Andrew McKee

Andrew McKee
McKee while a commodore in the US Navy
Born	February 17,1896 Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Died	January 24, 1976 New York City
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1917-1947
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Legion of Merit Bronze Star
Relations	great-grandson of Admiral James F. Schenck
Other work	Research and design engineer for the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics corporation

Rear Admiral Andrew I. McKee (February 17, 1896 in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky - January 24, 1976) was a pioneer in modern submarine design and development. The destroyer USS Schenck (DD-159) was named for his maternal great-grandfather, Admiral James F. Schenck. McKee graduated from the United States Naval Academy at the top of his class in navigation and was commissioned an Ensign in March 1917. He served with USS Huntington until he severely injured both legs in a fall from the mast in August 1917. He was declared unfit for sea duty, and assigned first to the Naval Academy as a navigation and physics instructor, and then as the supervisory naval constructor at Bethlehem Steel Corporation Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts pending admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1921 he received a Master's Degree in Naval Architecture from MIT, and was assigned to the Navy Construction Corps.

McKee was assigned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard following graduation, and then transferred to the New London, Connecticut submarine base in 1924. McKee became ship type assistant of submarine design for the Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair in Washington from 1926 to 1930, where he directed the design of USS Dolphin (SS-169) from which evolved the successful fleet submarines of World War II. McKee served as new construction superintendent at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard from 1930 to 1934 and as hull superintendent at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard from 1934 to 1938. In the latter post, he oversaw introduction of the all-welded pressure hull techniques pioneered while building the USS Sturgeon (SS-187).