_underway_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean_on_3_July_1943_(NH_103695).jpg) McKee underway off the U.S. East Coast, 3 July 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Namesake | Hugh W. McKee |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel Corporation,Orange, Texas |
| Laid down | 2 March 1942 |
| Launched | 2 August 1942 |
| Commissioned | 31 March 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 25 February 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 October 1970 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 2 January 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Fletcher-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,050 tons |
| Length | 376 ft 6 in (114.7 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 6500nm at 15 kn (12,000 km at 28 km/h) |
| Complement | 273 |
| Armament |
|
USSMcKee (DD-575) was aFletcher-classdestroyer, the third ship of theUnited States Navy to be named forLieutenantHugh W. McKee.
McKee was laid down 2 March 1942 byConsolidated Steel Corp.,Orange, Tex.;launched 2 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Richard A. Asbury, cousin of Lieutenant McKee; andcommissioned 31 March 1943.
After shakedown offGuantanamo Bay,McKee departedNorfolk, Va. on 6 July 1943 for thePacific in company withYorktown. Transiting thePanama Canal, the ships sailed intoHawaiian waters 24 July for a 3-month training period. Ordered to join Task Force 53 (TF 53) in theSouth Pacific,McKee arrivedNew Hebrides on 4 November, but was diverted to help cover aconvoy retiring from newly invadedBougainville Island in theSolomon Islands. During heavy air attacks the night of the 8thMcKee's20 mm guns splashed two enemy planes, the second after it had released atorpedo which passed beneath the ship. Refueling atFlorida Island 10 November she guardedcarriers for a successful air strike against theJapanese stronghold atRabaul,New Britain. The following afternoon the enemy lost over 50 planes in a retaliatory strike against the retiring ships.McKee accounted for oneMitsubishi G4M "Betty".
On 12 November, she at last reported to TF 53, now en route for the invasion of theGilbert Islands. She screened the larger combatant ships offTarawa from 19 November-7 December, then withdrew to theEllice Islands.
On 1 January 1944, she steamed intoPearl Harbor to prepare for theinvasion of Kwajalein scheduled for 31 January. On station that date she bombarded adjoiningEnubuj and provided close fire support. Screening and bombardment assignments continued until 3 February, when she began two escort missions toGuadalcanal terminating atEfate, New Hebrides.McKee sortied with TF 37 on 15 March, and participated with itsbattleships 5 days later in the diversionary shelling ofKavieng,New Ireland. The destroyer next covered the initial landings onHumboldt Bay,New Guinea on 23 April, and then escorted resupply convoys to the various beachheads of theHollandia operation.
In May and June, she prepared in the Solomons and theMarshall Islands for theinvasion of the Marianas. She sortied fromEniwetok on 17 July with Task Group 53.18 (TG 53.18). Scheduled fire commenced on the 21st inAgana Bay,Guam, as3rd Marine Division went ashore. Lying close enough offshore to seepillboxes and trenches,McKee delivered close support fire through 4 August, when she retired with a group of carriers to New Hebrides.
The need for an intermediary base and airfield for the recapture of thePhilippines led to the bombardment and seizure ofMorotai in theMoluccas beginning on 15 September. Meeting only light opposition,McKee and her force soon sailed back to Humboldt Bay, a staging area forLeyte. By mid-October, over 700 vessels were underway to see the6th Army safely ashore. On 20 October, asMcKee approached her designated area inLeyte Gulf, two natives paddled out fromSamar. Their information enabled the ship to destroy two camouflaged landingbarges, atug, and an ammunition dump. That same night she departed with a convoy ofLSDs for Humboldt Bay. A series of new convoy missions broughtMcKee toSan Francisco, California on 15 November.
On 10 January 1945, she sailed forUlithi where she joined theFast Carrier Task Force (then TF 58) on 7 February for strikes against the Japanese home islands. The task force's planes struckTokyo on 16, 17, and 25 February, hittingIwo Jima in between, in raids so destructive and successful that the enemy failed to retaliate against the carriers or their screen.
They returned a month later for strikes, beginning on 18 March, againstKyūshū to reduce airborne resistance to theOkinawa landings set for 1 April. This raid encountered much resistance askamikazes managed to penetrate thecombat air patrol and antiaircraft fire to reach the formation. This time,McKee found pilots to rescue, numbers of live targets for her antiaircraft guns, andsubmarine contacts for twodepth charge runs.
Air attacks increased in intensity beginning 6 April as this force of the5th Fleet sought to protect theOkinawa invasion force against a fanatically resistive enemy. On the 14th, whileMcKee patrolled on picket duty, four planes made runs on her. She splashed one and badly damaged another. The third crashed 50 feet (15 m) off her starboard bow, while the fourth missed her and crashed intoHunt. Three days later she shot down anA6M Zero attempting to crash her. On 21 April, she bombardedManimi Daito Shima. At the end of the month TG 58.1 retired to Ulithi for a 9-day replenishment and rest period.
Once underway againMcKee's carriers struck Kyūshū on 13 May, then followed an alternating pattern against the enemy in his home islands and on Okinawa. Meanwhile, 28 May,McKee joinedAdmiralWilliam Halsey's3rd Fleet. Eight days later, atyphoon with winds reaching 110 knots (200 km/h) threatened to be more damaging than the Japanese. Skillful seamanship broughtMcKee through with only minor damage.
Repaired and overhauled at Leyte, she joined TG 38.1 on 9 July off the Japanese coast. On the 30th, along with six other destroyers, she made the closest penetration of Japanese home waters up to that time as they swept intoSuruga Wan to shell analuminum plant and railroad yards atShimizu,Honshū. Despite theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and rumors of peace, airstrikes continued against the Tokyo area until 0900 15 August, whenJapan capitulated. The day before the official ceremony on boardMissouri,McKee turned homeward. She escortedWasp to Eniwetok. then steamed to Pearl Harbor where she joined TG 11.6 bound for the east coast.McKee arrivedCharleston, S.C., on 16 October, decommissioned there on 25 February 1946, and entered theAtlantic Reserve Fleet.
McKee was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 October 1970. She was sold on 2 January 1974 and broken up for scrap.
McKee received 11battle stars forWorld War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
