_at_anchor%2c_circa_in_1891_(NH_67551).jpg) TheBennington, photographed circa 1898 byWilliam H. Rau | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSBennington (PG-4) |
| Namesake | Bennington, Vermont, site of theBattle of Bennington |
| Awarded | 15 November 1887[1] |
| Builder | |
| Cost | $490,000[1] |
| Laid down | June 1888[2] |
| Launched | 3 June 1890[2] |
| Commissioned | 20 June 1891 |
| Decommissioned | 5 September 1901 |
| Recommissioned | 2 March 1903 |
| Decommissioned | 31 October 1905 |
| Stricken | 10 September 1910 |
| Fate | Scuttled offOahu, 1924 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Yorktown-class gunboat |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 36 ft (11 m)[3] |
| Draft | 14 ft (4.3 m)[3] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | three-masted schooner rig with a total sail area of 6,300 sq ft (590 m2)[4] |
| Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h)[3] |
| Endurance | 4,262 nautical miles @ 10 knots (7,893 km @ 19 km/h)[5] |
| Complement | 197 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
USSBennington (Gunboat No. 4/PG-43) was a member of theYorktown class of steel-hulled, twin-screwgunboats in theUnited States Navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the first U.S. Navy ship named in honor of the town ofBennington, Vermont, site of theBattle of Bennington in theAmerican Revolutionary War.
The contract to buildBennington was awarded toN. F. Palmer & Co. ofPhiladelphia in November 1887. Her hull was subcontracted to theDelaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works whichlaid downBennington's keel in June 1888.Bennington waslaunched in June 1890. She was just over 244 feet (74 m) long and 36 feet (11 m)abeam anddisplaced 1,710 long tons (1,740 t). She was equipped with twosteam engines which were supplemented with threeschooner-riggedmasts. The ship's mainbattery consisted of six 6-inch (15.2 cm) guns and was augmented by an assortment of smaller caliber guns.
After her June 1891commissioning,Bennington was attached to theSquadron of Evolution and for its cruise to South America. The gunboat made twoMediterranean tours between 1892 and 1894, after which she was assigned to the duties in the Pacific. She sailed the Pacific coasts of North and Central America and spent time in theHawaiian Islands to protect American interests there. On her way to supportUnited States Army operations of thePhilippine–American War,Bennington claimedWake Island for the United States. After two years in thePhilippines, she returned to the United States and was decommissioned for 18 months of repairs and refitting. After her March 1903 recommissioning, most of the next two years were spent patrolling the Pacific coasts of North and South America.
On 21 July 1905 atSan Diego, California,Bennington suffered aboiler explosion, that killed 66 men and injured nearly everyone else on board. Shortly after the explosion, atug beached the ship to prevent her from sinking. Eleven men were awarded theMedal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" in the aftermath of the explosion. AfterBennington was refloated, the damage was deemed too extensive to repair and the ship was decommissioned in September. The ship was sold forscrap in 1910, but instead served as a water barge for theMatson Line atHonolulu from 1912. In 1924, the formerBennington wasscuttled off the coast ofOahu.
