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USS Benham (DD-796)
Encyclopedia
USS Benham (DD-796), a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, was the third ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Rear Admiral
Andrew E. K. Benham (1832–1905).
Benham was launched 30 August 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Company, Staten Island
, New York
; sponsored by Mrs. Harold Benham, wife of a grandson of Rear Admiral Benham; and commissioned
20 December 1943, Commander
Erle V. Dennet in command.
before sailing southeast to Bermuda
in early January 1944. After arriving in Kingston
on the 14th, she carried out four weeks of shore bombardment, anti-submarine, and carrier escort exercises before returning to New York on 13 February. Following post-shakedown availability, she proceeded to Norfolk, Va.
on the 28th, joined with , and escorted the destroyer tender
through the Panama Canal
to Hawaii
, arriving at Pearl Harbor
on 27 March.
Benham then conducted destroyer type training—carrier screen exercises, antiaircraft gunnery practice, and antisubmarine drills—in preparation for Operation Forager, the planned invasion of the Marianas. On 24 April, however, the destroyer collided with during a night screening exercise, causing extensive damage to her bow. Given the priority accorded "Forager" preparations, Benhams repairs proved slow, and the warship did not return to duty until 14 May.
On 29 May, Benham joined Task Group 52.11 (TG 52.11), comprising , , , and , and sailed for Eniwetok, arriving there a week later. Steaming to Saipan
in the Marianas on 15 June, Benham screened the two escort carriers as they launched air strikes against Japanese ground troops ashore. After hearing reports of a large enemy naval force from the Philippines
headed toward the Marianas, the fast carriers—which had also been flying ground support missions—moved west to fight and win the Battle of the Philippine Sea
on 19 and 20 June. Meanwhile, the American troops ashore had to rely on the seven escort carriers of TG 52.1 for any close air support.
The first Japanese counterattack around Saipan took place on the night of 15 June when three small air raids attacked TG 52.1. Although none closed Benham that night, a strike by a dozen or so Aichi D3A
“Val” dive bombers attacked the escort carriers at dusk on the 17th. Benham joined in the ensuing antiaircraft barrage, helping to shoot down two of the attackers without loss. The following day, several more raids closed the task group; but combat air patrol
(CAP) fighters drove off the attackers.
The destroyer remained with the escort carriers until 2 July when she shifted to the screening and fire support group (TG 52.12) to back up mopping-up operations on Saipan. After that island was secured on the 10th, the destroyer got underway for Eniwetok, arriving there on the 16th. She quickly loaded supplies and ammunition for the next phase of the operation and escorted a convoy of assault troops from Eniwetok to Tinian
, arriving off that island on 19 July.
For the next four days, Benham screened troop transports at sea while other warships conducted gunfire missions against enemy forces on Tinian. After the landings on 24 July, the destroyer spent the rest of the month firing at targets around Sunharon town during the day and covering Marine Corps
battalion
s with defensive gunfire at night. Benham also closed the island in the evenings to fire interdiction missions and pound enemy gun emplacements. On 6 August, the destroyer shifted to Guam
and spent four days bombarding the last Japanese positions on the northeast corner of the island. With the island declared secure on the 10th, Benham steamed east to Eniwetok for repairs alongside a tender.
As part of the preliminaries to the invasion of the Philippines, the fast carriers were ordered to attack Japanese air strength in the Bonins and the Palaus and on Yap
and Mindanao
. On 28 August, in company with TG 38.2—consisting of , , , , , two battleship
s, four cruiser
s, and seventeen other destroyers—Benham steamed west for a large raid on the Palaus. She screened the carriers during attacks there between 6 to 8 September and against Japanese airfields near Sarangani Bay
on Mindanao in the Philippines on 9 and 10 September. Returning to the Palaus on 15 September, the destroyer screened the carriers as they flew strikes in support of the landings on Peleliu
and Angaur
. After a final series of strikes against airfields on Luzon between 21 and 24 September, the task force steamed to Ulithi
on the 29th to rearm and refuel.
