USSMeade on 20 June 1942
Class overview
Name	Benson class
Builders	Bethlehem Fore River, MA (8) Staten Island, NY (5) San Pedro, CA (4) San Francisco, CA (9) Boston Navy Yard, MA (2) Charleston Navy Yard, SC (1) Puget Sound Navy Yard, WA (1)
Operators	United States Navy  Italian Navy  Republic of China Navy
Preceded by	Sims class
Succeeded by	Gleaves class
Subclasses	Bristol class[1] Artigliere class
Built	1938–43
In commission	1940–51
Completed	30
Lost	4 (1 returned to service)
Retired	27
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1620 tons standard, 2474 tons full load
Length	341 ft (103.9 m) waterline, 348 ft 2 in (106.12 m) overall
Beam	36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Draft	11 ft 9 in (3.58 m) (normal),   17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) (full load)
Installed power	4Babcock & Wilcoxboilers, 2Bethlehem Steelgearedsteam turbines; 50,000 shp (37,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts
Speed	37.5 knots (69.5 km/h) 33 knots (61.1 km/h) full load
Range	6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	208 (276 wartime)
Sensors & processing systems	Mk37 GFCS 1 ×SC radar
Armament	As designed:   5 ×5 in (127 mm)DP guns,   6 ×0.50 in. (12.7 mm) guns,   10 ×21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes (2 × 5), 10torpedoes   2 ×depth charge tracks DD-459 onward:   4 ×5 in (127 mm)DP guns,   4 ×40 mm Bofors guns (2 × 2),   7 ×Oerlikon 20 mm cannons,   5 × 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes (1 × 5),   4–6 ×K-gun depth charge throwers,   2 ×depth charge tracks
Notes	Ship data sources: Destroyers.org,[2] Friedman, pp. 95–104, 470–471[3]

TheBenson class was a class ofdestroyers of theU.S. Navy built 1939–1943. The thirty 1,620-tonBenson-class destroyers were built in two groups. The first six were authorized infiscal year 1938 (FY38) and laid down at Bethlehem Steel, Quincy, Massachusetts, and three naval shipyards.^[1] The remaining 24 "repeatBensons" 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 "repeatLivermores" (also known as "repeatGleaveses") were also known at the time as theBristol class. DuringWorld War II theBensons were usually combined with theLivermores (more correctly theGleaves class) as theBenson-Livermore class; this persisted in references until at least the 1960s. In some references both classes are combined and called theBenson class. TheBenson- andGleaves-class destroyers were the backbone of the pre-warNeutrality Patrols and participated in every major campaign of the war.

The lead ship of the class was named afterWilliam Shepherd Benson, a graduate of the Naval Academy in 1877. He commandedUSS Albany,USS Missouri,USS Utah, and thePhiladelphia Navy Yard. Benson was appointed firstChief of Naval Operations in 1915 and then served as CNO until he retired 25 September 1919. He died inWashington, D.C., 20 May 1932.^[4]

TheBensons were originally envisioned as a single class of 24 ships, the first eight of which were ordered infiscal year 1938 (FY38). Six of these were designed by Bethlehem Shipbuilding, to be built at Bethlehem'sFore River and at several government yards (as mandated by Congress), and two were designed byGibbs & Cox, to be built atBath 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-reductiongearing to maximizefuel efficiency.^[3] 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 withLivermore, would use the more complex machinery.^[5] So the class was known throughWorld War II as theBenson-Livermore class, and this name persisted in many references until at least the 1960s.^[6] In the spring of 1938 the Navy'sBureau of Steam Engineering requested that the FY39 and FY40 ships be modified for 850 °F (454 °C) superheat.^[3] It proved possible for Bath to build their two FY38 ships,Gleaves andNiblack, to the new design.Gleaves was completed prior toLivermore and had a lower hull number, thus the class name is more correctly theBenson-Gleaves class.^[5][7]

The only external difference between theBenson andGleaves classes was the shape of the stacks; theBensons' were flat-sided and theGleaveses' were round.

After theFall of France in 1940, and before the outcome of the loomingBattle of Britain was certain,a rapid expansion of the Navy was envisioned. As not all facilities were equipped to produce the newFletcher-class destroyers or because of other concerns, an additional 72 "repeat"Benson- andGleaves-class ships were ordered in FY41.^[8][9] 24 repeatBensons were built by several Bethlehem yards, while an additional 48 repeatGleaveses were built by various other builders.^[5] These were initially called theBristol class afterBristol, a repeatGleaves and the first of these to be completed, although the machinery of the repeatBensons was different from the repeatGleaveses. The repeat ships were ordered with reduced torpedo and gun armament and increasedanti-submarine and lightanti-aircraft armament.^[10]

In some references theBenson andGleaves classes are combined as theBenson class.^[3]

TheBudget for the United States Government (as published) for fiscal year 41, starting on 1 July 1940 called for 8 destroyers to be built,^[11] and they were originally contemplated to be DD-445 ... DD-452, i.e.Fletchers.^[12] In June 1940, 8Gleaves were ordered instead.