TheYorktown class gunboats – unofficially considered third-class cruisers – were the product of aUnited States Navy design attempt to produce compact ships with good seakeeping abilities and, yet, able to carry a heavybattery.Bennington was authorized in the 1888 fiscal year, and the contract for her construction was awarded toN. F. Palmer & Co. ofChester, Pennsylvania. Thehull forBennington was subcontracted to theDelaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works and built to the Navy'sBureau of Construction and Repair design. The mechanical design was patterned after the layout for her oldersister shipYorktown developed byWilliam Cramp & Sons.[2]
Bennington'skeel was laid down in June 1888,[7] and the ship waslaunched on 3 June 1890, sponsored by Anne Aston,[8] the daughter of Rear AdmiralRalph Aston, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Navy.[9][10]
As built,Bennington was 244 feet 5 inches (74.50 m) inlength and 36 feet (11 m)abeam. Her steel hull had an averagedraft of 14 feet (4 m),[3] which was expected to give her the ability to escape from larger ships into shallow water.[4] At the waterline was a turtleback deck of3⁄8-inch (9.5 mm) steel that formed a watertight seal over the lower spaces. The deck had a crown at the level of the waterline and curved downwards to 3 feet (0.9 m) below the waterline at the sides of the ship. Below this armored deck were twelve compartments separated by watertightbulkheads; the spaces above were equipped with watertight doors intended to be closed during battle.[4]
Above the armored deck,Bennington hadforecastle andpoop decks with an opengun deck that spanned the length of the ship between them. Theconning tower was located forward on the forecastle deck and was oval-shaped to deflect shot. It was outfitted with a steam-poweredShip's wheel, anengine order telegraph, and speaking tubes; it was protected by 2 inches (51 mm) of steel armor plate.[4]
Bennington was powered by twotriple-expansion steam engines which each drove one of the pair of 10.5-foot (3.2 m), three-bladedscrew propellers. The cylinders of each engine were 22, 31, and 51 inches (56, 79, and 130 cm) in diameter and had a 30-inch (76 cm)stroke.[4] Each engine was rated at 3,400 indicated horsepower (2,500 kW) and together were designed to move the ship at 16 knots (30 km/h),[4] though the ship exceeded that in her trials, topping out at 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h).[2]
The engines, situated in separate watertight compartments, were each fed by a pair of coal-fired boilers. Each boiler was horizontally mounted and was 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) in diameter and 17 feet 6 inches (5.33 m) in length with a total grate area of 220 square inches (1,400 cm2).Bennington's coal bunkers could carry up to 400 long tons (410 t) of fuel, and were shielded from "shot and shell". At a near top-speed of 16 knots, the ship could cover 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km) in6+1⁄2 days; at the more economical speed of 8 knots (15 km/h) she could cruise 12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km) over 62 days.[4]
To supplement her steam power plant,Bennington was built with threemasts that wereschooner-rigged. She had a totalsail area of 6,300 square feet (590 m2). The steam and sail combination was expected to allowBennington to remain at sea for months at a time during wartime.[4]
Bennington's main battery consisted of six6-inch (152 mm)/30 caliber Mark 3 guns,[8][11][Note 1] with each gun weighing in excess of 11,000 pounds (5,000 kg).[11] Two were mounted on the forecastle deck, two on the poop deck, and the other pair amidships on the gun deck. The two guns on the gun deck were mounted 10 feet (3.0 m) above the waterline, while the other four were 18 feet (5.5 m) above.[4] The guns fired 105-pound (48 kg)armor-piercingprojectiles with apropellant charge weighing 18.8 pounds (8.5 kg) at 1,950 feet per second (590 m/s). At anelevation of 30.2°, the guns had a range of 18,000 yards (16,000 m).[11] Each gun was shielded with steel plating 3 inches (76 mm) thick.[4]
Bennington's secondary battery consisted of four6-pounder (57 mm (2.24 in)) guns, and four1-pounder (37 mm (1.46 in)) guns.[3] Both were based on designs of the French arms companyHotchkiss.[4] According to a 1902Bureau of Ordnance publication, an armor-piercing round fired from a 6-pounder gun could penetrate 2 inches (51 mm) of armor at a distance of 1,000 yards (910 m).[12]
USSBennington (Gunboat No. 4) wascommissioned at theNew York Navy Yard on 20 June 1891 under the command ofCommander Royal B. Bradford. As one of the first steel-hulled gunboats of the "New Navy",Bennington was assigned to theSquadron of Evolution, a unit made up entirely of "New Navy" ships that was established to test and perfect tactics and doctrine developed at theNaval War College. In addition to operating as the first tactical fleet of the U.S. Navy, the squadron performed the secondary mission of cruising to foreign ports to demonstrate to the world the types of modern ships the United States was capable of building. In that latter role,Bennington and the rest of the squadron departedNew York on 19 November 1891 for the unit's cruise to Brazil.[8][13]
