USS Kidd (DDG-993)

USS Kidd (DDG-993) underway at Hampton Roads, Virginia in February 1984.
History
United States
Name:	USS Kidd
Namesake:	Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd
Ordered:	23 March 1978
Builder:	Litton Ingalls, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Laid down:	26 June 1978
Launched:	11 August 1979
Acquired:	4 May 1981
Commissioned:	27 March 1981
Decommissioned:	12 March 1998
Struck:	12 March 1998
Motto:	Nil Sine Magno Labore
Fate:	Museum Ship in Baton Rouge;
General characteristics
Class and type:	Kidd-class destroyer
Displacement:	9,783 tons full
Length:	171.6 m (563 ft)
Beam:	16.8 m (55 ft)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 80,000 shp total
Speed:	33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Complement:	31 officers 332 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-48E 3D air search radar AN/SPS-49 2D air search radar SPG-60 gun fire control radar AN/SPG-51 missile fire control radar AN/SPS-55 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9A gun fire control radar SQS-53 sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32(V)3
Armament:	Two × twin Mk 26 missile launchers for the Standard Missile SM-2MR with magazines for 80 missiles Two × Mark 141 quad launchers for eight RGM-84 Harpoon missiles Two Mark 45 5 in (127 mm) – 54 calibre rapid-fire naval guns Two × Mark 15 20 mm Phalanx CIWS self-defense cannon Two Mark 32 triple tube mounts with 6 × Mark 46 torpedoes
Aircraft carried:	One SH-3 Sea King or Two SH-2 Seasprite helicopters

USS Kidd (DDG-993) was the lead ship in her class of destroyers operated by the U.S. Navy. Derived from the Spruance-class, these vessels were designed for air defense in hot weather. The vessel was the second named after Medal of Honor recipient Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was aboard USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was the first American flag officer to die in World War II.

Originally named Kouroush, the ship was ordered by the Shah of Iran, but was undelivered when the 1979 Iranian Revolution occurred. Subsequent to this, the U.S. Navy elected to commission the Kidd-class for service in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean, as they were equipped with heavy-duty air conditioning and were also well suited to filtering sand and the results from NBC warfare. Kidd-class ships were known in the fleet informally as the "Ayatollah" or "dead admiral" class.

USS Kidd was commissioned 27 June 1981 at Pascagoula, Mississippi.

On 8 December 1982 the destroyer deployed to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean under the command of Commander William J. Flanagan, Jr.. While in the Mediterranean Sea, USS Kidd visited the ports of Palma, Majorca, Spain; Beirut, Lebanon; and Catania, Italy. She visited the ports of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, and Mombasa, Kenya, while on station in the Indian Ocean before returning to the Mediterranean and calling on Benidorm, Spain. The deployment ended with her return to Norfolk on 2 June 1983. In September 1983, Kidd was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E".