.gif)
USS McKean (DD-90)
Encyclopedia
USS McKean (DD-90/APD-5) was a Wickes-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during the World War II
. She was the first ship named in honor of William Wister McKean
.
McKean was laid down by Union Iron Works
, San Francisco, California
, 12 February 1918; launched 4 July 1918; sponsored by Miss Helen La Monte Ely; and commissioned at San Francisco 25 February 1919, Lieutenant Commander
Raleigh C. Williams in command.
from 1919 to 1922, made a cruise to Europe
an waters between May and July 1919, operated primarily out of New York and Charleston
, and decommissioned at Philadelphia
19 June 1922. Reclassified APD-5 on 2 August 1940, she recommissioned at Norfolk
11 December 1940, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Burrows in command, and resumed duty with the fleet.
in the Pacific
7 December 1941, McKean departed the east coast 10 May 1942 and reached the South Pacific
20 July to prepare for the invasion of the Solomons
. She landed troops at Tulagi
7 August and during the next several months made escort and supply runs from bases in New Caledonia
and the New Hebrides
to American positions in the southern Solomons in support of the Guadalcanal campaign
. She departed the South Pacific 31 January 1943, and after completing a cruise to the west coast for overhaul, she resumed escort and patrol operations between the New Hebrides and the Solomons 21 June. Between July and November, she took part in amphibious operations in the central Solomons, landing troops at beachheads on New Georgia
and Rendova. In addition she patrolled the waters off Guadalcanal
and up the Slot to New Georgia.
In October, she completed preparations for operations in the Treasury Islands and Bougainville. She landed fighting men on Mono Island
27 October, including a construction team which installed a vital search radar in less than a week’s time. Following the American naval victory over Japan
ese forces in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
during the darkness of 2 November, McKean steamed with a reinforcement convoy to Bougainville and on the 6th landed Marines
near Cape Torokina
, Empress Augusta Bay. She carried additional troops to Bougainville 11 November, thence returned to Guadalcanal for yet another troop run.
With 185 marines embarked, McKean sailed up the slot late 15 November. As she approached Empress Augusta Bay early 17 November, she was attacked by the SFPO Gintaro Kobayashi's (of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
's 702 Kokutai) Mitsubishi G4M
"Betty" torpedo plane, which launched a torpedo off the starboard quarter. McKean turned to avoid the deadly weapon; but at 0350 the torpedo struck the starboard side, exploding the after magazine and depth charge spaces and rupturing fuel oil tanks. Flaming oil engulfed McKean aft of the No. 1 stack, and she lost all power and communications. Burning oil on the water killed men who were blown or jumped overboard. Her skipper, Lieutenant Commander Ralph L. Ramey, ordered her abandoned at 0355; at 0400 she began to sink by the stern. He went over the side 12 minutes later; her forward magazine and oil tank exploded at 0415; and her stacks disappeared at 0418. 64 of her complement and 52 of her embarked troops died from the explosions or flames. The survivors were picked up by rescuing destroyer
s.
Wickes class destroyer
The Wickes-class destroyers were a group of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917-1919. Along with the 6 preceding Caldwell class and 155 subsequent Clemson-class destroyers, they formed the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" class. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was the first ship named in honor of William Wister McKean
William McKean
William Wister McKean was an admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was noted for his service in the Union blockade that effectively closed Confederate seaports in the Gulf of Mexico....
.
McKean was laid down by Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...
, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, 12 February 1918; launched 4 July 1918; sponsored by Miss Helen La Monte Ely; and commissioned at San Francisco 25 February 1919, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Raleigh C. Williams in command.
Service history
McKean served in the AtlanticAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
from 1919 to 1922, made a cruise to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an waters between May and July 1919, operated primarily out of New York and Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, and decommissioned at Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
19 June 1922. Reclassified APD-5 on 2 August 1940, she recommissioned at Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
11 December 1940, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Burrows in command, and resumed duty with the fleet.
World War II
Following the outbreak of warAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
7 December 1941, McKean departed the east coast 10 May 1942 and reached the South Pacific
South Pacific Area
The South Pacific Area was a multinational U.S.-led military command active during World War II. It was a part of the U.S. Pacific Ocean Areas under Admiral Chester Nimitz.Instructions to the senior U.S...
20 July to prepare for the invasion of the Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. She landed troops at Tulagi
Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo
The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied ground forces. It took place from 7–9 August 1942 on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal...
7 August and during the next several months made escort and supply runs from bases in New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
to American positions in the southern Solomons in support of the Guadalcanal campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
. She departed the South Pacific 31 January 1943, and after completing a cruise to the west coast for overhaul, she resumed escort and patrol operations between the New Hebrides and the Solomons 21 June. Between July and November, she took part in amphibious operations in the central Solomons, landing troops at beachheads on New Georgia
Battle of New Georgia
The New Georgia Campaign was a series of battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific...
and Rendova. In addition she patrolled the waters off Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
and up the Slot to New Georgia.
In October, she completed preparations for operations in the Treasury Islands and Bougainville. She landed fighting men on Mono Island
Mono Island
Mono Island is the largest island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at .- Geography :Mono island is a volcanic island in the northwest of the Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other coral islands surrounding it. The village of Falamai is...
27 October, including a construction team which installed a vital search radar in less than a week’s time. Following the American naval victory over Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese forces in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943—also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle of Bougainville Bay Shore —was a naval battle fought near the island of Bougainville...
during the darkness of 2 November, McKean steamed with a reinforcement convoy to Bougainville and on the 6th landed Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
near Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina is a promontory at the north end of Empress Augusta Bay, along the central part of the southeastern coast of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea....
, Empress Augusta Bay. She carried additional troops to Bougainville 11 November, thence returned to Guadalcanal for yet another troop run.
With 185 marines embarked, McKean sailed up the slot late 15 November. As she approached Empress Augusta Bay early 17 November, she was attacked by the SFPO Gintaro Kobayashi's (of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
's 702 Kokutai) Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
"Betty" torpedo plane, which launched a torpedo off the starboard quarter. McKean turned to avoid the deadly weapon; but at 0350 the torpedo struck the starboard side, exploding the after magazine and depth charge spaces and rupturing fuel oil tanks. Flaming oil engulfed McKean aft of the No. 1 stack, and she lost all power and communications. Burning oil on the water killed men who were blown or jumped overboard. Her skipper, Lieutenant Commander Ralph L. Ramey, ordered her abandoned at 0355; at 0400 she began to sink by the stern. He went over the side 12 minutes later; her forward magazine and oil tank exploded at 0415; and her stacks disappeared at 0418. 64 of her complement and 52 of her embarked troops died from the explosions or flames. The survivors were picked up by rescuing destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s.