On 5 May 1892,Bennington was transferred to theSouth Atlantic Squadron and cruised South American waters until 19 July. Setting out fromBahia, Brazil, the gunboat visited Spanish and Italian ports during the 400th anniversary celebration of Columbus' voyage to the western hemisphere. She concluded the European portion of those festivities on 18 February 1893 when she departedCadiz, with a replica of Columbus'scaravelPinta in tow forCuba. After stops in theCanary Islands, theNetherlands West Indies, andHavana, the gunboat arrived back in the United States atHampton Roads, Virginia, on 26 March.[8]
Following participation in the 1893International Naval Review at Hampton Roads,Bennington moved north for operations along the coast ofNew England before beginning preparations for foreign service. To this end, she entered the New York Navy Yard on 24 May and remained there until 6 August. The ship departed New York on the 6th and arrived inLisbon on the 18th. She cruised theMediterranean, visiting various ports along its shores, for the next six months. In February 1894, orders arrived sending her to the Pacific. On the 18th, the gunboat transited theStrait of Gibraltar and headed back across the Atlantic. After steaming aroundCape Horn and stopping at several Latin American ports, the warship finally arrived at theMare Island Navy Yard on 30 April.[8]
Bennington served in the Pacific for a little more than four years. For the most part, her duty consisted of cruising along the west coast protecting American interests in Latin America during the numerous political upheavals that occurred at that time in Central and South America. In addition, she made two extended cruises to theHawaiian Islands. The first came after a group of pro-royalists attempted in January 1895 tostage a countercoup against the provisional government of the islands.Bennington departed Mare Island on 28 May, arrived at Honolulu on 5 June, and spent the next nine months protecting American interests in the islands. On 5 March 1896, she departedHonolulu, bound forSan Francisco where she arrived on 16 March. The following day, the warship entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for five months of repairs.[8]
On 8 August, she resumed cruises along the west coast. That employment lasted a year and a week. On 14 August 1897, Bennington headed back to Hawaii. She arrived inLahaina Roads on 27 September and reached Honolulu on the 30th. Except for a six-day cruise back to Lahaina in March 1898, the gunboat remained at Honolulu for just over nine months.[8]
At the outbreak of theSpanish–American War,Bennington was in Hawaiian waters. After spending the first two months of the war in the Hawaiian Islands, she departed Honolulu on 16 June and steamed to the west coast of the United States. The warship arrived in San Francisco on 26 June and patrolled the California coast for the remainder of hostilities.[8] On 18 September,Bennington stood out of San Francisco on her way ultimately to thePhilippines. She arrived in Hawaii on 27 September and devoted a little over three months to operations in nearby waters. On 7 January 1899, she resumed her voyage west. Ten days out of Honolulu, she stopped atWake Island.[8] ThereCommanderEdward D. Taussig,Bennington's commander, under direct orders fromPresidentWilliam McKinley claimed theatoll for the United States, despite protests from Germany (which considered the island group a part of its claim of theMarshall Islands). Wake eventually became an important link in the Honolulu–Manila trans-Pacificcable.[14]Bennington later made a stop atSan Luis d'Apra,Guam, from 23 January to 15 February whereCommander (laterRear Admiral)Taussig accepted the relinquishment ofGuam from her Spanish colonial governor.Taussig briefly served as the first naval governor ofGuam and established a native ruling council, before continuing on toManila whereBennington arrived on 22 February.[8]
For a little more than two years after her February 1899 arrival,Bennington served in the Philippine Islands in support of the Army's campaigns during thePhilippine–American War. For the most part, her service in the islands consisted of patrol and escort duty – preventing rebel movement and stopping the importation of arms, as well as seeing American troops and supplies safely between the islands. Occasionally,Bennington did see action. On 10 September, she shelled a fort nearLegaspi on the southeastern coast ofLuzon. Two days later, she captured and destroyed the insurgent vesselParao. Between 7 and 9 November, the warship supported an Army landing atSan Fabian on the shores ofLingayen Gulf in northwestern Luzon. The gunboat began a four-month assignment as station ship atCebu on 26 November and concluded that duty on 19 March 1900.[8]
