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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USCGC Mackinac (WHEC-371)
ex
USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371) (1949 - 1966)
USS Mackinac (AVP-13) (1942 - 1949)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Charlie - Charlie
NICC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - 20 Aug. 1942, 12 Sept. 1943) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)



USS Mackinac (AVP-13) was transferred to the US Coast Guard and commissioned, USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371)

Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender
  • Laid down, 29 May 1940, at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Launched, 15 November 1941
  • Commissioned USS Mackinac (AVP-13), 24 January 1942, CDR. Norman R. Hitchcock USN, in command
  • During World War II USS Mackinac was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings, 7 to 9 August 1942 Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands (Peleliu), 6 September to 14 October 1944
    Gilbert Islands operation
    Tarawa, 2 to 8 December 1943
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 11 May to 30 June 1945
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 27 June to 10 August 1944
    3d Fleet operations against Japan, 10 to 25 July 1945

  • Following World War II USS Mackinac was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September 1945 to 10 January 1946
  • Decommissioned in January 1947 at Orange, TX.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange
  • Loaned to the Coast Guard and commissioned USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371), 19 April 1949
  • Redesignated High Endurance Cutter (WHEC-371), 1 May 1966
  • Decommissioned, 28 December 1967 and returned to Naval custody
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS Mackinac earned six battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sunk as a target, 23 July 1968
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,800 t.(fl)
    Length 311' 8"
    Beam 41' 1"
    Draft 13' 6" (lim)
    Speed 18.2 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    USN
    Officers 14
    Enlisted 201
    USN Aviation Squadrons
    Officers 59
    Enlisted 93
    USCG
    Officers 13
    Enlisted 136
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    USCG Electronics
    Radar: SPS-23, SPS-29D
    Sonar: SQS-1
    Armament
    USN
    two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    USCG
    one single 5"/38 cal. Mk 12, Mod 1 dual purpose gun mount
    one Mk 52 Mod 3 director
    one Mk 26 fire control radar
    one Mk 11 A/S projector

    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel - 1.953 Bbls
    Gasoline - 84.340 Gals
    Propulsion
    Fairbanks-Morse, 38D8 1/8 direct reversing Diesel engines
    single Fairbanks-Morse Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
    two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
    two Diesel-drive 200Kw 450V A.C.
    two propellers, 6,080shp

