BRP ''Benguet'' (LS-507) is a currently serving the Philippine Navy. Formerly known as USS ''Daviess County'' (LST-692), it was an built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Named after counties in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. She served in World War II and during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. The US Government transferred ''Daviess County'' to the Philippine Navy in 1976, which renamed her BRP ''Benguet'' (LT-507). A new classification system implemented in April 2016 changed her hull number from LT-507 to LS-507.

Service history

United States service

''LST-692'' was laid down on 7 February 1944 at Jeffersonville, Indiana, by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company; launched on 31 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Alma D. Voelker; and commissioned on 10 May 1944. During World War II, ''LST-692'' was assigned to the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

and participated in the invasion of southern France in August and September, 1944. Decommissioned in 1946, she was placed in the reserve fleet at

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

until reactivated in 1951. She performed active service during the Korean War and thereafter. ''LST-692'' was redesignated USS ''Daviess County'' (LST-692) on 1 July 1955. ''LST-692'' earned one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for World War II service and two battle stars for Korean service. ''Daviess County'' was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 1 June 1964 and transferred to the

Military Sea Transportation Service Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

(MSTS) where she operated as T-LST-692.

Philippine service

The US Government transferred ''Daviess County'' to the Philippine Navy on 13 September 1976, which renamed her to BRP ''Benguet'' (LT-507). In 1999, the Philippines stationed ''Benguet'' on

Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island ( Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), and Democracy Reef, are two ...

. China then urged the Philippines to remove her, and the Philippines immediately replied that it would do so. However, the Philippines only removed BRP ''Benguet'' from Scarborough Shoal shortly before the official visit of

Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji (; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003 and CCP Politburo Standing Committee member from 1992 to 2002 along with the Chinese Communist ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. After the Philippines removed BRP ''Benguet'', she went aground again on Pag-asa Island in 2004, but was removed again and still serves the Philippine Navy today. In September 2018, the BRP ''Benguet'' along with the , and secured and assisted the which ended up being grounded at the Hasa-Hasa Shoal (also known as the ''Half Moon Shoal'') in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

. The BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' was eventually pulled out from the shoal a couple of days later.“Major Dockyard Repair Awaits BRP Gregorio Del Pilar”
/ref>

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benguet (LT-507) World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy Ships built in Jeffersonville, Indiana 1944 ships LST-542-class tank landing ships LST-542-class tank landing ships of the Philippine Navy