The second USS Dixie (AD-14) was the first of her class of destroyer tender built just before the start of World War II for the U.S. Navy. Her task was to service destroyers in, or near, battle areas and to keep them fit for duty. Dixie was launched on 27 May 1939 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey, sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Pickens; and commissioned on 25 April 1940, with Lieutenant Commander G. H. Bahm in command.