On 6 October, TG 38.2 put to sea and joined the three other carrier groups of Task Force 38 (TF 38). Then, the entire task force steamed northwest for raids on the Ryukyu Islands
, Formosa
, and the Philippines. Benham screened Bunker Hill during the strikes on Okinawa and the smaller Ryūkyūs on the 10th. A diversionary raid on Aparri in the Philippines followed on the 11th, and then a large-scale effort to destroy Japanese air power on Formosa began on 12 September.
Although the American attacks neutralized much of the defending Japanese planes on that island, the task force was plagued by night harassing attacks from Mitsubishi G4M
"Betty" twin-engine bombers operating out of Kyūshū
. Over two nights of attacks, Benhams gunners helped splash nine enemy planes and chalked up a tenth as "probable." The task force then slowly steamed east, covering the retirement of —heavily damaged by a Japanese torpedo
—before striking at Japanese installations in the Philippines starting on the 15th. These attacks, intended to clear the way for an American amphibious landing, continued until the 20th when the first troops landed on Leyte.
Detached from the main body on 24 October, Benham escorted Bunker Hill to Manus Island
in the Admiralties for repairs. She therefore missed the series of major engagements in and around the Philippines on 24 and 25 October known as the Battle for Leyte Gulf. Meanwhile, after a brief refit at Manus, the destroyer steamed to Saipan where she rejoined the carrier task force for operations in early November. Arriving off Luzon
on the 11th, Benham helped screen the carriers as they provided air support for Leyte ground operations
. These continued until the 22d, when the fast carriers returned to Ulithi.
The task force returned to the Philippines on 10 December, this time to support landings on Mindanao
. As Japanese air attacks had slackened off by this time, the most notable event to the ships of the task force was a typhoon that swept through the area on the 18th. Caught in the center of the storm, Benham found herself faced with stack-high seas and 100-knot (185 km/h) winds that sent her laboring greatly. More seriously, water flooding through the ventilators shorted out her switchboards, the vent fans failed, and the crew had to bail free water in the extreme heat below decks. After five hours of punishing weather, the worst of the storm passed; and the warship limped to Ulithi
for repairs. There, the crew heard the news that the storm had sunk three other destroyers and damaged at least 27 other ships.
in the Philippines. On 6 and 7 January, while the American invasion forces suffered under enemy air attacks in the South China Sea
and at Lingayen Gulf
, the fast carriers retaliated against airfields on Luzon in a successful attempt to suppress these Japanese strikes. After refueling at sea, TF 38 conducted a final raid against Formosa on the 9th.
In an effort to secure the American supply line between Mindoro
and Lingayan Gulf, TF 38 steamed through the Luzon Strait
into the South China Sea to strike at nearby Japanese defensive installations. Although plagued by bad weather, the American carriers raided Japanese shipping along the coast of Indochina
on 12 January and struck at airfields and ports on Formosa, Hainan
, and in China
on the 15th and 16. After a brief excursion north to fly photographic missions over Okinawa, the task force returned to Ulithi on the 27 January.
With operations on Mindoro and Luzon well underway, the destroyer’s crew received two weeks of rest while the fast carriers geared up for their next mission, a major raid on the Japanese home islands. On 10 February, after the carrier force departed Ulithi, Benham and 14 other destroyers formed a scouting and picket line about 35 miles (65 km) ahead of the carriers. Intended to destroy enemy surface pickets and provide early warning for the carriers, the destroyers screened the fast carriers during their air strikes on Honshū
on 16 and 17 February. During these operations, the destroyers vectored in combat air patrol (CAP) against enemy “snoopers”, helping to splash eight. The task force turned south the next day and began strikes on Iwo Jima
in support of the amphibious landings
on the 19th. After a second strike on Honshū on 25 and 26 February, the warships returned to Ulithi at the beginning of March.
On 13 March, Benham embarked upon the last major amphibious operation of the war, the invasion of Okinawa
. In company with other destroyers in the screen, she covered the carriers during the American attacks on the Kyūshū
airfields and enemy naval installations on the shores of the Inland Sea. The destroyer made her first radar contact with enemy "snoopers" on 17 March and fired on, and drove off, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter that closed her position the following morning. The action continued on the 19th, when Benham and made a submarine
contact at 02:50. Over the next four hours, both destroyers exhausted their depth charge
s on the target but did not sink the Japanese submarine. The destroyer then collected survivors from —heavily damaged by a kamikaze
on 19 March—and delivered them to Wasp.
