USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850)
USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850) underway
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. underway in 1962
History
United States
NameJoseph P. Kennedy Jr
NamesakeJoseph P. Kennedy Jr.
BuilderFore River Shipyard
Laid down2 April 1945
Launched26 July 1945
Sponsored byMiss Jean Kennedy Smith
Commissioned15 December 1945
Decommissioned2 July 1973
Stricken1 July 1973
Identification
Nickname(s)Joey P
StatusMuseum ship at Battleship Cove
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeGearing-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 2,425 tons
  • 3,479 tons (fully loaded)
Length390 ft 6 in (119.02 m)
Beam40 ft 10 in (12.45 m)
Draft14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
Installed power4 × Babcock & Wilcox 615 psi (4.24 MPa) 850 °F (454 °C) superheated D-Type express boilers
Propulsion2 sets of high pressure, low pressure and cruising turbines (General Electric or Westinghouse) 60,000 shp (45,000 kW); 2 shafts and 12.5-foot (3.8 m) four-bladed propellers
Speed35.25 knots (65.28 km/h; 40.56 mph)
Range5,800 mi (5,000 nmi; 9,300 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement
  • 274 (14 officers, 260 enlisted) standard,
  • 345 (20 officers, 325 enlisted) wartime
Sensors and
processing systems
  • SPS 10 surface search radar
  • SPS40 air search radar
  • SQS23 long range sonar
Armament
Aircraft carriedDrone Anti-Sub Helicopter (DASH)
NotesFuel capacity of 96,000 US gal (360,000 L; 80,000 imp gal)
USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. is located in Massachusetts
USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Coordinates41°42′21″N 71°09′47″W / 41.7057°N 71.1631°W / 41.7057; -71.1631
Built1945
NRHP reference No.76000231
Significant dates
Added to NRHP11 December 1989[1]
Designated NHL29 June 1989[2]

USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850) is a former United States Navy Gearing-class destroyer. The ship was named after Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a naval aviator, son of the former U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., and older brother of future President John F. Kennedy. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. served, with interruptions for modernization, until 1973. Among the highlights of her service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. is on display as a museum ship in Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts. She was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 as one of a small number of surviving Gearing-class destroyers.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 23 January 2007.
  2. ^ "Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., USS (Destroyer)". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2012.