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| USS Dixie (AD-14) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | USS Dixie (AD-14) |
| Ship class | Dixie-class destroyer tender |
| Builder | Puget Sound Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 26 January 1942 |
| Launched | 28 November 1942 |
| Commissioned | 12 January 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 30 September 1982 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 1983 |
| Displacement | 9,000 tons (standard) |
| Length | 529 ft |
| Beam | 73 ft |
| Draft | 25 ft |
| Propulsion | Steam turbines |
| Speed | 17.5 kn |
| Complement | 1,200 |
| Armament | 2 × 5 in guns, 4 × 40 mm AA, 6 × 20 mm AA |
USS Dixie (AD-14) was a Dixie-class destroyer tender of the United States Navy commissioned in 1943. Built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, she provided repair, maintenance, logistics, and afloat support for destroyers and other warships through World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Dixie served at major forward bases including Pearl Harbor, Ulithi, and Subic Bay, and was decommissioned in 1982.
Laid down at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 26 January 1942 and launched on 28 November 1942, she was sponsored by Mrs. N. B. Cook and commissioned on 12 January 1943 under the command of Captain Frank E. Beatty Jr. The design followed the requirements set by the Bureau of Ships for fleet tenders to support destroyer squadrons and carrier escort groups assigned to Pacific operations, integrating heavy machine shops, foundries, and medical facilities to sustain long deployments.
After shakedown training at San Diego, California and availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Dixie sailed to Pearl Harbor to join the logistic train supporting the United States Pacific Fleet. She conducted repair operations for ships returning from the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Marianas campaign, and the Palau Islands campaign, servicing destroyers, destroyer escorts, and patrol craft. Detached to forward bases, Dixie operated at Majuro Atoll, Eniwetok Atoll, and ultimately at Ulithi Atoll, where she served as a principal repair ship during the Philippine campaign (1944–45) and the Battle of Leyte Gulf aftermath. Her crews performed hull repairs, engine overhauls, and electronics calibrations for vessels from task forces under Admirals Chester W. Nimitz, William F. Halsey Jr., and Hiram F. H. Willard-era commands, enabling sustained carrier operations during the Battle of Okinawa and supporting logistics for the Tokyo raids. Postwar, Dixie participated in occupation support at Tokyo Bay and assisted demobilization efforts across Okinawa and Subic Bay.
With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Dixie was quickly deployed to the western Pacific to support the United Nations Command naval forces. Operating from bases including Sasebo, Japan and Pusan, she tended destroyers screening carriers such as those of Task Force 77 and repaired ships damaged by shore batteries and mines during the Inchon landing and subsequent coastal operations. During the 1950s and 1960s Dixie alternated deployments between Long Beach Naval Shipyard availability periods and forward logistics missions to Yokosuka, Subic Bay Naval Base, and Guam, participating in NATO and SEATO-related readiness exercises and supporting fleet units during crises such as the Taiwan Strait Crises.
As U.S. involvement escalated in the 1960s, Dixie deployed repeatedly to Subic Bay to provide overhaul, weapons maintenance, and electronics repair to destroyers, frigates, and amphibious ships engaged in Operation Market Time and carrier escort missions in the Gulf of Tonkin aftermath. She supported ships assigned to Seventh Fleet operations, conducted underway replenishment coordination with fleet oilers, and maintained radar, sonar, and anti-aircraft systems vital for coastal patrol and interdiction operations. Dixie’s medical and dental facilities also treated combat casualties evacuated from Da Nang, Cam Ranh Bay, and Chu Lai by naval helicopters and hospital ships.
After decades of service through Cold War tensions, Dixie's operational tempo decreased in the late 1970s as newer tenders and shore facilities expanded repair capacity. She was decommissioned on 30 September 1982 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register shortly thereafter. The vessel was sold for scrapping in 1983 and subsequently broken up, concluding a service life that had spanned major 20th-century naval campaigns and geopolitical crises.
For her wartime and peacetime service Dixie and her crew earned multiple unit commendations and campaign recognitions, including battle stars for World War II and service awards associated with the Korean War and Vietnam War. Individual crew members received decorations through the Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual for meritorious conduct during repair operations under combat conditions, contributing to fleet readiness across multiple major operations.
Category:Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy Category:Ships built in Puget Sound Category:1942 ships Category:Dixie-class destroyer tenders