On 31 March, obtained a sonar
contact and made a depth-charge attack on a suspected Japanese submarine. Benham’s crew reported an oil slick and a strong odor of diesel fuel afterwards, but again there were no firm results. On 6 April, five days after landings began on Okinawa, Japanese air activity increased dramatically as they launched the first of their massed kamikaze attacks against American forces in and around the Ryūkyūs. Although these massive raids plagued picket destroyers elsewhere, Benham suffered no direct attacks during this initial foray. At 09:44 on 17 April, however, four Zeros closed her position. One strafed Colahan (DD-658), pulled up, and then dove straight at Benham. Although antiaircraft fire from several destroyers splashed the plane about 50 feet (15 m) astern, the Zero disintegrated in a large explosion that killed one sailor, wounded 14, and knocked out the destroyer’s radar.
After temporary repairs, Benham spent the rest of April and early May at sea, helping to protect American forces operating in and around Okinawa. After a brief repair period at Ulithi in mid-May, she once again screened the fast carriers during the naval air strikes against Kyūshū
and Nansei Shoto in early June. The warship retired to Leyte on the 13th, intending to conduct a quick replenishment there but was diverted to Guam for more serious repairs on her engineering plant.
Rejoining TF 38 on 21 July, Benham stayed with the fast carriers for the next four weeks, screening them during the 24 and 28 July strikes on the Inland Sea, the attacks on Kobe and Nagoya
on the 30th, and the final strikes on Honshū and the Tokyo plain
in mid-August. During these operations, Benham carried out varied duties including an anti-shipping sweep off Shikoku
, a shore bombardment against the naval seaplane
base at Shionomisaki, and even shuttle missions ferrying British
liaison officers between British and American aircraft carriers.
Following the announcement of the Japanese surrender on 15 August, the destroyer patrolled off the home islands until the 27th, when she joined the long line of ships entering Sagami Wan to receive the surrender of the Yokosuka Naval Base
. After a brief trip to Iwo Jima
to pick up several million yen of military currency for use in Japan, the destroyer took up station near the port bow of for the official surrender ceremony on 2 September. The warship remained in Japanese waters until 26 October when she sailed for home. Benham spent the next year at various ports on the west coast until finally decommissioning on 18 October 1946. She was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, Calif.
and the ensuing requirement for more warships in service, Benham was recommissioned at Long Beach, Calif., on 24 March 1951, Comdr. Allen P. Cook in command. After steaming to the east coast, by way of the Panama Canal
, she underwent an extensive overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard. Among other modernization efforts, her old 40-millimeter guns were replaced by newer 3 inches (76 mm) guns—thought to be more capable against jet aircraft. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet
, with her home port
at Newport, R.I.
, the destroyer conducted shakedown operations and training exercises along the east coast
for the rest of that year.
Benham began her first overseas Atlantic deployment the next spring, sailing on a Europe
an goodwill cruise on 22 April 1952. In company with , the warship visited ports in Newfoundland, Iceland
, Ireland
, England
, Sweden
, Germany
, Libya
, and Italy
before returning home on 16 September. Following six months of antisubmarine exercises and type training out of Newport, she got underway for a second Mediterranean deployment on 17 April 1953. This cruise, which lasted for five months, took her to Italy
, France
, Turkey
, and Greece
. Returning to the east coast on 3 September, she entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
for a four-month modernization overhaul. Upon leaving the shipyard in January 1954, she spent the next five months conducting training exercises along the east coast in preparation for a world cruise.
