USSEllet in February 1939
Class overview
Name	Benham class
Builders	Federal Shipbuilding, NJ (3) Boston Navy Yard, MA (2) Norfolk Naval Shipyard, VA (2) Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, PA (1) Charleston Navy Yard, SC (1) Puget Sound Naval SY, WA (1)
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Somers class
Succeeded by	Sims class
Built	1936–1939
In commission	1939–1946
Completed	10
Lost	2
Retired	8
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1,656 tons (standard) 1,888 tons (normal) 2,250 tons (full load)
Length	340 ft 9 in (103.86 m)
Beam	35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Draught	13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Installed power	3Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 2gearedsteam turbines, 49,250 shp (36,730 kW) on trials
Propulsion	2 shafts
Speed	37.9knots (70.2 km/h; 43.6 mph) on trials
Range	5,390 nmi (9,980 km; 6,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	9 officers, 175 enlisted (peacetime) 16 officers, 235 enlisted (wartime)
Sensors & processing systems	Mk33 GFCS[1] 1 ×SC radar
Armament	As built: 4 ×5"/38 caliber guns 4 ×.50 caliber machine guns 4 × quad21-inchtorpedo tubes 2 ×Depth charge racks

TheBenham class of tendestroyers was built for theUnited States Navy (USN). They were part of a series of USN destroyers limited to 1,500 tonsstandard displacement by theLondon Naval Treaty and built in the 1930s.^[2] The class was laid down in 1936–1937 and all were commissioned in 1939. Much of their design was based on the immediately precedingGridley andBagley-class destroyers. Like these classes, theBenhams were notable for including sixteen 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes, the heaviest torpedo armament ever on US destroyers. They introduced a new high-pressure boiler that saved space and weight, as only three of the new boilers were required compared to four of the older designs.^[3]

The class served extensively inWorld War II in theAtlantic,Mediterranean, andPacific theaters, includingNeutrality Patrols in the Atlantic 1940–1941.Sterett received the United StatesPresidential Unit Citation for theBattle of Guadalcanal and theBattle of Vella Gulf,^[4] and thePhilippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service. Two of the class were lost during World War II, three were scrapped in 1947, while the remaining five ships werescuttled after being contaminated from theOperation Crossroadsatomic bomb tests atBikini Atoll in the Pacific.^[5]

The tenBenhams were part of a series of three classes with similar characteristics laid down 1935-1937. The other two were theGridley class (4 ships) and theBagley class (8 ships). All three featured four 5-inch (127 mm) dual purpose guns (anti-surface and anti-aircraft) and sixteen 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in four quadruple mounts as built, the largest number of torpedo tubes on any US destroyers.^[3] Although all had only one stack, they differed primarily in their machinery. TheBenhams were aGibbs & Cox design with a new high-pressure boiler design that allowed a reduction from four boilers to three, with an efficient turbine arrangement resembling theMahans'. TheBagleys were a Navy design that duplicated the machinery of the preceding long-rangeMahan class; this led to their prominent boiler uptakes around the single stack that were their main recognition feature. TheGridleys were designed byBethlehem Shipbuilding Company with advanced high-pressure boilers (also built by Bethlehem) but turbines generally similar to the earlierFarragut class, which limited their range.^[2][3][6]

Except for the 1850-tonSomers class, theBenhams' propulsion plant was the most advanced yet installed in US destroyers. A newBabcock & Wilcox boiler design was used that allowed a reduction from four boilers to three, saving considerable space and weight. Steam pressure was increased from 400 psi (2,800 kPa) to 600 psi (4,100 kPa) (one reference says 565 psi),superheated to 700 °F (371 °C) as in theGridleys.^[2][7][8] Features that improved fuel economy included boilereconomizers, double reductiongearing, and cruising turbines. Range was somewhat less than in theBagleys at 5,390 nmi (9,980 km; 6,200 mi) versus 6,940 nmi (12,850 km; 7,990 mi), possibly due to a smaller fuel capacity of 484 tons versus 504 tons. The main turbines developed 49,250 shp (36,730 kW) onBenham's trials and were manufactured byWestinghouse.^[9]

TheBenhams had the same armament as theGridleys andBagleys: four5-inch/38 caliber dual purpose guns (anti-surface andanti-aircraft (AA)) in single mounts and sixteen21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in quadruple mounts.^[3] TheMark 15 torpedo was equipped.^[10] This was the heaviest armament intorpedoes ever on US destroyers. Compared with theMahans, they sacrificed one gun for four additional torpedo tubes. It was suggested that these ships could use "curved ahead fire", using the adjustable post-launch gyro angle of their torpedoes to launch a sixteen-torpedo spread ahead of the ship.^[3] One reason for the heavy destroyer torpedo armament was that, alone among the major navies, the last nine of the seventeen USTreaty cruisers built in the 1920s and 1930s lacked torpedoes; eventually all of the US Treaty cruisers' torpedoes were removed in 1941 in favor of additional heavy AA guns.^[11]

