This great ship served under the United States Navy
for 31 years in many military campaigns
and this website is dedicated to those men who served
onboard!
The MacKenzie was named for Lieutenant Commander
George Kenneth MacKenzie, U.S. Navy,
who lost his life during WWII while serving as Commanding
Officer of the USS
Triton SS201.
CLASS - GEARING As Built.
Displacement 3460 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 390'
6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14' 4" (Max)
Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x
20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared
Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 36.8 + Knots, Range 4500 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew
336.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bath
Iron Works, Bath ME December 21, 1944.
Launched May 13 1945 and commissioned July 13,
1945.
Decommissioned (?).
Stricken October 1, 1976.
Fate Sunk as target off California October 15,
1976.
Commissioned 13 July 1945, Cmdr. Alvin W. Slayden in command.
After shakedown off Cuba, MacKenzie returned to Boston 15 September
1945 and subsequently participated in the Navy Day
celebrations 27 October at Savannah, Ga. She served with the Operational
Development Force at Norfolk, her home port, and
conducted training exercises and escort duties along the Atlantic seaboard
until sailing 5 January 1948 on a goodwill tour to
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
MacKenzie returned to Norfolk 9 February after these duties as a "steel
gray diplomat" and continued peacetime operations, highlighted
by a Midshipman cruise June to July 1948 to Portugal, Italy, North
Africa, and Cuba. In October 1948 the destroyer sailed for the
Near East, where she supported the United Nations Palestine Patrol
and the allied occupation ofTrieste, returning to Newport for Christmas.
After overhaul at Boston until April 1949, George K. MacKenzie continued
peacetime training on the eastern seaboard, and made a "Med"
cruise from January to May 1950. When the uneasy truce in the Far East
was shattered by the North Korean aggression, George K. MacKenzie
was transferred to the Pacific. She arrived Pearl Harbor 1 July 1950
to prepare for wartime service.
During her first tour in Korea, 26 July 1950 to 30 January 1951, she
screened attack carriers during strikes on North Korean targeted and provided
close support for advancing Allied armies. After a repair period at
San Diego 15 February to 17 July 1951, she returned to perform the same
vital screening and support duties until April 1952.
George K. MacKenzie provided antisubmarine screening and fired several
important bombardment missions at Wonsan Harbor, 16 to 17 January
and again 23 February to 21 March 1953 in support of United Nations
forces. She lent effective fire support to troops in the vicinity of Suwon
Dan 15-19 April 1953 in company with Los Angeles and demolished sections
of the enemy's railroad along the eastern coast of Korea in May.
Homeported in San Diego and Long Beach, Calif., she completed a total
of nine tours of duty in the Far East, including training exercises and
duty
with the Taiwan patrol between 1953 and 1959.
George K. MacKenzie's homeport was changed to Yokosuka, Japan, 15 February
1960 as she continued her peacetime training duties, visiting
Hong Kong, the Philippines and other Far Eastern ports, including those
in Japan. In 1961 George K. MacKenzie sailed from Subic Bay, P.I. 23 March
to rendezvous with carriers Midway and Lexington in the South China
Sea to act during the Laos crisis as a powerful on-the-spot force, if needed.
Fortunately, the crisis passed; and after further operations George
K. MacKenzie put in at her new home port of New York 11 December 1962.
She
entered Brooklyn Navy Yard for modernization, returning to sea in October
1963. George K. Mackenzie then made preparations to return to her new
homeport of Long Beach, Calif., where she arrived 28 January 1964 to
prepare for extended duty in the Far East. She left the West Coast 26 May
and
reached Yokosuka, Japan, 13 June to begin over 2 years of continuous
service in Oriental waters operating alternately in Japanese waters and
off Vietnam
fighting to repel Communist aggression. She specialized inscreening
aircraft carriers and shelling Communist positions ashore. The battle-tested
destroyer
returned to Long Beach 3 August 1966 for a major overhaul to prepare
for future action.
In mid-1967 she was again in the Far East aiding in the struggle to save Southeast Asia.
On 29 July, at Yankee Station, The USS Forrestal sustained a catastrophic
carrier fire while launching a major air strike
against North Vietnam. The Mack provided valuable assistance by coming
close alongside the stricken carrier for
nearly two hours to assist in fighting the fire, but the conflagration
below decks raged on for 14 hours.
She suffered significant damage from exploding bombs on her flight
deck and a devastating fire, killing
over 130 crewman and pilots with 63 more injured. The loss of
21 planes, partial destruction
of 31 others, and damage to the ship put Forrestal out of action for
many months.
It never returned to Yankee Station.