Departing Newport on 1 June, Benham and the rest of Destroyer Division 242 (DesDiv 242) steamed south, passed through the Panama Canal, and crossed the Pacific Ocean
to Japan
. There, she spent several months training and patrolling with the 7th Fleet. One such patrol took place in the South China Sea
after two Chinese communist Lavochkin La. 7 fighters shot down an Air Cathay passenger airplane in late July, killing half of the 18 passengers on board. On 25 July, while Benham searched for survivors, two Chinese fighters attacked nearby American fighters and were promptly splashed for their troubles. The destroyer also conducted antisubmarine training exercises with friendly submarines off Okinawa. Following a two-week yard period at Sasebo, Japan, the destroyer sailed for home in October. She visited Hong Kong and Singapore
first, then sailed into the Indian Ocean
before stopping at Ceylon
and Aden
. Other port visits included Naples
, Barcelona
, Gibraltar
, and the Azores
before she finally arrived in Newport on 18 December.
After a short leave and upkeep period, she spent most of 1955 conducting brief training missions out of Newport for the Atlantic Fleet antisubmarine and destroyer force commands. On 7 January 1956, Benham entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for another modernization overhaul. She then spent the summer serving as a school ship at Newport, helping to train prospective commanding officers and engineers. In September, the destroyer entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
for a two-week availability period. Then, given the growing tensions in the Middle East
over the Egypt
ian nationalization of the Suez Canal
, her crew began intensive training exercises out of Newport in preparation for a possible emergency deployment. On 29 October, Israeli forces attacked Egyptian forces
in the Sinai, followed two days later by British and French air strikes on British
and French
paratrooper
s dropped on Port Said
, the start of a larger operation to seize the entire Suez Canal
. The next day, however, the Soviet Union
declared its intentions to support Egypt in this conflict.
In response, on the morning 6 November, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
put all American warships on alert; and some, including Benham, received orders to reinforce the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. The destroyer got underway that same day and, after a non-stop 16-day voyage, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean on the 22d. There, she helped protect the deployment to Egypt of an emergency force under the auspices of United Nations. Benham also helped cover the slow withdraw of British, French, and Israeli forces from the Suez Canal region.
With the crisis over, the warship departed for home on 11 February 1957, reaching Newport on the 20th. Soon thereafter, she returned to a regular schedule of training missions off the east coast. Following three months of local exercises out of Newport, the destroyer conducted a midshipman summer cruise to South America
in June and July visiting Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
; Guantanamo Bay
, Cuba
; and Culebra, Puerto Rico
. In September, Benham steamed northeast from Newport for a series of NATO antisubmarine exercises in the North Atlantic. After these operations, the crew spent two days in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
, and Chatham, England, before returning to Newport. Moving to Boston for a three-month yard period in January 1958, the crew helped prepare the destroyer for another Mediterranean deployment later that spring.
In the Middle East
, meanwhile, the specter of civil war
loomed in Lebanon
following a Moslem uprising in Beirut
in early May. The government of President Camille Chamoun
appealed to Britain and the United States
for aid. Although wary of becoming involved in what was essentially a domestic dispute, President Eisenhower authorized the positioning of a rapid reaction force in the region. On 14 July, following a left-wing coup in Iraq, Eisenhower authorized intervention in Lebanon in an attempt to contain the spread of unrest. Some 10,000 marines began landing in Lebanon on the following day. As part of the American response to this crisis, Benham hurriedly deployed to the Mediterranean, sailing for southern Europe from Newport on 14 July. Over the next four months, the warship served in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea
, and the Persian Gulf
, supporting American troops as they helped restore order in Lebanon.
After the last troops evacuated Beirut on 25 October, she sailed for home, arriving late in November and remaining in port for the rest of the 1958. During 1959, in addition to her normal training routine out of Newport, Benham conducted two major exercises, a carrier familiarization cruise off Mayport, Fla.
, that spring and an antisubmarine training voyage to the Caribbean
that summer. Tapped for foreign transfer under the Military Assistance Program (MAP), the warship moved to the Boston Naval Shipyard in early 1960 for repairs and a substantial overhaul.
Benham was decommissioned at Boston on 30 June 1960. The destroyer was then transferred to Peru
as a loan under the Military Assistance Program (MAP) on 15 December 1960. On 15 January 1974, Benham’s name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
, and she was sold to the government of Peru that same day.
as BAP Villar (DD-71) until scrapped in 1980.
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, was the third ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Andrew E. K. Benham (1832–1905).
