Kidd (DDG 993) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 136 text:

OiU ' ol llir higgfst missions for coalilion na al iorccs in liic NOriiicin Persian Gulf both during aiui ahci iIr- war was that of clfaning thi- lloating, moored, and bottom mines |)lante(l h the Iraqis. The effe ii -ness of tluse relativel ' inexpensi c and inisopliisti- cated weapons was made all too clear bv the damage thev caused to USS TRIPOU and USS PRINCETON. Two mines together costing onl a few thou- sand dollars caused millions oi clollais of damage to tliese two shi|)s. 1 he niinesweeping operation was iruh a multi-national effort iuNohing assets from Germany, Britain, |apan, as well as the United States. The existence of mines in the Per- sian Gulf was known and the effort to clear them was begun before TRIPOLI and PRINCETON were hit. A tremen- dous aid in clearing the mines came in the form of a captured Iraqi chart which indicated where mines had been laid. But the biggest variable in the mine clearing effort was still the float- ing mines which drifted with ocean i I ' ll., I. .1,1 AU ' J I •hummK Ii p llglil: , n MH ■.( hrl us sk-d. .Xhovi- mkIh A l.niiu iii.ulc mm. ...luicsv ..I llie EngiiK-ris AI ,,M An l,.i.|i iiihk is .l.h.ii.ii cd bv .111 KOI) u-.uii R)i;l.i KIDD u.is .u . i .iliicd uilh III.- I. .,ili..ii .iiid il.siiu. iH,n ..I s.vci.d I iii.enls. While MH-. )!-; .Sea Siallion heli o|)tei s. . merican M.SO ' s and .MG.M ' s. and other coalilion i-ssels concentrated on huniing, swee])ing. ,ind destroying the moon-d and bot- tom mines. KIDD and other ships like KIDD with KOI) teams embarked con- centrated on spotting and destro ing the floating mines. .A aluable asset in peiforming this mission were the heli- copters of HSI,-34. The altittide, range, and mobilirs ' advantages inherent to a helicopter were essential for extending the isiial search l)i- ()U(l the range oi the ship. « » » , »» I ' ll,.!.. s I I llil ,S2

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' 4 J.U k riir liltcis i((|uii((l 1 t|)l.i( ciiHiil Acn Kl- ' JO iniiiults and thr Knginccis WW l).ii l .ililc 1(1 kcf]) u]) with till- 1(111.111(1. l (i iKiw ,111(1 llicii .1 loud liiiiik (ould l)c lu-.utl as thf blow-JTi 1(1(11 S (l|Hllfd. Ph..l.. In IK-L ' Smilh 131

Page 137 text:

I ' h..i. hv AU.Mlai Ali.ni-: KOD tram u■ln H•l | if|M,r a n.MUni; niuu- lor clfsuiu iioii. BcNiw: Siiauli oiii- more- mine. Below right: The fust ol . ) Iloaiing mines Ph.m, b IT Fnivh explodes while L ' H-l helo stands off at a safe dis- tance. Then in the middle Mav. KIDD ' s mint-hunting mission expanded with the addition of Green CHiecker 230 and the expeiimental minehiinting equipment installed on it. But his new mission was short-lived because our time in the gtill was quirkh coming to an (.nd. Pli..i. b% AW2 I I.I 133