Benson-class destroyer

The ''Benson'' class was a class of destroyers of the U.S. Navy built 1939–1943. The thirty 1,620-ton ''Benson''-class destroyers were built in two groups. The first six were authorized in fiscal year 1938 (FY38) and laid down at Bethlehem Steel, Quincy, Massachusetts, and three naval shipyards. The remaining 24 "repeat ''Benson''s" were authorized in 1940–42 and built at four Bethlehem Steel yards. They were laid down after the first group was commissioned. These plus the "repeat ''Livermore''s" (also known as "repeat ''Gleaves''es") were also known at the time as the ''Bristol'' class. During World War II the ''Benson''s were usually combined with the ''Livermore''s (more correctly the ''Gleaves'' class) as the ''Benson''-''Livermore'' class; this persisted in references until at least the 1960s.Silverstone, pp. 126–135 In some references both classes are combined and called the ''Benson'' class. The ''Benson''- and ''Gleaves''-class destroyers were the backbone of the pre-war Neutrality Patrols and brought the action to the enemy by participating in every major campaign of the war.

Namesake

The lead ship of the class was named after William Shepherd Benson, a graduate of the Naval Academy in 1877. He commanded , , , and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Benson was appointed first Chief of Naval Operations in 1915 and then served as CNO until he retired 25 September 1919. He died in Washington, D.C., 20 May 1932.

Related classes

The ''Benson''s were originally envisioned as a single class of 24 ships, the first eight of which were ordered in fiscal year 1938 (FY38). Six of these were designed by Bethlehem Shipbuilding, to be built at Bethlehem's '' Fore River'' and at several government yards (as mandated by Congress), and two were designed by Gibbs & Cox, to be built at Bath Iron Works. All were to have steam (references vary) superheated to , with cruising turbines and double-reduction gearing to maximize fuel efficiency. After contract award, Bethlehem requested that their design be modified to use less-complex single-reduction gears and no cruising turbines. Bethlehem claimed they could achieve comparable fuel efficiency with the simpler machinery. This request was granted, but FY39 and FY40 ships, beginning with , would use the more complex machinery.Bauer and Roberts, pp. 188–191 So the class was known through World War II as the ''Benson''-''Livermore'' class, and this name persisted in many references until at least the 1960s. In the spring of 1938 the Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering requested that the FY39 and FY40 ships be modified for superheat. It proved possible for Bath to build their two FY38 ships, ''Gleaves'' and ''Niblack'', to the new design. ''Gleaves'' was completed prior to ''Livermore'' and had a lower hull number, thus the class name is more correctly the ''Benson''-''Gleaves'' class.

The only external difference between the ''Benson'' and ''Gleaves'' classes was the shape of the stacks; the ''Benson''s' were flat-sided and the ''Gleaves''es' were round.

After the Fall of France in 1940, and before the outcome of the looming Battle of Britain was certain, a rapid expansion of the Navy was envisioned. As not all facilities were equipped to produce the new s or because of other concerns, an additional 72 "repeat" ''Benson''- and ''Gleaves''-class ships were ordered in FY41. 24 repeat ''Benson''s were built by several Bethlehem yards, while an additional 48 repeat ''Gleaves''es were built by various other builders. These were initially called the ''Bristol'' class after , a repeat ''Gleaves'' and the first of these to be completed, although the machinery of the repeat ''Benson''s was different from the repeat ''Gleaves''es. The repeat ships were ordered with reduced torpedo and gun armament and increased anti-submarine and light anti-aircraft armament.Gardiner and Chesneau, pp. 128–129

In some references the ''Benson'' and ''Gleaves'' classes are combined as the ''Benson'' class.

The ''Budget for the United States Government'' (as published) for fiscal year 41, starting on 1 July 1940 called for 8 destroyers to be built, and they were originally contemplated to be DD-445 ... DD-452, i.e. ''Fletchers''. In June 1940, 8 ''Gleaves'' were ordered instead.

