Kinkaid (DD 965) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS KINKAID (DD-965) USS KINKAID (DD-965) is the third SPRUANCE class destroyer and the second to join the Pacific Fleet. KINKAID is homeported in San Diego, California. Designed and built by Ingalls Shipbuilding of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, KINKAID is a member of the first major class of surface ships in the United States Navy to be powered by gas turbine engines. Pour General Electric LM-2500 engines, marine versions of those used on DC-10 and C-5A aircraft, drive the ship at speeds in excess of 30 knots. Twin controllable reversible pitch propellers provide KINKAID with a degree of maneuverability unique among warships of her size. A highly versatile multi-mission destroyer, KINKAID is capable of operating independently or in company with Amphibious or Carrier Task Forces. The ship displaces 8200 tons and is 563 feet in length. KINKAID ' s primary mission is to operate offensively in an antisubmarine warfare role. KINKAID ' s sonar, the most advanced underwater detection and fire control system yet developed, is fully integrated with a digital Naval Tactical Data System, providing the ship with faster and more accurate processing of target information. Integration of the ship ' s digital g un fire control system into the NTDS provides quick reaction in the mission areas of shore bombardment, surface warfare, and antiaircraft warfare. The ship ' s weapons include two MK 45 lightweight 5 inch guns, two triple barrel MK32 torpedo tubes, an antisubmarine rocket (ASROC) launcher, and facilities for operating antisubmarine helicopters. The ship is armed with the NATO Seasparrow Missile System, a short range, surface to air defensive weapon, and the HARPOON Missile System, a medium range, surface to surface, anti-ship cruise missile. For defense against anti-ship missiles KINKAID employs the MK 23 Target Acquisition System Radar, two MK 15 (PHALANX) 20 mm Close-in Weapons Systems, Super RBOC Chaff, and topside armor. Crew comfort and habitability are an integral part of KINKAID ' s design. Berthing compartijients are spacious and the ship is equipped with amenities not usually found aboard other destroyers, including a crew ' s library, lounge, and gymnasium. Although KINKAID is as large as a World War II cruiser, a high degree of automation permits a reduced crew of 19 officers and 277 enlisted to operate the ship. KINKAID is one of the world ' s most modern destroyers with an advanced propulsion system and fully integrated combat systems. Her growth potential ensures she will remain a potent force for freedom for decades to come. Design Characteristics Statistics Built by Keel Laid Christened Commissioned Sponsor Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries Pascagoula, Mississippi 19 April 1973 1 June 1974 10 July 1976 Mrs. Thomas C. Kinkaic Length 563 Feet 4 Inches Beam 55 Feet Displacement 8200 Tons Personnel Officers 19 Enlisted 277 Armament 2 Five Inch 54 Caliber Lightweight Gun Mounts 1 ASROC Launcher 2 MK 32 Triple Barrel Torpedo Tubes 1 NATO Seasparrow Missile Launcher 8 HARPOON Missile Cannisters 2 PHALANX Close-in- Weapons-Systems 4 Super RBOC Chaff Launchers Speed 30 Plus Knots A Destroyer is a lovely ship, probably the nicest fighting ship of all. Battleships are a little like steel cities or great factories of destruction. Aircraft Carriers are floating flying fields. Even Cruisers are big pieces of machinery, but a Destroyer is all boat. In the beautiful clean lines of her, in her speed and roughness, in curious gallantry, she is completely a ship, in the old sense. John Steinbeck

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Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was born in Hanover, New Hampshire on April 3, 1888. He attended the U. S. Naval Academy graduating with the class of 1908. After graduation from the Naval Academy he served in the battleships NEBRASKA and MINNESOTA until September 1913, when he reported to the Postgraduate School, Annapolis, for instruction in Ordnance Engineer- ing. From 1916 to 1918 he served aboard the USS PENNSYLVANIA with service at the end of that tour with the British Admiralty. He was Gunnery Officer aboard USS ARIZONA 1918-1919 when she was an escort ship for President Woodrow Wilson, then enroute to the Peace Conference at Versailles. Following a cruise to Asia Minor he was ordered to Washington, D.C. for duties with the Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Department, where he remained until July 1922. From 1922 to 1930, Admiral Kinkaid served successively as Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander, U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters; as Commanding Officer of USS ISHERWOOD. at the Navy Yard, Naval Gun Factory, Washington, D. C. and as Fleet Gunnery Officer and Aide on the Staff of Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet. In 1930 he returned to Washington for duties in connection with the Treaty for the Limitation of Armaments, and in 1931 reported to the Secretary of State, then in Geneva, where he served as Technical Advisor in connection with studies relating to the Treaty. From 1933 to 1938, Admiral Kinkaii served as Executive Officer of USS COLORADO, with ti - Navy Department as Officer-in-Charge of the Officer ' s Detail Section and as Commanding Officer of the USS INDIANAPOLIS. In November of 1938 he was designated Naval Attache and U.S. Naval Attache for Air at the American Embassy, Rome, with additional duty from March 1939 to March 1941 as Naval Attache to the Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He commanded Destroyer Squadron Eight from June 1941 until his promotion to Rear Admiral in November. This assignment was followed with command successively of Cruiser Division Six, Pacific Fleet, and a Task Force which engaged in the Battle of the Solomon Islands and the Santa Cruz Islands. In the Battle of Guadalcanal, November 12-15, 1942, he commanded a Task Force built around the USS ENTERPRISE Air Support Group and Battleships, the first surface officer ever to command a Carrier Task Force. In January of 1943 he assumed command of the North Pacific Fleet and was responsible for ending the Japanese occupation of the Aleutians. From November 1943 to 1945, then Vice Admiral Kinkaid served as Commander, Allied Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area. In this capacity he supported General MacArthur ' s landings in this area and engineered the defeat of the Japanese Fleet at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Promoted to full Admiral in April 1945 he continued to serve as Commander, Seventh Fleet until the war ' s end. After the war he returned to the United States and served as Commander, Sixteenth Fleet until his retirement in May 1950. Admiral Kinkaid is the holder of four Distinguished Service Medals and numerous Campaign and Service Medals. In addition, he is Honorary Companion of the Order of the Bath, awarded by King George VI of Great Britain; Grand Officer, Order of the Orange Nassau with Swords, bestowed by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and other decorations from Chile, Belgium and China.

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OFll Commanding Officer CDR Gordon G. Higgle Lit I Commander Riggle grew up in Bethesda, Maryland and graduated from Lafayette College. He was commissioned through the Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. In his first sea tour, Commander Higgle served i n the Weapons Department of USS CHEVALIER (DD-805) in San Diego. During the Vietnam Conflict he was Officer-in-Charge of PCF-89, a fast coastal patrol boat based in Qui Nhon, Republic of Vietnam. Commander Higgle then attended the United States Naval Destroyer School and joined the commissioning crew of USS KNOX (FF-1052) as Operations Officer and Navigator. Commander Higgle ' s next assignment was in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Subsequently he became a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). Sea duty followed as Executive Officer of USS LUCE (DDG-7) homeported in Mayport, Florida. Returning to Washington, D.C., Commander Higgle was Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. In his most recent tour he was a member of the Chief of Naval Opeartions ' Long Range Planning Group (OP-OOX). Commander Higgle assumed command of USS KINKAID (DD-965) in July of 1980. Commander Higgle is a graduate with highest distinction of the Naval War College and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. He also completed the Program for Senior Executives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commenda- tion Medal with Combat V, and Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V.