USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr (DD-850)
Among the waves at Battleship Cove floats a special piece of Kennedy family history. The USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr served through three wars, rescued Mercury astronauts, and faced down Soviet ships. Here’s the remarkable journey of a destroyer that’s now one of America’s most important naval museums.
Birth of a Destroyer
The story kicks off at Bethlehem Steel’s Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.
On July 26, 1945, with World War II still burning hot, the Kennedy family watched Jean Kennedy break a champagne bottle against the bow of a ship named for her dead brother.
Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., a navy pilot killed in 1944 during a secret bombing run over Normandy, would now live on as 2,400 tons of American naval might.
Workers slapped this destroyer together in just eight months and got her ready for action by December 15, 1945 – too late for WWII but just in time for the brewing Cold War.
The ship weighed 2,425 tons, stretched 390 feet long, and packed six 5-inch guns. She was a Gearing-class destroyer, the most cutting-edge type built during WWII, with a crew of 367 sailors.
Commander H.G. Moore took the first crack at running her. Kennedy cost about $6 million in 1945 money to build, and got hull number 850.
Finding Her Sea Legs
The fresh-from-the-factory destroyer left Boston on February 4, 1946, to work out the kinks in the warm Caribbean waters.
After fixing what needed fixing, she headed to her home base in Newport, Rhode Island, in April and spent the next months training weekend warriors from the Naval Reserve.
Later that year, she joined up with the battleship USS Wisconsin for a show-the-flag trip to Chile and Venezuela, even getting checked out by the Venezuelan President in November before heading home in December. During this journey, she went through the Panama Canal twice.
The ship fired her guns for the first time near Culebra Island off Puerto Rico. Robert F. Kennedy, who would later become Attorney General, hopped aboard as a 20-year-old apprentice seaman for this first big trip.
Peacekeeping in a Nervous World
Through 1947 and into 1948, Kennedy patrolled up and down the East Coast and around the Caribbean. In February 1948, after war games near Puerto Rico, she headed east to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. This wasn’t a vacation cruise.
Europe was a powder keg of tension, and the American fleet worked as both peacekeeper and muscle-flexer against the Soviets. Kennedy checked out various Mediterranean ports before coming back to Newport in June 1948.
The ship spent the rest of 1948 hunting fake subs in anti-sub drills. In 1949, she made two more training runs to the Caribbean. From August 1949 to January 1950, she played flagship for Destroyer Squadron 18 during her second Med cruise.
Korean War Action
When the North Koreans stormed south in June 1950, Kennedy trained hard for war, practicing shore bombing and convoy defense.
On January 3, 1951, she sailed for Japan, going through the Panama Canal, past Hawaii and Midway.
Once in Korean waters, the destroyer got her first taste of real combat. She guarded aircraft carriers as they launched attacks, patrolled the tense Taiwan Strait, and hammered North Korean targets with her guns.
Off Wonsan in May 1951, Kennedy spent nearly a month firing her 5-inch guns almost non-stop to support Allied troops. She linked up with Task Force 77 on February 8, 1951, exactly one month after leaving Newport.
The ship pumped over 1,500 shells from her main guns into enemy spots during her Korean tour. Her firepower helped Allied troops hold key islands during the brutal siege of Wonsan.
Around the World Journey
After wrapping up her Korean fighting tour, Kennedy didn’t just head straight home. Instead, she and other destroyers from Squadron 8 took the long way back, going all the way around the globe.
Sailing west, they hit Singapore, Bahrain, Port Said, Naples, and Gibraltar before finally pulling into Newport on August 9, 1951. It was a hero’s welcome for a ship that had proven her worth in combat and shown American naval power across the seven seas.
This 60-day trek covered over 25,000 nautical miles. The sailors crossed the equator, with first-timers getting dunked in the messy “Shellback” ritual.
At Port Said, they slipped through the Suez Canal, making Kennedy one of the first U.S. warships to use this key shortcut after WWII.
Cold War Missions
Through the mid-1950s, Kennedy switched between training off the American coast and trips with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.
In 1957, right after the Jordanian crisis cooled down with help from American ships, Kennedy joined carrier ops and then NATO war games off Norway.
The next year found her in the Persian Gulf with the Middle East Force, waving the flag in a hot spot that both sides wanted to control during the Cold War. She took part in arctic war games off northern Europe in November 1955.
The ship dropped anchor in Oslo, Norway and Bremerhaven, West Germany during these NATO exercises. In June 1956, Kennedy teamed up with battleships Iowa and New Jersey to haul Naval Academy midshipmen on their summer training cruise.
