USS MacKenzie (DD-614)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS MacKenzie.
History
United States
NameUSS MacKenzie (DD-614)
NamesakeAlexander Slidell MacKenzie
Builder
San Pedro, California
Laid down29 May 1941
Launched27 June 1942
Commissioned21 November 1942
Decommissioned4 February 1946
Stricken1 July 1971
FateSunk in fleet exercises on 1 June 1974
General characteristics
Class and typeBenson-class destroyer
Displacement1,620 tons
Length348 ft 4 in (106.17 m)
Beam36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Draft17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)
Speed37.5 kts (69.5 km/h)
Complement259
Armament4 x
21 inch (533 mm)
tt., 6dcp.

USS MacKenzie (DD-614) was a

Lieutenant Commander Alexander Slidell MacKenzie
.

MacKenzie was laid down 29 May 1941 by the

San Pedro, California
; launched 27 June 1942; sponsored by Miss Gail Nielsen, descendant of Lieutenant Commander MacKenzie; and commissioned 21 November 1942.

Service history

MacKenzie transited the Panama Canal 1 March 1943, after completion of shakedown and training cruises, and continued on to spend her entire World War II career in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters. She arrived at Casco Bay, Maine, 13 March and commenced coastwise escort duties. In May, she graduated to transatlantic convoy assignments, completing two voyages to the Mediterranean Sea by the end of June. On 16 May, she made two depth charge attacks on a sonar contact; postwar review of German records proved them successful in the sinking of U-182.

Relieved of transatlantic duties at the end of June, she reported to the staging area for the “Cent” Attack Force, one of three such forces to initiate the

campaign. On 9 July she departed the north African coast, arriving at Scoglitti, Sicily, the next day to screen the transport vessels and provide fire support. Three days later, the destroyer returned to convoy duty, conducting convoys between the United States and the Mediterranean until 7 October, and then engaging in escort work between North America and the United Kingdom. After repairs at Swansea, Wales
, in the late autumn, she made two more ocean crossings before beginning operations in the Mediterranean.

On 18 March 1944, MacKenzie steamed into the harbor at

Boston, Massachusetts
and a 5-month repair and overhaul period.

The destroyer took up duty in the Mediterranean again in February 1945 and from 28 March through 21 April spent her days in the bombardment of the Franco-Italian border and her nights on the blockade of the

Third Reich
, cruising its waters until returning to the United States in July.

Upon her arrival, MacKenzie underwent overhaul preparatory to going to the Pacific. But, with the end of Pacific hostilities in mid-August, her orders were changed and on 4 November she entered the

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 July 1971 and sunk in fleet exercises on 1 June 1974.

Awards

MacKenzie received four

battle stars
for World War II service.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

External links

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