Benham was launched 30 August 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Company, Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; sponsored by Mrs. Harold Benham, wife of a grandson of Rear Admiral Benham; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
20 December 1943, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Erle V. Dennet in command.
1944
After fitting out at New York, Benham conducted her initial shakedown training in Long Island SoundLong Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
before sailing southeast to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in early January 1944. After arriving in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
on the 14th, she carried out four weeks of shore bombardment, anti-submarine, and carrier escort exercises before returning to New York on 13 February. Following post-shakedown availability, she proceeded to Norfolk, Va.
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
on the 28th, joined with , and escorted the destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
through the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, arriving at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 27 March.
Benham then conducted destroyer type training—carrier screen exercises, antiaircraft gunnery practice, and antisubmarine drills—in preparation for Operation Forager, the planned invasion of the Marianas. On 24 April, however, the destroyer collided with during a night screening exercise, causing extensive damage to her bow. Given the priority accorded "Forager" preparations, Benhams repairs proved slow, and the warship did not return to duty until 14 May.
On 29 May, Benham joined Task Group 52.11 (TG 52.11), comprising , , , and , and sailed for Eniwetok, arriving there a week later. Steaming to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
in the Marianas on 15 June, Benham screened the two escort carriers as they launched air strikes against Japanese ground troops ashore. After hearing reports of a large enemy naval force from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
headed toward the Marianas, the fast carriers—which had also been flying ground support missions—moved west to fight and win the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
on 19 and 20 June. Meanwhile, the American troops ashore had to rely on the seven escort carriers of TG 52.1 for any close air support.
The first Japanese counterattack around Saipan took place on the night of 15 June when three small air raids attacked TG 52.1. Although none closed Benham that night, a strike by a dozen or so Aichi D3A
Aichi D3A
The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....
“Val” dive bombers attacked the escort carriers at dusk on the 17th. Benham joined in the ensuing antiaircraft barrage, helping to shoot down two of the attackers without loss. The following day, several more raids closed the task group; but combat air patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
(CAP) fighters drove off the attackers.
The destroyer remained with the escort carriers until 2 July when she shifted to the screening and fire support group (TG 52.12) to back up mopping-up operations on Saipan. After that island was secured on the 10th, the destroyer got underway for Eniwetok, arriving there on the 16th. She quickly loaded supplies and ammunition for the next phase of the operation and escorted a convoy of assault troops from Eniwetok to Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, arriving off that island on 19 July.
For the next four days, Benham screened troop transports at sea while other warships conducted gunfire missions against enemy forces on Tinian. After the landings on 24 July, the destroyer spent the rest of the month firing at targets around Sunharon town during the day and covering Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s with defensive gunfire at night. Benham also closed the island in the evenings to fire interdiction missions and pound enemy gun emplacements. On 6 August, the destroyer shifted to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and spent four days bombarding the last Japanese positions on the northeast corner of the island. With the island declared secure on the 10th, Benham steamed east to Eniwetok for repairs alongside a tender.
As part of the preliminaries to the invasion of the Philippines, the fast carriers were ordered to attack Japanese air strength in the Bonins and the Palaus and on Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. On 28 August, in company with TG 38.2—consisting of , , , , , two battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, four cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s, and seventeen other destroyers—Benham steamed west for a large raid on the Palaus. She screened the carriers during attacks there between 6 to 8 September and against Japanese airfields near Sarangani Bay
Sarangani Bay
Sarangani Bay is a bay located on the southern tip of Mindanao in the Philippines. It opens up to the Celebes Sea on the Pacific Ocean. General Santos City, one of the Philippines most important cities and ports, is located on the bay, making the bay one of the busiest and often the sight of...
on Mindanao in the Philippines on 9 and 10 September. Returning to the Palaus on 15 September, the destroyer screened the carriers as they flew strikes in support of the landings on Peleliu
Battle of Peleliu
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S...
and Angaur
Battle of Angaur
The Battle of Angaur was a battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 —30 September 1944.-Background:...
. After a final series of strikes against airfields on Luzon between 21 and 24 September, the task force steamed to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
on the 29th to rearm and refuel.
