Benson-class destroyer
USS Benson circa 1942
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Benson class |
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| Preceded by: | Sims class |
| Succeeded by: | Gleaves class |
| Subclasses: | 24 Bristol class |
| Built: | 1938–43 |
| In commission: | 1940–51 |
| Completed: | 30 |
| Lost: | 4 (1 returned to service) |
| Retired: | 27 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
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| Beam: | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
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| Propulsion: | 2 shafts |
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| Range: | 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 208 (276 wartime) |
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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 Bensons” 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 Livermores” (also known as "repeat Gleaveses") were also known at the time as the Bristol class. During World War II the Bensons were usually combined with the Livermores (more correctly the Gleaves class) as the Benson-Livermore class; this persisted in references until at least the 1960s. 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.
The lead ship of the class was named after William Shepherd Benson, a graduate of the Naval Academy in 1877. He commanded USS Albany, USS Missouri, USS Utah, 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.
The Bensons 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 a Bethlehem yard and several naval shipyards, and two were designed by Gibbs & Cox, to be built at Bath Iron Works. All were to have 600 psi (4,100 kPa) steam (references vary) superheated to 750 °F (399 °C), 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 Livermore, would use the more complex machinery. 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 850 °F (454 °C) 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.
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