After visitingCavite on Luzon, the gunboat headed for Japan on 3 April and underwent repairs there from 9 April to 19 May before heading back to the Philippines. The warship arrived at Cavite on 27 May and resumed patrols on 3 June. She spent another seven months conducting patrols in the Philippines and supporting the Army's operations in the island chain. On 3 January 1901, she departed Cavite and shaped a course forHong Kong. The gunboat arrived in that British colony on the 6th and began over six months of repairs. At the completion of that work, she departed Hong Kong on 25 June. After a visit toShanghai, the warship headed back to the United States in July and arrived at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 19 August. She was decommissioned there on 5 September 1901.[8]
While she was out of commission at Mare Island,Bennington was refitted. A pilothouse that had been added on top of her bridge and a spotlight platform on her bow – both added in 1893–94 – were removed.Bennington'smainmast was also removed, leaving her as a two-mast rig. In addition, two tall ventilation cowls were added immediately behind the bridge.[15] After 18 months of inactivity,Bennington was recommissioned on 2 March 1903 under the command of CommanderChauncey Thomas.[8]
Over the next 27 months,Bennington cruised in the eastern Pacific along the coasts of North and South America. The warship visited Alaskan ports in the summer of 1903 and the coast of Central America the following fall and winter. In May 1904, she steamed to Hawaii and then proceeded to the Aleutians in June. The winter of 1904 and 1905 saw her voyage south for visits to Pacific ports in Central and South America.[8] In February 1905, she departed San Francisco for a two-month cruise to the Hawaiian Islands, returning to San Diego on 19 July,[8] after a difficult 17-day voyage.[16]
_at_San_Diego%2c_California_(USA)%2c_sunk_by_boiler_explosion_in_July_1905_(NH_100929).jpg)
On the morning of 21 July 1905,Bennington's crew was preparing her to sail to the aid of the monitorWyoming which had broken down and was in need of a tow.[17] After her crew had finished the difficult task of coaling the ship that morning, most of them were belowdecks cleaning themselves from the dirty job. Unbeknownst to anyone on board, three problems with one ofBennington's boilers – oily feed water, an improperly closed steam valve, and a faulty steam gauge – were conspiring against them. At about 10:30, excessive steam pressure in the boiler resulted in aboiler explosion that rocked the ship, sending men and equipment flying into the air. The escaping steam sprayed through the living compartments and decks. The explosion openedBennington's hull to the sea, and she began to list to starboard.[16] Quick actions by the tugSanta Fe – takingBennington under tow and beaching her – almost certainly saved the gunboat from sinking.[16][17]
The combination of the explosion and the scalding steam killed a number of men outright and left others mortally wounded;[16] the final death toll was one officer and sixty-five men,[8] making it one of the U.S. Navy's worst peacetime disasters.[16] Nearly all of the forty-six who survived had an injury of some sort;[8] eleven of the survivors were awarded theMedal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion".[16] One of the survivors wasJohn Henry Turpin, anAfrican-American who had also survived the explosion ofMaine in Havana in February 1898 and was, reportedly, the only man to survive both explosions.[18] The sheer number of casualties – the death toll exceeded the U.S. Navy's death toll for the entirety of the Spanish–American War – overwhelmed San Diego's medical facilities, and many burn victims had to be cared for in makeshift facilities tended by volunteers.[16][17]
The number of dead also taxed the morticians in San Diego, who were hard-pressed to prepare all of the victims for burial. On 23 July, two days after the explosion, the majority of those killed were buried in thecemetery atFort Rosecrans.[19][20] The victims are commemorated by theUSSBennington Monument, a 60-foot (18 m) graniteobelisk dedicated in the cemetery on 7 January 1908.[17][21]
In spite of rumors of misconduct byBennington's engineering crewmen, an official investigation concluded that the explosion was not due to negligence on the part of the crew.[16]
%2c_circa_in_1922_(NH_102774-KN).jpg)
The eleven men who were awarded theMedal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion" were:[16][22]
Also aboard wasJohn Henry Turpin, anAfrican-American sailor who was aboard theUSSMaine when she exploded inHavana harbor in 1898 and would go on to become one of the first African-AmericanChief Petty Officers in the U.S. Navy.
After the explosion,Bennington was refloated and towed to the Mare Island Navy Yard.[20] Because of the extent of the damage and the age of the ship,Bennington was not repaired but was insteaddecommissioned on 31 October 1905. After five years of inactivity,Bennington was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 10 September 1910 and sold forscrap on 14 November.[8]Bennington was not scrapped but was purchased in 1913 by theMatson Line for use as a molasses barge.[23] She was towed to Honolulu and remained in use there from 1913 until 1924, when she wasscuttled offOahu.[2][24]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1905 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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