USS Kidd, Military museum ship on Mississippi River in Downtown Baton Rouge, United States.
The USS Kidd is a Fletcher-class destroyer on the Mississippi in Baton Rouge that now serves as a floating museum. The warship extends across several decks with guns, torpedo tubes, and original navigation equipment that give visitors insight into life aboard.
Launched on 28 February 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding in Kearny, New Jersey, and commissioned that April, the Kidd was named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, killed on USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. She fought in the Pacific from 1943, was hit by a kamikaze on 11 April 1945 off Okinawa, losing 38 men, and was decommissioned in 1946. Recommissioned in 1951 for the Korean War, she served until 1964 and is now a museum ship in Baton Rouge.
The crew adopted pirate captain William Kidd as their mascot, and a local artist painted a pirate figure on the forward smokestack. The ship also appeared in the 2020 film Greyhound. Visitors can look for the pirate painting while touring the decks.
The museum is open daily and offers self-guided tours through the narrow passageways and steep ladders of the ship. Comfortable closed-toe shoes are recommended as some areas have uneven surfaces and low overhead clearances.
The destroyer still carries battle damage from a kamikaze attack in 1945, which was intentionally preserved during restoration. The radar room displays functioning equipment that visitors can operate under guidance.
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