On 6 October, TG 38.2 put to sea and joined the three other carrier groups of Task Force 38 (TF 38). Then, the entire task force steamed northwest for raids on the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
, Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and the Philippines. Benham screened Bunker Hill during the strikes on Okinawa and the smaller Ryūkyūs on the 10th. A diversionary raid on Aparri in the Philippines followed on the 11th, and then a large-scale effort to destroy Japanese air power on Formosa began on 12 September.
Although the American attacks neutralized much of the defending Japanese planes on that island, the task force was plagued by night harassing attacks from Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
"Betty" twin-engine bombers operating out of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. Over two nights of attacks, Benhams gunners helped splash nine enemy planes and chalked up a tenth as "probable." The task force then slowly steamed east, covering the retirement of —heavily damaged by a Japanese torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
—before striking at Japanese installations in the Philippines starting on the 15th. These attacks, intended to clear the way for an American amphibious landing, continued until the 20th when the first troops landed on Leyte.
Detached from the main body on 24 October, Benham escorted Bunker Hill to Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
in the Admiralties for repairs. She therefore missed the series of major engagements in and around the Philippines on 24 and 25 October known as the Battle for Leyte Gulf. Meanwhile, after a brief refit at Manus, the destroyer steamed to Saipan where she rejoined the carrier task force for operations in early November. Arriving off Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
on the 11th, Benham helped screen the carriers as they provided air support for Leyte ground operations
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
. These continued until the 22d, when the fast carriers returned to Ulithi.
The task force returned to the Philippines on 10 December, this time to support landings on Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. As Japanese air attacks had slackened off by this time, the most notable event to the ships of the task force was a typhoon that swept through the area on the 18th. Caught in the center of the storm, Benham found herself faced with stack-high seas and 100-knot (185 km/h) winds that sent her laboring greatly. More seriously, water flooding through the ventilators shorted out her switchboards, the vent fans failed, and the crew had to bail free water in the extreme heat below decks. After five hours of punishing weather, the worst of the storm passed; and the warship limped to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
for repairs. There, the crew heard the news that the storm had sunk three other destroyers and damaged at least 27 other ships.
1945
Just over a week later, Benham got underway again, this time with TG 38.1, built around , , and . These fast carriers struck at Formosa on 3 and 4 January 1945 in preparation for Operation "Musketeer," the landings on LuzonBattle of Luzon
The Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony The Philippines, and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory...
in the Philippines. On 6 and 7 January, while the American invasion forces suffered under enemy air attacks in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
and at Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
, the fast carriers retaliated against airfields on Luzon in a successful attempt to suppress these Japanese strikes. After refueling at sea, TF 38 conducted a final raid against Formosa on the 9th.
In an effort to secure the American supply line between Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
and Lingayan Gulf, TF 38 steamed through the Luzon Strait
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait is the strait between the island country of Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean....
into the South China Sea to strike at nearby Japanese defensive installations. Although plagued by bad weather, the American carriers raided Japanese shipping along the coast of Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
on 12 January and struck at airfields and ports on Formosa, Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
, and in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on the 15th and 16. After a brief excursion north to fly photographic missions over Okinawa, the task force returned to Ulithi on the 27 January.
With operations on Mindoro and Luzon well underway, the destroyer’s crew received two weeks of rest while the fast carriers geared up for their next mission, a major raid on the Japanese home islands. On 10 February, after the carrier force departed Ulithi, Benham and 14 other destroyers formed a scouting and picket line about 35 miles (65 km) ahead of the carriers. Intended to destroy enemy surface pickets and provide early warning for the carriers, the destroyers screened the fast carriers during their air strikes on Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
on 16 and 17 February. During these operations, the destroyers vectored in combat air patrol (CAP) against enemy “snoopers”, helping to splash eight. The task force turned south the next day and began strikes on Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
in support of the amphibious landings
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
on the 19th. After a second strike on Honshū on 25 and 26 February, the warships returned to Ulithi at the beginning of March.
On 13 March, Benham embarked upon the last major amphibious operation of the war, the invasion of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. In company with other destroyers in the screen, she covered the carriers during the American attacks on the Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
airfields and enemy naval installations on the shores of the Inland Sea. The destroyer made her first radar contact with enemy "snoopers" on 17 March and fired on, and drove off, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter that closed her position the following morning. The action continued on the 19th, when Benham and made a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
contact at 02:50. Over the next four hours, both destroyers exhausted their depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s on the target but did not sink the Japanese submarine. The destroyer then collected survivors from —heavily damaged by a kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
on 19 March—and delivered them to Wasp.