A Kennedy Watches a Kennedy
January 1961 brought a special job when the destroyer steamed to Washington, D.C. for the swearing-in of President John F. Kennedy, brother of her namesake.
That same year, she helped with Project Mercury space shots, backing up America’s first baby steps into space.
In September 1962, after a major refit, the Kennedy welcomed President Kennedy aboard to watch the America’s Cup Races off Newport – a brief calm before all hell broke loose. The exact date was September 15, 1962, just one month before the missile crisis hit.
First Lady Jackie Kennedy came along with her husband. The ship hosted White House reporters during the Cup races.
This meeting was the only time the president ever set foot on his brother’s namesake ship.
Extreme Makeover, Destroyer Edition
On July 1, 1961, Kennedy checked into the New York Naval Shipyard for a major Fleet Rehab And Modernization (FRAM) overhaul. This wasn’t just an oil change; they rebuilt her from the keel up.
During this big job, she got the newest sub-hunting gear, a helicopter landing pad and garage on her back end, and tons of other new stuff to keep her useful in the fast-changing Cold War navy.
When she came out looking like new in May 1962, Kennedy did hard-core training near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – weirdly, just months before that island would scare the world half to death. The refit cost $4.5 million (about $45 million today).
Workers cut a huge hole in her rear to add the helicopter deck. They swapped her old WWII-era guns for newer models. The ship got fresh sonar gear that could spot subs miles away.
Cuban Missile Crisis Showdown
In October 1962, Kennedy found herself smack in the middle of world-changing events. After spy planes spotted Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of the island.
The destroyer Kennedy, with that famous name, got picked for a high-profile job. On October 26, Kennedy and USS John R. Pierce (DD-753) stopped the Lebanese freighter Marucla.
Kennedy’s boarding party checked the ship, making it the first vessel officially stopped during the blockade. This bold move, the only time a U.S. destroyer boarded a Soviet-hired ship during the crisis, showed American backbone without starting World War III.
Lieutenant Harold Deeley led the boarding team. They checked the Marucla’s cargo for weapons but found only paper, trucks and baby food instead. Commander Nicholas S. Mikhalevsky captained Kennedy during this scary face-off.
Space Race Support
By the mid-1960s, Kennedy took on a new job backing America’s push into space. In November 1965, she sailed 1,200 nautical miles southeast of Bermuda to help recover the Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 spacecraft during their 14-day orbital mission.
The ship later backed up recovery operations for Gemini 12 in November 1966 and Apollo 4, helping make sure America’s astronauts got home safely as they pushed toward the moon. Gemini 7 splashed down on December 18, 1965, with Kennedy standing by.
Her helicopter pad made her perfect for picking up space travelers. The crew included sailors with special dive training for space capsule recovery. Kennedy’s radar could spot the returning space capsules as they fell by parachute.
Global Operations
On March 1, 1967, Kennedy left for another Mediterranean trip with the 6th Fleet. After cruising the Med until late April, she went through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Her trip home took the long way, going around the world instead of turning back. She sailed past the Cape of Good Hope and up through South America before getting back to Newport in July.
The ship spent her final working years doing readiness training and drills off the eastern seaboard. This marked her second complete trip around the world.
The ship visited the Gulf of Aden, a rare stop for U.S. warships in the 1960s. She logged over 60,000 miles during this one trip. Her route took her through all major oceans except the Arctic.
Retirement and Saving the Ship
After almost 30 years of non-stop service through three wars and countless operations, Kennedy got mothballed in early 1973.
On July 1, 1973, the Navy officially struck her from their list as part of the cutbacks after pulling out of Vietnam.
Thanks to her famous name and ties to the Kennedy family, people quickly made plans to save her from the scrap heap. They moved her to Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, where she became a floating museum.
Her last trip ended in Boston on January 4, 1973. She was one of just four Gearing-class destroyers saved from getting scrapped. The ship moved to Fall River by July 1973, just days after the Navy cut her loose, thanks to quick work by her old crew members.
Second Life as a Museum
Today, Kennedy serves as the official memorial to Massachusetts folks who died during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. She also houses the Admiral Arleigh Burke National Destroyermen’s Museum.
As the last surviving destroyer built in Massachusetts and the last U.S. Navy-style Gearing-class destroyer left in the world, Kennedy stands as a vital link to America’s naval past. She joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The ship became a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Visitors can check out the engine room, mess decks, combat info center, and crew sleeping areas. Twice yearly, navy veterans gather for “field days” to help keep the old girl shipshape.
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