The 2010 Fourth of July

Star-Spangled Celebration

A New Perspective on a Very Old Grudge Match:  USS KIDD vs. the Zero

Dateline:  June 11, 2010—Most days, riverfront of downtown Baton Rouge is quiet and peaceful.  But every year on July 4^th, that calm tranquility is shattered as the USS KIDD goes back to war.

In an annual naval-air dogfight that has become a tradition in the Capital City, the veteran destroyer takes on several vintage "Japanese" warbirds that gives the public just a taste of World War II era combat.  In her day, the KIDD took on the best and brightest that the Axis powers had to throw at her.  Today, she continues to fight ... but just once per year.  After all, she is sixty-six years old.  By human standards, she should be drawing her social security as a bona fide senior citizen.

One of the most immaculately restored vessels in an Historic Fleet of 175 vessels found across five continents, the KIDD remains capable of firing three of her five 5"/38-cal. guns in defense of the city.  Her smaller 20mm anti-aircraft guns were once capable of being fired but have been disabled for safety purposes.  Even so, the larger guns pack quite a punch.  They normally fired a 17-lb. powder charge for maximum effect and range but now fire only one (1) pound for the reenactment and salutes. Anything larger would begin to shatter windows in the downtown area.

The business-end of one of the USS KIDD's 5"/38-cal. guns.

Photo courtesy of Bob Holt.

The USS KIDD's 5"/38-cal. guns open fire on attacking aircraft.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin A. Fernandez.

Those 5"/38-cal. guns are considered by naval historians as one of the best dual-purpose guns of World War II, used for anti-aircraft defense, shore bombardment, and ship-to-ship combat.  The average rate of fire for these weapons was 15 rounds per minute but with a well-trained crew of 11 men, twenty-two rounds per minute was not unheard of for short periods of time.  Many visitors to the KIDD call the big guns "cannons" but in reality they are large caliber rifles with grooves on the barrels' interiors to make the projectile (or bullet) spin as it is fired.  Those projectiles are 55 pounds in weight and can be fired a maximum distance of 10.23 miles.

Interesting facts, right?  Well, let's put it into a real world perspective.

From where she lies docked in the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge, the KIDD's guns can strike the Pecue Lane overpass at I-10 on the southeast outskirts of town.  To the east, she can lay down a line of fire just behind the Target shopping center at the intersection of I-12 and Millerville Road.  To the northeast, her field of fire encompasses the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, extending to the intersection of Plank and Groom Roads.  To the southwest, she can land shells on the outskirts of the city of Plaquemine at the intersection of Homestead Drive and LA Highway 1.  Enemy forces to the west along I-10 would enter the range of her guns somewhere between Choctaw and Caney Bayous and her fire would fall just shy of Grand Bayou on U.S. Hwy. 190.  Fortunately for the "enemy", the KIDD can only fire blank charges these days.

Here's a little info on the competition:  the Mitsubishi A6M Zero.  This infamous World War II aircraft mounted a radial engine capable of 950 hp, capable of attaining maximum speeds of 331 mph at nearly 15,000 feet of altitude.  Incredibly agile due to its light weight construction, the Zero carried two 7.7 mm machine guns in its fuselage and two wing-mounted 20mm guns.  For bombing missions, the aircraft could drop two 132-lb. bombs.  For suicide missions (i.e. kamikazes), two 551-lb. bombs could be loaded in a fixed position.

A T-6 Texan aircraft converted and painted to resemble a

Mitsubishi Zero fighter trails smoke during a reenactment.

Photo courtesy of Monty Marion.

Of course, very few Zeros survive in flyable condition so many film companies and warbird enthusiasts convert the plentiful North American T-6 Texan trainer aircraft to stand-in for the Zero. The Texan's 600 hp radial engine allows it to attain a maximum speed of 208 mph at 5,000 feet of altitude.  Used for pilot training, the Texan could carry up to three 7.72 mm machine guns.

In a note of irony, the KIDD has now fought the annual Independence Day battle for more years than she saw active service in the Navy.  In the past twenty-three years, she has been "attacked" and "supported" by numerous types of vintage aircraft.  On one side, the enemy:  an actual Mitsubish A6M Zero and the ubiquitous T-6 Texans.  Flying cover as allied fighters:  a British Supermarine Spitfire, a North American P-51 Mustang, and a Curtiss P-40N Warhawk.  A Douglas DC-3 Dakota transport, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, and even an old Boeing Steerman biplane from the 1930s round out the menagerie of aircraft that have appearanced.  Pilots from near and far

have flown these warbirds against the KIDD, feeling the concussion of those down-sized blasts from her main battery vibrate their aircraft.  In recent years, aviators Dan Fordice and Dr. Stan Musick of the Mississippi Wing of the Commemorative Air Force have joined Louisiana pilots like Joe Hartung, John Fallis, and Dick Spears in thrilling the crowds.

F-15 Eagle jet fighters of the Louisiana Air National

Guard will be on hand on the Fourth of July.

USS KIDD is under attack on the Fourth of July.

Artwork copyright of Wilbur Rogers & Art Colley.

 Used by permission.

F-15 Eagle jet fighters from the 122^nd Fighter Squadron of the Louisiana Air National Guard will start things off this year with a boom by buzzing both the ship and the crowds on the riverfront.

So grab your helmet and your lifejacket and come down to the riverfront on this Fourth of July and be part of a Baton Rouge tradition.  It will be the thrill of a lifetime that you'll never forget.

Intelligence Report                CLASSIFIED:  TOP SECRET

File # J2A-7357-BR                Subject:  Air Raid—Video Surveillance

PHOTO OF PAST ATTACK—2000

(Above Left) The KIDD survives a near miss as her attacker climbs for clear sky.

(Above Right) Two enemy aircraft fly in formation as they prepare to attack the KIDD.

Photos by F. Keith Adkinson.

HOW DO I GET THERE?  WHERE DO I PARK?

The parking garages listed below will be open on July 4^th at the times listed.  For more information on parking downtown, visit the Downtown Development District website.

**Copyright 1997-2010 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**