USS Claude V . Ricketts ( DDG - 5 ) USS " Claude V . Ricketts " ( DDG - 5 ) , previously Biddle and DD - 955 , 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 CDR Paul Roth in command . " 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 . Multilateral Force . 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 , United Kingdom , 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 . Belknap collision . The " Claude V . Ricketts " ( DDG - 5 ) served as the rescue unit and tied up alongside USS " Belknap " after her collision with USS " John F . Kennedy " on 22 November 1975 - the twelfth anniversary of the assassination of the president so named . The cruiser was ablaze with exploding ammunition and magazines , but the guided - missile destroyer and her crewmen fought and limited damage . In the end , CG - 26 was knocked and melted to her 01 level , which is the next level above the main deck . Seven crewmembers aboard " Belknap " and one aboard the " Kennedy " were killed . Iranian Hostage Crisis . The " Claude V . Ricketts " ( DDG - 5 ) was making a port visit to Karachi , Pakistan when radical students invaded and took control of the embassy staff on November 4 , 1979 . The Ricketts was immediately tasked to proceed to the Persian Gulf area of operations to join with the " USS La Salle " ( AGF - 3 ) and remained for the next four months continuously at sea . Fog shrouded the area for the week after arrival and lifted to reveal the Iranian coastline less than 10 miles away . At one point four armed Iranian F - 4 Phantoms harassed the Ricketts with close fly - bys during refueling operations . The crew faced hardships as food stores dwindled . Full rations became half rations and then one third rations until the " USS Nimitz " ( CVN - 68 ) battlegroup arrived in January with food , mail , and other necessities . The Ricketts returned to Norfolk in March 1980 . Decommissioning . " Claude V . Ricketts " was decommissioned on 31 October 1989 at Norfolk Naval Station , Norfolk , VA , stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1990 and sold for scrap on 15 April 1994 , to NR Acquisitions of NYC and towed to Bethlehem Steel ' s old Fairfield yard in Baltimore , MD for scrapping by Wilmington Resources , Inc . of Wilmington , NC . Sale price $ 184 , 550 . 66 . The scrap contract was terminated on 1 October 1996 , and the Navy repossessed the ship on 18 October , and returned to NISMF Philadelphia and the ship was resold to Metro Machine , Incorporated , of Philadelphia Pennsylvania on 5 December 2001 . Scrapping was completed on 8 November 2002 . For other ships named " Biddle " , see USS " Biddle " . As of 2007 , there have been no other ships named for Claude V . Ricketts .