Kidd-Class Guided-Missile Destroyers

The Shah's destroyers that became America's most powerful. Four guided-missile destroyers ordered by Imperial Iran, stranded by the 1979 revolution, and completed for the U.S. Navy. Built on the Spruance hull but armed with the combat system of Virginia-class nuclear cruisers, the Kidd class were triple-threat warships - the most formidable multi-purpose destroyers of their era. Each ship was named for an admiral killed in the Pacific during World War II. Heavy-duty air conditioning and sand filtration made them built for the Persian Gulf. After 17 years of U.S. service, all four were transferred to Taiwan where they remain in service as the Kee Lung class.