On 31 March, obtained a sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
contact and made a depth-charge attack on a suspected Japanese submarine. Benham’s crew reported an oil slick and a strong odor of diesel fuel afterwards, but again there were no firm results. On 6 April, five days after landings began on Okinawa, Japanese air activity increased dramatically as they launched the first of their massed kamikaze attacks against American forces in and around the Ryūkyūs. Although these massive raids plagued picket destroyers elsewhere, Benham suffered no direct attacks during this initial foray. At 09:44 on 17 April, however, four Zeros closed her position. One strafed Colahan (DD-658), pulled up, and then dove straight at Benham. Although antiaircraft fire from several destroyers splashed the plane about 50 feet (15 m) astern, the Zero disintegrated in a large explosion that killed one sailor, wounded 14, and knocked out the destroyer’s radar.
After temporary repairs, Benham spent the rest of April and early May at sea, helping to protect American forces operating in and around Okinawa. After a brief repair period at Ulithi in mid-May, she once again screened the fast carriers during the naval air strikes against Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
and Nansei Shoto in early June. The warship retired to Leyte on the 13th, intending to conduct a quick replenishment there but was diverted to Guam for more serious repairs on her engineering plant.
Rejoining TF 38 on 21 July, Benham stayed with the fast carriers for the next four weeks, screening them during the 24 and 28 July strikes on the Inland Sea, the attacks on Kobe and Nagoya
Nagoya, Aichi
is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan.Located on the Pacific coast in the Chūbu region on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Moji...
on the 30th, and the final strikes on Honshū and the Tokyo plain
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
in mid-August. During these operations, Benham carried out varied duties including an anti-shipping sweep off Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
, a shore bombardment against the naval seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base at Shionomisaki, and even shuttle missions ferrying British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
liaison officers between British and American aircraft carriers.
Following the announcement of the Japanese surrender on 15 August, the destroyer patrolled off the home islands until the 27th, when she joined the long line of ships entering Sagami Wan to receive the surrender of the Yokosuka Naval Base
United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka
U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...
. After a brief trip to Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
to pick up several million yen of military currency for use in Japan, the destroyer took up station near the port bow of for the official surrender ceremony on 2 September. The warship remained in Japanese waters until 26 October when she sailed for home. Benham spent the next year at various ports on the west coast until finally decommissioning on 18 October 1946. She was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego, Calif.
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
1951–1960
In 1951, owing to the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the ensuing requirement for more warships in service, Benham was recommissioned at Long Beach, Calif., on 24 March 1951, Comdr. Allen P. Cook in command. After steaming to the east coast, by way of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, she underwent an extensive overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard. Among other modernization efforts, her old 40-millimeter guns were replaced by newer 3 inches (76 mm) guns—thought to be more capable against jet aircraft. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, with her home port
Home port
A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...
at Newport, R.I.
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
, the destroyer conducted shakedown operations and training exercises along the east coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
for the rest of that year.
Benham began her first overseas Atlantic deployment the next spring, sailing on a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an goodwill cruise on 22 April 1952. In company with , the warship visited ports in Newfoundland, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
before returning home on 16 September. Following six months of antisubmarine exercises and type training out of Newport, she got underway for a second Mediterranean deployment on 17 April 1953. This cruise, which lasted for five months, took her to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Returning to the east coast on 3 September, she entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
for a four-month modernization overhaul. Upon leaving the shipyard in January 1954, she spent the next five months conducting training exercises along the east coast in preparation for a world cruise.
