)-1/2 LAMPS III helicopters |
The Kidd class destroyers are a series of vessels based upon the hull of the Spruance class destroyers. These ships were originally ordered by the Shah of Iran for service in the Persian Gulf in an air defense role.
Each ship in the class is named after a U.S. Navy Admiral, each of whom died in combat in the Pacific in World War II:
- USS Kidd (DDG-993) was named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship, the USS Arizona (BB-39), during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
- USS Callaghan (DDG-994) was named after Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan who died at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13, 1942, aboard the USS San Francisco (CA-38).
- USS Scott (DDG-995) was named after Rear Admiral Norman Scott, who also died at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, aboard the USS Atlanta (CL-51).
- USS Chandler (DDG-996) was named after Rear Admiral Theodore Chandler, who died on January 7, 1945, as a result of burns received from a kamikaze crashing into his flagship, the USS Louisville (CA-28), the previous day.
Originally built for the Shah of Iran's government, the contracts were cancelled when the 1979 Iranian Revolution began, and the ships were completed for the U.S. Navy. Because they were equipped with heavy-duty air conditioning and other features that made them suitable in hot climates, they tended to be used in the Middle East, specifically the Persian Gulf itself. During their service with the U.S. Navy the ships were popularly known as the "Ayatollah" or "dead admiral" class.
All four ships were decommissioned from the U.S. Navy in the late 1990s, and were initially offered for sale to Australia in 1997 for AU$30 million each.[1] In 1999, the offer was rejected, based on extensive problems the Royal Australian Navy had encountered during the acquisition of two surplus Newport class tank landing ships from the U.S. Navy in 1994.[1] After the Australian refusal, the four ships were offered to Greece, who also refused.[1]
The ships were anachronistically featured in 2001 film Pearl Harbor, in exploding scenes.
Contents |
Kee Lung class destroyer
In 2001, the US authorized their reactivation and sale to Taiwan. All four have been transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy. They were sold for a total price of US$732 million with upgraded hardware, overhaul, activation, and training, included reduced to 148 SM-2 Block IIIA and 32 RGM-84L Block II Harpoon anti-ship missiles.[2]
The first two ships, 995 and 994, arrived at Suao, a military port in eastern Taiwan, in December 2005, and were named Kee Lung (DDG-1801) and Su Ao (DDG-1802) in a commissioning ceremony on December 17, 2005. Following the tradition of ship class naming, ROCN has referred these vessels as Kee Lung class destroyers. Ships 993 and 996 were delivered in 2006, and named Tso Ying (DDG-1803) and Ma Kong (DDG-1805), respectively.
The opposition-led Legislature Yuan originally allocated only enough money to purchase half of the SM-2 missiles that the destroyers can carry; a further purchase of 100 supplemental SM-2MRs was included in the 2007 annual budget to ensure all four ships had a full load.
By end of 2008, DDG-1802 Su Ao was spotted to have 8 HF-3 AShMs installed in place of 8 Harpoon AShMs.[3]
List of ships
- Original name: USS Kidd (DDG-993)
- Tentative Iranian name: Kouroush
- Present name: Tso Ying (左營, DDG-1803); Commissioned on November 3, 2006
- Original name: USS Callaghan (DDG-994)
- Tentative Iranian name: Daryush
- Present name: Su Ao (蘇澳, DDG-1802); was to be Ming Teh (明德); Commissioned on December 17, 2005
- Original name: USS Scott (DDG-995)
- Tentative Iranian name: Nader
- Present name: Kee Lung (基隆, DDG-1801); was to be Chi Teh (紀德); Commissioned on December 17, 2005
- Original name: USS Chandler (DDG-996)
- Tentative Iranian name: Anoshirvan
- Present name: Ma Kong (馬公, DDG-1805); was to be Wu Teh (武德); Commissioned on November 3, 2006
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kidd class destroyers |
- Kidd-class guided missile destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- "World Navies Today: Taiwan (Republic of China)", Haze Gray & Underway.
- "DDG-993 KIDD-class", Globalsecurity.org.
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