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Source
    USS Mackinac (AVP-13)
    Mackinac
    09431318
    168k
    Namesake
    Mackinac - Mackinac Island is an island and resort area in the state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was long home to an Odawa settlement and previous indigenous cultures before European colonization began in the 17th century. It was a strategic center of the fur trade around the Great Lakes. Based on a former trading post, Fort Mackinac was constructed on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the site of two battles during the War of 1812 before the northern border was settled and the US gained this island in its territory. In the late 19th century, Mackinac Island became a popular tourist attraction and summer colony. Many of the structures on the island have undergone extensive historical preservation and restoration. Because of its historic significance, the entire island is listed as a National Historic Landmark. It is well known for numerous cultural events; a wide variety of architectural styles, including the Victorian Grand Hotel; and its ban on almost all motor vehicles. More than 80 percent of the island is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park.
    Photo - A view of the island from atop Fort Mackinac, 1 October 2008 by Bardya at English Wikipedia.
    Map - Mackinac Island topographic map, Eric Gaba Sting
    Tommy Trampp
    Mackinac 180k Mackinac (AVP-13) under construction at Puget Sound Navy Yard in 1942
    US Navy photo.
    Jim Kurrasch
    Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
    Barnegat
    09431014
    234k U.S. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., viewed from the west, 25 July 1941, taken from an aircraft based at NAS Seattle, WA. Among the ships present are:
    USS Aroostook (AK-44), at right, and
    USS Prometheus (AR-3), center, alongside the near side of the long pier closest to the camera;
    USS Utah (AG-16) in drydock at left;
    USS Colorado (BB-45), alongside the middle of the three longest piers;
    USS Barnegat (AVP-10) and
    USS Biscayne (AVP-11), fitting out on the far side of the most distant long pier;
    USS Casco (AVP-12) and
    USS Mackinac (AVP-13), under construction in the drydock in the upper left. U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH-84927.
    Robert Hurst
    Mackinac 64k USS Mackinac (AVP-13) underway near the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 20 April 1942 in her original configuration. This ship was completed with a semi-fixed crane, in which a long and heavy rotating boom (lowered and not visible here) was operated by machinery in a fixed deckhouse topped by a light multi-legged mast. Mackinac was also completed with 20 mm AA guns on the fantail, which the large crane could not reach.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-30522, RG-19-LCM, a US Navy photo now in the Bureau of Ships collection of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    Mackinac 52k USS Mackinac (AVP-13) underway, circa 1942, location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Robert Hurst
    Mackinac 152k Stern plan view of USS Mackinac (AVP-13) at Navy Yard Mare Island, 10 September 1943 near completion of an overhaul. the 5"/38 gun and the 40mm quadruple mount aft were added during this overhaul. USS Honolulu (CL-48) is at right.
    US Navy photo # 19-N-52336 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 143k Bow plan view of USS Mackinac (AVP-13) at Navy Yard Mare Island, 10 September 1943 near completion of an overhaul. USS Honolulu (CL-48) and USS Macdonough (DD-351) are in the background.
    US Navy photo # 19-N-52335 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 201k USS Mackinac (AVP-13) pierside at Navy Yard Mare Island, 10 September 1943 near completion of an overhaul. USS Honolulu (CL-48) is in the background. Modifications during the overhaul, circled on this image, included the addition of two twin 40mm mounts abreast the stack and a small radar mast on the stack's forward edge.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-52334, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    Mackinac 61k Port bow view of USS Mackinac (AVP-13) underway off Mare Island, 16 September 1943, after completing overhaul.
    US Navy photo # 19-N-52332 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 69k USS Mackinac (AVP-13) off Mare Island, 16 September 1943, upon completion of overhaul. 5"/38 gun on fantail and 40mm quadruple mount just forward of it were added during overhaul.
    US Navy photo # 19-N-52331 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 93k USS Mackinac (AVP-13) off Mare Island, 16 September 1943, upon completion of overhaul. She received a third 5"/38 gun aft and her 1.1" quadruple mount was replaced by one 40mm quadruple and two 40mm twin mounts. US Navy photo # 19-N-52329 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 80k Bow view of USS Mackinac (AVP-13) off Mare Island, 16 September 1943, after overhaul.
    US Navy photo # 19-N-52330 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 75k Stern view of USS Mackinac (AVP-13) off Mare Island, 16 September 1943, after overhaul.
    US Navy photo # 19-N-52333 from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Mackinac 91k USS Mackinac (AVP-13) tending seaplanes in the Pacific late 1943 or early 1944.
    US Navy photo # 80-G-659675 now in the collections of the National Archives.
    US Naval Historical Center
    USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371) (WHEC-371)
    Mackinac 64k USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371) under way, circa 1960, location unknown.
    Official US Coast Guard photo.
    Robert Hurst
    Mackinac 248k USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371) under way in heavy weather, date and location unknown. Jason Longo
    Mackinac 44k USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371) under way, circa 1954, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Mackinac 64k USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371) moored pierside, date and location unknown. Ken Laesser

    USS Mackinac (AVP-13)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    USS Mackinac (AVP-13) Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Hitchcock, Norman Ridgeway USN24 January 1942 - 2 September 1942
    02CDR. Butterfield, Horace Bushnell USN2 September 1942 - 6 April 1943
    03CDR. Stroop, Paul David USN :VADM6 April 1943 - 27 January 1944
    04CDR. Dyson, Gerald Ronald USN27 January 1944 - 10 February 1945
    05CDR. Stahl, Paul Ludwig USN10 February 1945 - 10 January 1946
    USCGC Mackinac (WAVP-371 / WHEC-371) Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Maloney, William Louis (Wild Bill), USCG (USCGA 1930)11 May 1949 - ?
    02CDR. Morrison, William Llewelyn, USCG (USCGA 1939) :RADM? - September 1951
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
    US Navy Patrol Squadrons - USS Mackinac (AVP-13)
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) Photo Index
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    Last Updated 1 July 2022