Departing Newport on 1 June, Benham and the rest of Destroyer Division 242 (DesDiv 242) steamed south, passed through the Panama Canal, and crossed the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. There, she spent several months training and patrolling with the 7th Fleet. One such patrol took place in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
after two Chinese communist Lavochkin La. 7 fighters shot down an Air Cathay passenger airplane in late July, killing half of the 18 passengers on board. On 25 July, while Benham searched for survivors, two Chinese fighters attacked nearby American fighters and were promptly splashed for their troubles. The destroyer also conducted antisubmarine training exercises with friendly submarines off Okinawa. Following a two-week yard period at Sasebo, Japan, the destroyer sailed for home in October. She visited Hong Kong and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
first, then sailed into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
before stopping at Ceylon
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
. Other port visits included Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, and the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
before she finally arrived in Newport on 18 December.
After a short leave and upkeep period, she spent most of 1955 conducting brief training missions out of Newport for the Atlantic Fleet antisubmarine and destroyer force commands. On 7 January 1956, Benham entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for another modernization overhaul. She then spent the summer serving as a school ship at Newport, helping to train prospective commanding officers and engineers. In September, the destroyer entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
for a two-week availability period. Then, given the growing tensions in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
over the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian nationalization of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, her crew began intensive training exercises out of Newport in preparation for a possible emergency deployment. On 29 October, Israeli forces attacked Egyptian forces
Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 379,000, in addition to 479,000 reservists for a total of 858,000 strong. The modern army was created in the 1820s, and during the...
in the Sinai, followed two days later by British and French air strikes on British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and French
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s dropped on Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, the start of a larger operation to seize the entire Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. The next day, however, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
declared its intentions to support Egypt in this conflict.
In response, on the morning 6 November, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
put all American warships on alert; and some, including Benham, received orders to reinforce the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. The destroyer got underway that same day and, after a non-stop 16-day voyage, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean on the 22d. There, she helped protect the deployment to Egypt of an emergency force under the auspices of United Nations. Benham also helped cover the slow withdraw of British, French, and Israeli forces from the Suez Canal region.
With the crisis over, the warship departed for home on 11 February 1957, reaching Newport on the 20th. Soon thereafter, she returned to a regular schedule of training missions off the east coast. Following three months of local exercises out of Newport, the destroyer conducted a midshipman summer cruise to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in June and July visiting Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
; Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
; and Culebra, Puerto Rico
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
. In September, Benham steamed northeast from Newport for a series of NATO antisubmarine exercises in the North Atlantic. After these operations, the crew spent two days in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and Chatham, England, before returning to Newport. Moving to Boston for a three-month yard period in January 1958, the crew helped prepare the destroyer for another Mediterranean deployment later that spring.
In the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, meanwhile, the specter of civil war
Lebanon crisis of 1958
The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a Lebanese political crisis caused by political and religious tensions in the country. It included a U.S. military intervention.-Background:...
loomed in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
following a Moslem uprising in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
in early May. The government of President Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....
appealed to Britain and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for aid. Although wary of becoming involved in what was essentially a domestic dispute, President Eisenhower authorized the positioning of a rapid reaction force in the region. On 14 July, following a left-wing coup in Iraq, Eisenhower authorized intervention in Lebanon in an attempt to contain the spread of unrest. Some 10,000 marines began landing in Lebanon on the following day. As part of the American response to this crisis, Benham hurriedly deployed to the Mediterranean, sailing for southern Europe from Newport on 14 July. Over the next four months, the warship served in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, and the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, supporting American troops as they helped restore order in Lebanon.
After the last troops evacuated Beirut on 25 October, she sailed for home, arriving late in November and remaining in port for the rest of the 1958. During 1959, in addition to her normal training routine out of Newport, Benham conducted two major exercises, a carrier familiarization cruise off Mayport, Fla.
Naval Station Mayport
Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a military airfield with one asphalt paved runway measuring 8,001 x 200 ft. ....
, that spring and an antisubmarine training voyage to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
that summer. Tapped for foreign transfer under the Military Assistance Program (MAP), the warship moved to the Boston Naval Shipyard in early 1960 for repairs and a substantial overhaul.
Benham was decommissioned at Boston on 30 June 1960. The destroyer was then transferred to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
as a loan under the Military Assistance Program (MAP) on 15 December 1960. On 15 January 1974, Benham’s name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
, and she was sold to the government of Peru that same day.
BAP Villar (DD-71)
The ship served in the Peruvian NavyPeruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
as BAP Villar (DD-71) until scrapped in 1980.