Design

The ''Benson'' class was designed as an improved version of the with two stacks and a new "echeloned" machinery arrangement that featured alternating boiler and engine rooms, designed to give the ships a better chance at surviving torpedo damage. Loss of one compartment, or even two adjacent compartments, would no longer disable the entire propulsion system. They also introduced quintuple torpedo tube mounts. Their scantlings, or framing dimensions, were increased to carry the weight of the new machinery. This increased the ships' displacement by about sixty tons, to 1620 tons standard displacement.

Engineering

The ''Benson''s were all completed with "M"-type boilers, steam (references vary) superheated to , single-reduction gearing, and no cruising turbines. The main steam turbines were designed and built by Bethlehem Steel.

Armament

The class was completed with four or five dual purpose guns (anti-surface and anti-aircraft (AA)), controlled by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System as in the previous ''Sims'' class. The introduction of two centerline quintuple torpedo tube mounts in this class was a significant improvement and was continued in subsequent World War II classes. This allowed a broadside of ten tubes with savings in space and weight compared to previous classes, which had twelve or sixteen tubes and an eight-tube broadside. However, most of the ''Benson''s spent most of the war with only five torpedo tubes equipped in favor of greater light anti-aircraft armament. This varied considerably in different ships as the war went on; for example, the specified pair of twin guns were not widely available until mid-1942 and a quadruple machine cannon mount and a gun were temporarily substituted. In 1945 twelve ships (DD-600-601, 603–604, 608, 610, and DD-612-617) were modified for maximum light AA armament as an anti-''kamikaze'' measure, with four 5-inch guns, no torpedo tubes, twelve 40 mm guns in two quad and two twin mounts and four 20 mm guns in two twin mounts. The first six ships landed a torpedo tube mount early in the war while on Atlantic service, but as they were transferred to the Pacific in early 1945 they were re-equipped with the torpedoes at the cost of a 5-inch gun. Photographs indicate that, as with most pre-1942 destroyers, the initial anti-submarine armament of two depth charge tracks was augmented with four or six K-gun depth charge throwers in 1941–42 on most ships.

Service

The first six ships of the class began their careers on Neutrality Patrols, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II continued to serve in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, supporting operations in North Africa, Italy, and southern France until transferred to the Pacific in early 1945. Several of the remaining ships spent the entire war in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Others served entirely in the Pacific, at first in the Solomon Islands or Aleutians and later in other campaigns. Three were lost in the war; two in the Pacific and one in the Mediterranean. A fourth lost the bow section but was rebuilt and returned to service. After the war the survivors were decommissioned and placed in the Reserve Fleet in 1946–47; one was transferred to Italy and two were transferred to Taiwan in the 1950s. Modernization was considered in the 1950s but not implemented except on the transferred ships. The remainder were scrapped or otherwise disposed of in the late 60s and early 70s.

Losses

USS ''Laffey'' and USS ''Barton'' were lost at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942; USS ''Lansdale'' was lost to air attack in the Mediterranean Sea on 20 April 1944. Additionally, the bow section of USS ''Murphy'' was cut off in a collision with the tanker SS ''Bulkoil '' from New York on 21 October 1943 and sank with the loss of 38 crew. The rest of the ship was saved and was rebuilt and returned to service; thus ''Murphy'' was not officially considered lost.USS ''Murphy'' at DestroyerHistory.org
/ref>Quest for Sunken Warships- USS ''Murphy'', 2007, 19 July 2007, Military Channel, 2-3am, MDT.

Decorations

USS ''Laffey'' received a Presidential Unit Citation for her role in the Battle of Guadalcanal. USS ''Bailey'' received a Navy Unit Commendation for her service in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, 26 March 1943. Also, USS ''Hilary P. Jones'' received a Navy Unit Commendation for her actions in the final operations in the Mediterranean Sea in September 1944.

Ships in class

Other Navies

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Italy

See also

* Livermore class destroyer
* List of destroyers of the United States Navy
* List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy
* List of ship classes of World War II

References

Destroyerhistory.org: Benson/Gleaves ship list
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External links

''Benson''- and ''Gleaves''-class destroyers
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Destroyer History Foundation

''Benson''-class destroyers
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Destroyer History Foundation



USS ''Benson'' (DD-421) and USS ''Mayo'' (DD-422) General Information Book with as-built data
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Destroyer History Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson Class Destroyer

Destroyer classes