As with most other US destroyers of this period, the 5-inch guns featured all-angle power loading and weredirector controlled, making them as effective as the technology allowed against aircraft. By late 1942, radioproximity fuses (VT fuses) made them much more effective. As in the last twoMaurys, the two forward 5-inch guns were inenclosed mounts, while the after guns were open. However, in theBenhams, the after two mounts were a Mark 30 Mod 1 base-ring type with an integral ammunition hoist fed from a handling room below each gun, as in an enclosed mount.^[3][6][12] This allowed some of the class to be fitted with an enclosure for No. 4 gun and an open-top shield for No. 3 gun while onNeutrality Patrol in the Atlantic in 1941; but the shields were removed later to save weight for light anti-aircraft armament.^[5][13] In common with all US surface combatants in the 1930s, the as-built light AA armament was weak; only four.50 caliber machine guns (12.7 mm) were equipped. It was apparently felt that the heavy AA armament would shoot down most incoming aircraft in all situations, but theattack on Pearl Harbor showed that this was not true.^[14]

While on Neutrality Patrol, some of the class landed their after torpedo tube mounts and .50-caliber machine guns so that theirDepth charge and light AA batteries could be increased; photographs show sixOerlikon 20 mm cannon were added along with fourK-gun depth charge throwers and, reportedly, aY-gun on some ships.^[15][16] These ships later received two twin40 mm Bofors mounts on their after deckhouses before being transferred to the Pacific. In 1945,Lang,Sterett, andWilson also landed their remaining torpedo tubes and after 5-inch gun shields in favor of a total of four 40 mm twin mounts and four 20 mm twin mounts.^[5][17]

This class, exceptBenham andEllet, served on Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic and escort duty in the Atlantic and Mediterranean as Destroyer Squadron 8 (withWainwright asflagship) from April 1940 to December 1941.Benham andEllet were at sea in thePacific on7 December 1941 withDunlap andFanning of theMahan class as Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 12 (part of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 6, withBalch as flagship). Later, this four-ship division escorted theaircraft carrierEnterprise during theDoolittle Raid onJapan.^[5]

In June 1942, while DesDiv 15 (Lang,Stack,Sterett andWilson) escorted the aircraft carrierWasp to the Pacific, DesDiv 16 (Mayrant,Trippe,Rhind, andRowan) remained in the Atlantic, supporting theOperation Torch landings in North Africa in December 1942. In 1943 they served offItaly, whereMayrant was badly damaged by aGerman air attack offPalermo andRowan sunk by anE-boat (torpedo boat) attack offSalerno.^[5]

Meanwhile, the six Pacific destroyers operated in theSolomon Islands (whereEllet was ordered to sink theAustralianheavy cruiserCanberra after theBattle of Savo Island), and were on hand for theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13–15 November 1942, in whichSterett was badly damaged andBenham sunk.Lang,Sterett, andStack formed division "A-2" at theBattle of Vella Gulf in 1943 and, thereafter, all five remaining ships accompanied the advance through theMarshalls andMarianas. Reassigned as DesDiv 4 of DesRon 2, the former DesDiv 15 ships were atLeyte and laterOkinawa;Ellet was atIwo Jima. In April 1945,Sterett andWilson were both damaged inkamikaze attacks while onradar picket duty;Wilson remained in service whileSterett returned to service as the war ended.Sterett,Ellet, andLang were scrapped in 1947. The others, contaminated as targets in theOperation Crossroadsatomic bomb tests, were decommissioned and scuttled in deep water offKwajalein in 1948.^[5]

Sterett earned 12battle stars, the United StatesPresidential Unit Citation for theBattle of Guadalcanal and theBattle of Vella Gulf,^[4] and thePhilippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBenham class destroyers.

• Gridley-class destroyer
• Bagley-class destroyer
• List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy
• List of United States Navy losses in World War II
• List of ship classes of World War II

• Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991).Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants.Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
• Friedman, Norman (2004).US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History (Revised ed.). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-442-3.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-83170-303-2.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1965).U.S. Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan Ltd.
•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Benham-class destroyers atDestroyer History Foundation
• Benham class at DestroyersOnline.com
• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org -Benham class destroyerArchived 9 July 2021 at theWayback Machine
• "Goldplater" destroyers atDestroyer History Foundation
• Comparison of 1500-ton classes atDestroyer History Foundation
• USSBenham, USSEllet, and USSLang General Information Book with as-built data atDestroyer History Foundation
• Photo gallery of USSBenham at NavSource
• NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page

• Benham-class destroyers
• Destroyer classes
• World War II destroyers of the United States

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from June 2021
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships