BRP ''Benguet'' (LS-507) is a , currently serving the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

. Formerly known as USS ''Daviess County'' (LST-692), it was an built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Named after counties in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

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

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. The US Government transferred ''Daviess County'' to the

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 Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...

, 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 Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, 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. Green Cove Springs is a part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,786 at the 2020 census, up from 6,908 at ...

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 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 service period. T ...

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 The 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 U ...

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

Philippine service

The US Government transferred ''Daviess County'' to the

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 ''Panacot,'' (" Masinloc Shoal" in Spanish), Huangyan Island (Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), Minzhu Jiao ( Guoyu zh, c=民主礁, l=Democracy Reef), and Panatag Shoal () ...

. 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 China, officially the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is the head of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the State Council. This post was established in 1911 near the e ...

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. After that removal she went aground again on

Thitu Island Thitu Island, also known as Pag-asa Island (); Đảo Thị Tứ (); Zhongye Dao (), having an area of , it is the second largest of the naturally occurringNote that in 2014 the PRC embarked on a number of reclamation projects in the Spratly I ...

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 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 South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

. 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>

Citations

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