Arrrgh!
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A bit late. But did you know that there is only one ship, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, in the US navy, authorized to fly the jolly roger?
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A bit late. But did you know that there is only one ship, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, in the US navy, authorized to fly the jolly roger?
The US Navy destroyer USS Kidd was spotted flying the skull and crossbones as it returned to its homeport this week.
The Kidd is named after an admiral who was killed at Pearl Harbor, but the infamous pirate Captain Kidd has long been its mascot.
Three ships have been named Kidd, and they have been the only US Navy ships authorized to fly the Jolly Roger.
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The USS Kidd, despite an early COVID-19 setback shortly after the start of its deployment in April, had a relatively successful deployment, supporting counternarcotics operations and at one point assisting the Coast Guard in intercepting 805 kilograms of cocaine worth about $30 million, the Navy announced.
But that's not why the ship flies its pirate flag.
The first USS Kidd (DD-661) was a Fletcher-class destroyer named after Rear Adm. Isaac Kidd, who was killed aboard the battleship USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
The rear admiral had the nickname "Cap" — a reference to the Scottish pirate Captain William Kidd — when he went through the US Naval Academy.
The crew of the USS Kidd, which was commissioned in 1943, adopted the pirate as their mascot. On the USS Kidd's first voyage, the crew flew the Jolly Roger with the permission of the admiral's widow, Inez Kidd, who convinced Navy leaders to permit it. The crew of the USS Kidd became known as the "Pirates of the Pacific."
The USS Kidd is the only surface ship in the US Navy permitted to fly the flag of piracy.
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Other Navy vessels have also been known to fly nonstandard flags, such as the amphibious assault ship USS America, which was spotted earlier this year flying a blue battle flag with the iconic Captain America shield on it. -
Did you also know that the best example of a Fletcher class destroyed still in existence, is in Baton Rouge, berthed in the Mississippi River.
And did you know that is the ship upon which some of the scenes of Greyhound were filmed?
Not to mention, the Jolly Dodger flies on her masts everyday?
