BENSON CLASS DESTROYER

The '''Benson'' class' was a class of 30 destroyers of the U.S. Navy built 1939–1943. The first ship of the class was the USS ''Benson'' (DD-421). The U.S. Navy customarily names a class of ships after the first ship of the class; hence the ''Benson'' class.
The ''Benson'' class was designed as an improved version of the ''Sims''-class with two stacks and a new machinery arrangement that featured alternating boiler and engine rooms designed to give the ships a better chance at surviving torpedo damage. Their scantlings, or framing dimensions, were increased to carry the weight of the new machinery. This increased the ship's displacement by about sixty tons. The ''Benson''-class destroyer was the backbone of the pre-war Neutrality Patrols and brought the action to the enemy by participating in every major campaign of the war.
The ''Gleaves''-class destroyers were built to nearly the same design and were virtually identical to the ''Benson''-class. The only visible difference between ''Benson'' and ''Gleaves'' was the shape of the stacks.

Contents

Specifications

Ships of the class

Source

External links

See also

Specifications

★ Displacement: 1620 tons (1646 metric tons) light; 2200 tons (2235 metric tons) full load

★ Length: 348'2" (105.2 m)

★ Beam: 35'4" (10.8 m)

★ Draft: 17'4" (5.3 m)

★ Speed: 37 knots (68 km/h)

★ Armament: 4 5"/38 guns, 5x4 21" (533 mm) torpedo tubes

★ Engineering: 4 high-pressure super-heated boilers, 2 geared turbines with twin screws, 50,000 shaft horsepower (SHP)/37.3 MW

★ Complement: 276

Ships of the class

Name	Commissioned	Decommissioned
USS ''Benson'' (DD-421)	25 July 1940	18 March 1946
USS ''Mayo'' (DD-422)	18 September 1940	18 March 1946
USS ''Madison'' (DD-425)	6 August 1940	13 March 1946 (sunk as target 14 October 1969)
USS ''Lansdale'' (DD-426)	17 September 1940	20 April 1944 (sunk by the Luftwaffe)
USS ''Hilary P. Jones'' (DD-427)	6 September 1940	6 February 1947
USS ''Charles F. Hughes'' (DD-428)	6 September 1940	18 March 1946 (sunk as target 26 March 1969)
USS ''Laffey'' (DD-459)	31 March 1942	13 November 1942 (sunk by Japanese battleship)
USS ''Woodworth'' (DD-460)	30 April 1942	11 April 1946
USS ''Woodworth'' (DD-460)	21 November 1950	14 January 1951
USS ''Farenholt'' (DD-491)	2 April 1942	26 April 1946
USS ''Bailey'' (DD-492)	11 May 1942	2 May 1948 (sunk as target 04 November 1969)
USS ''Bancroft'' (DD-598)	30 April 1942	1 February 1946
USS ''Barton'' (DD-599)	29 May 1942	13 November 1942 (sunk by Japanese torpedoes at Guadalcanal)
USS ''Boyle'' (DD-600)	15 August 1942	29 March 1946 (sunk as target 03 May 1973)
USS ''Champlin'' (DD-601)	12 September 1942	31 January 1947
USS ''Meade'' (DD-602)	22 June 1942	17 June 1946 (sunk as target February 1973)
USS ''Murphy'' (DD-603)	23 July 1942	9 March 1946
USS ''Parker'' (DD-604)	31 August 1942	31 January 1947
USS ''Caldwell'' (DD-605)	10 June 1942	24 April 1946
USS ''Coghlan'' (DD-606)	10 July 1942	31 March 1947
USS ''Frazier'' (DD-607)	30 July 1942	15 April 1946
USS ''Gansevoort'' (DD-608)	25 August 1942	1 February 1946 (sunk as target 23 March 1972)
USS ''Gillespie'' (DD-609)	18 September 1942	17 April 1946 sunk as target 1973)
USS ''Hobby'' (DD-610)	18 November 1942	1 February 1946 sunk as target 01 June 1972)
USS ''Kalk'' (DD-611)	17 October 1942	3 May 1946 sunk as target March 1969)
USS ''Kendrick'' (DD-612)	12 September 1942	31 March 1947
USS ''Laub'' (DD-613)	24 October 1942	2 February 1946
USS ''MacKenzie'' (DD-614)	21 November 1942	4 February 1946 sunk as target 01 June 1974)
USS ''McLanahan'' (DD-615)	19 December 1942	2 February 1946
USS ''Nields'' (DD-616)	15 January 1943	25 March 1946
USS ''Ordronaux'' (DD-617)	13 February 1943	January 1947

Source

★ United States Benson-Livermore Class Destroyers

★ Destroyerhistory.org: Benson/Gleaves roster

External links

★ ''Benson''-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation

See also

★ Livermore class destroyer

★ List of destroyers of the United States Navy

★ List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy