USS Biddle/Claude V. Ricketts (DD-995/DDG-5), was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the third US Naval ship named after Nicholas Biddle, one of the first five captains of the Continental Navy.
Originally to be designated as DD-955, the ship was laid down as DDG-5 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey on 18 May 1959, launched on 4 June 1960 and commissioned as USS Biddle on 5 May 1962, at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Biddle was renamed to Claude V. Ricketts on 28 July 1964 in honor of Admiral Claude V. Ricketts, who had died on 6 July 1964.
Service history
As USS Biddle
Biddle operated in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea as part of the Second Fleet until the end of 1963. Biddle participated in naval activity near Cuba in weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A Navy Expeditionary Medal was awarded for service from 19 August 1962 to 28 September 1962. Biddle made her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea at the close of 1963 returning to Norfolk in March 1964.
Mixed manning experiment and the decade that followed
From June 1964 to end of 1965 Claude V. Ricketts was part of a mixed-manning experiment for a proposed Multilateral Force (MLF). Its crew consisted of 10 officers and 164 crew from the US Navy with the remainder filled by sailors from West Germany, Italy, Greece, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Though the MLF never was created, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze stated that the project on Claude V. Ricketts was successful. The ship's crest includes the NATO insignia. A Navy Unit Commendation was awarded for the 18-month period.
According to Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze, Admiral Claude V. Ricketts had made great contributions to the concept of mixed manning and a Multilateral Force. Because of this, he thought it appropriate to rename USS Biddle in Ricketts' honor while the ship was conducting a mixed-manning experiment on 28 July 1964.
Her visit to Washington, D.C. in October 1964, was memorialized by painter, Gerard Richardson.
After the manning experiment, Claude V. Ricketts made deployments to the Mediterranean Sea from 1966 to 1973. She also made a northern European cruise in July 1972. Claude V. Ricketts deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in August 1973 and returned to Norfolk in January 1974. Shortly after her return, the ship entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a ten-month overhaul returning to service in January 1975. She completed refresher training and ship trials in the Caribbean Sea from March to May 1975.
Belknap collision
[[File:DN-SN-87-07340 USS Claude V. Ricketts damaged by firefighting of USS Belknap.jpeg|thumb|left|Damage received while fighting fires on Belknap.]] In July 1975, Claude V. Ricketts deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. Claude V. Ricketts served as the rescue unit and tied up alongside USS Belknap (CG-26) after her collision with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) on the night of 22 November 1975. Belknap was ablaze with exploding ammunition from the storage lockers for her two 3-inch guns, but the crew of the Claude V. Ricketts battled the conflagration for 7 hours and limited the damage, evacuating the injured while fragments from exploding ammunition showered down upon her decks. In the end, CG-26 was knocked and melted nearly to her main deck. Seven crew members aboard Belknap and one aboard John F. Kennedy were killed. A Navy Unit Commendation was awarded for service during the time period. Claude V. Ricketts returned to Norfolk in January 1976.
On October 4, 1976, Claude V. Ricketts deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. There was also a trip to Kenya to commemorate the 13th anniversary of their independence. Just six weeks after returning to Norfolk, the ship deployed for a six-week operation with the Brazilian Navy. A Navy Expeditionary Medal was awarded for service from 1 October 1976 to 30 September 1977. From September 1977 to October 1978, Claude V. Ricketts was in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for an overhaul. She returned to Norfolk in April 1979 after refresher training and trials.