Naval
Historical Center #NH 51094
| Tonnage | 1839 tons standard displacement |
| Dimensions | 348'2" by 35'4" by 17'4" 106.12m by 10.77m by 5.28m |
| Maximum speed | 35 knots |
| Complement | 208 |
| Armament | 5 5"/38
dual-purpose guns 2x5 21" torpedo tubes 6 0.50 machine guns Depth charges |
| Bunkerage | 453 tons fuel oil |
| Range | 6500 nautical miles (12,000 km) at 12 knots |
| Modifications |
1942: Removed one bank of torpedoes and one 5"/38 mount. Added 6 20mm Oerlikon AA guns, 6 depth charge throwers, and SC and FD radar. Late 1942: Removed 2 20mm guns and added 1x2 40mm Bofors AA guns. This modification was delayed by shortages of 40mm guns and throughout 1942 the ships of the class varied greatly in armament, with some receiving a temporary 1x4 1.1" gun mount. 1945-5: Light antiaircraft armament
standardized to 2x2, 2x4 40mm guns and 2x2, 2x1 20mm guns with removal
of all torpedo tubes. However, only twelve ships received this refit
before the end of hostilities. |
The Bensons were completed in 1940-43. They varied considerably in design details and are sometimes treated as up to three distinct classes (Benson, Gleaves, and Bristol). In particular, some of the Bristols were modified by replacing one of the 5" guns with 2 40mm Bofors and 4 20mm Oerlikons. They were "rush job" ships based on the Sims class and were meant to fill the gap until the Fletchers could appear in large numbers. As such, they performed adequately, helping to hold the line in the Solomons and elsewhere.
The ships had excellent machinery dispersal for
their size, with widely separated boiler rooms. They were the first
destoyer class to ship an emergency generator on the main deck, where
it would be relatively safe from flooding, and their hulls were
significantly stronger than the Sims.
Those built by Bath Iron Works used the same high-pressure machinery as
the Mahans while those build by
Bethlehem used used that company's own machinery.
|
Arrived 1942-2 |
Crippled in surface action and scuttled 1943-7-13 off Kolombangara | |
|
Arrived 1942-3-11 |
Sunk by aircraft 1942-10-15 in the Solomons | |
|
Arrived 1942-3-24 |
Sunk
in surface action 1942-11-13 off Guadalcanal |
|
|
Arrived 1942-3-25 |
||
|
Completed 1942-3-31 (San Francisco) |
Sunk by gunfire 1942-11-13 off Guadalcanal | |
|
Completed 1942-4-30 (San Francisco) |
||
| Bailey | Arrived 1942-5 | |
| Bancroft | Arrived 1942-5 | |
| Buchanan | Arrived 1942-5 | |
| Barton | Arrived 1942-6 | Sunk by gunfire 1942-11-13 off Guadalcanal |
| Farenholt | Arrived 1942-6 | |
| Aaron Ward | Arrived 1942-6 | Sunk by aircraft 1943-4-7 off Guadalcanal |
| Caldwell | Completed 1942-6-10 (San Francisco) | |
| Duncan | Arrived 1942-7 | Sunk in surface action 1942-10-12 |
| Coghlan | Completed 1942-7-10 (San Francisco) | |
| Frazier | Completed 1942-7-30 (San Francisco) | |
| McCalla | Arrived 1942-8-17 | |
| Landsdowne | Arrived 1942-8-21 | |
| Lardner | Arrived 1942-8-21 | |
| Gansevoort | Completed 1942-8-25 (San Francisco) | |
| Meade | Arrived 1942-9-1 | |
| Gillespie | Completed 1942-9-18 (San Francisco) | |
| Kalk | Completed 1942-10-17 (San Francisco) | |
| Edwards | Arrived 1942-11 | |
| Endicott | Completed 1943-2-5 (Seattle) | |
| Welles | Completed 1943-8-16 (Seattle) | |
| Hobby | Arrived 1944-1-9 | |
| Nicholson | Arrived 1944-1-12 | |
| Wilkes | Arrived 1944-1-12 | |
| Swanson | Arrived 1944-1-14 | |
| Thorn | Arrived 1944-1-29 | |
| Stevenson | Arrived 1944-1-30 | |
| Stockton | Arrived 1944-1-31 | |
| Eberle | Arrived 1944-6 | |
| Charles F. Hughes | Arrived 1945-2 | |
| Shubrick | Arrived 1945-2-1 | |
| Madison | Arrived 1945-4-28 | |
| Herndon | Arrived 1945-4-28 | |
| Benson | Arrived 1945-5 | |
| Hilary P. Jones | Arrived 1945-5-1 | |
| Odronaux | Arrived 1945-5-8 | |
| Satterlee | Arrived 1945-5-9 | |
| Mayo | Arrived 1945-5-12 | |
| Boyle | Arrived 1945-6 | |
| Champlin | Arrived 1945-6-4 |
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007-2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index
