USS Biddle/Claude V. Ricketts (DD-955/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
thumb|left|Biddle during sea trials, 1962.
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. The ship's crest includes the NATO insignia. A Navy Unit Commendation was awarded for the 18-month period.
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.
- Navy Unit Commendation, for service from 1 June 1964 to 1 December 1965,