TheBenson class was designed as an improved version of theSims class with two stacks and a new "echeloned" machinery arrangement that featured alternating boiler and engine rooms, designed to give the ships a better chance at surviving torpedo damage. Loss of one compartment, or even two adjacent compartments, would no longer disable the entire propulsion system. They also introduced quintuple torpedo tube mounts. Their scantlings, or framing dimensions, were increased to carry the weight of the new machinery. This increased the ships' displacement by about sixty tons, to 1620 tonsstandard displacement.^[3][10]

TheBensons were all completed with "M"-type boilers, 600 psi (4,100 kPa) steam (references vary)superheated to 750 °F (399 °C), single-reduction gearing, and no cruising turbines.^[5] The mainsteam turbines were designed and built byBethlehem Steel.^[3][10][13]

The class was completed with four or five 5-inch (127 mm)dual purpose guns (anti-surface andanti-aircraft (AA)), controlled by aMark 37 Gun Fire Control System as in the previousSims class. The introduction of two centerline quintupletorpedo tube mounts in this class was a significant improvement and was continued in subsequent World War II classes. This allowed a broadside of ten tubes with savings in space and weight compared to previous classes, which had twelve or sixteen tubes and an eight-tube broadside.^[3] However, most of theBensons spent most of the war with only five torpedo tubes equipped in favor of greater light anti-aircraft armament. This varied considerably in different ships as the war went on; for example, the specified pair of twin 40 mm (1.6 in) guns were not widely available until mid-1942 and a quadruple1.1 in (28 mm) machine cannon mount and a 20 mm (0.79 in) gun were temporarily substituted.^[10] In 1945 twelve ships (DD-600-601, 603–604, 608, 610, and DD-612-617) were modified for maximum light AA armament as an anti-kamikaze measure, with four 5-inch guns, no torpedo tubes, twelve 40 mm guns in two quad and two twin mounts and four 20 mm guns in two twin mounts.^[14] The first six ships landed a torpedo tube mount early in the war while onAtlantic service, but as they were transferred to thePacific in early 1945 they were re-equipped with the torpedoes at the cost of a 5-inch gun.^[10][5] Photographs indicate that, as with most pre-1942 destroyers, the initialanti-submarine armament of twodepth charge tracks was augmented with four or sixK-gun depth charge throwers in 1941–42 on most ships.^[15]

The first six ships of the class began their careers onNeutrality Patrols, and after theattack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II continued to serve in theAtlantic andMediterranean, supporting operations inNorth Africa,Italy, andsouthern France until transferred to thePacific in early 1945. Several of the remaining ships spent the entire war in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Others served entirely in the Pacific, at first in theSolomon Islands orAleutians and later in other campaigns.^[16] Three were lost in the war; two in the Pacific and one in the Mediterranean. A fourth lost the bow section but was rebuilt and returned to service. After the war the survivors were decommissioned and placed in theReserve Fleet in 1946–47; one was transferred toItaly and two were transferred toTaiwan in the 1950s.^[17] Modernization was considered in the 1950s but not implemented except on the transferred ships.^[18] The remainder were scrapped or otherwise disposed of in the late 60s and early 70s.^[5]

USSLaffey andUSSBarton were lost at theNaval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942; USSLansdale was lost to air attack in theMediterranean Sea on 20 April 1944.^[1] Additionally, the bow section of USSMurphy was cut off in a collision with thetanker SSBulkoil 75 nautical miles (139 km; 86 mi) from New York on 21 October 1943 and sank with the loss of 38 crew. The rest of the ship was saved and was rebuilt and returned to service; thusMurphy was not officially considered lost.^[19][20]

USSLaffey received aPresidential Unit Citation for her role in the Battle of Guadalcanal.USSBailey received aNavy Unit Commendation for her service in theBattle of the Komandorski Islands, 26 March 1943. Also, USSHilary P. Jones received a Navy Unit Commendation for her actions in the final operations in the Mediterranean Sea in September 1944.^[1]

• Livermore class destroyer
• List of destroyers of the United States Navy
• List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy
• List of ship classes of World War II

• Destroyerhistory.org: Benson/Gleaves ship list
• 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.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1965).U.S. Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan Ltd.ISBN 0-7110-0157-X.
•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBenson class destroyers.

• Benson- andGleaves-class destroyers atDestroyer History Foundation
• Benson-class destroyers atDestroyer History Foundation
• Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org – Benson class destroyerArchived 16 November 2013 at theWayback Machine
• USSBenson (DD-421) and USSMayo (DD-422) General Information Book with as-built data atDestroyer History Foundation
• NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page

• Benson-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 July 2021
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
• Commons category link is on Wikidata