USS McLanahan (DD-615)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | USS McLanahan (DD-615) |
| Namesake: | Tenant McLanahan |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Pedro, California |
| Laid down: | 29 May 1941 |
| Launched: | 2 September 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 19 December 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 February 1946 |
| Struck: | 1 July 1971 |
| Fate: | scrapped in 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Benson-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,620 tons |
| Length: | 348 ft 4 in (106.17 m) |
| Beam: | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
| Draft: | 17 ft 4 in (5.28 m) |
| Speed: | 37.5 knots (69.5 km/h) |
| Complement: | 259 |
| Armament: | 4 x5 in (130 mm)/38 guns, 4 x 20 mm., 5 x 21 inch (533 mm) tt., 6 dcp. |
USS McLanahan (DD-615) was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second Navy ship named for Tenant McLanahan.
McLanahan was laid down 29 May 1941 by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Shipbuilding Division, San Pedro, California; launched 2 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy W. Howard; and commissioned 19 December 1942, Lieutenant Commander H. R. Hummer, in command.
McLanahan departed San Diego, California 19 February 1943 for assignment with Destroyer Squadron 16 (DesRon 16), Atlantic Fleet. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia 10 March and, after additional training at Casco Bay, Maine, and several coastal convoys, departed on her first transatlantic convoy, to Algeria, 28 April. She returned to the east coast 8 June, departing again for North Africa on the 11th. The destroyer arrived at Oran 21 June to prepare for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. From 6 to 15 July, she, with other units of Task Force 81 (TF 81), maintained an antisubmarine-antiaircraft screen to protect the invasion forces at Gela. She then returned to escort duties in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic.
During the next 9 months, her convoys suffered only three losses. In August 1943, Lieutenant Commander N. C. Johnson took command, and on 6 November, while en route to Naples from Oran, McLanahan's convoy was attacked by enemy aircraft which launched rocket bombs and torpedoes at the Allied ships. McLanahan escaped damage, but two merchantmen and one escort were lost. On 19 December 1943, a first birthday celebration was held for McLanahan in the Grand Ballroom of the St. George Hotel, Brooklyn, N.Y.[1]
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