USS Bennington (CV-20)
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USS Bennington as an ASW-carrier on 5 March 1965
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Bennington |
Namesake | Battle of Bennington |
Ordered | 15 December 1941 |
Builder | New York Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 15 December 1942 |
Launched | 28 February 1944 |
Commissioned | 6 August 1944 |
Decommissioned | 8 November 1946 |
Recommissioned | 13 November 1952 |
Decommissioned | 15 January 1970 |
Reclassified |
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Stricken | 20 September 1989 |
Fate | Scrapped, 12 January 1994 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam | 93 ft (28.3 m) |
Draft | 34 ft 2 in (10.41 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
Range | 14,100 nmi (26,100 km; 16,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
Complement | 2,600 officers and enlisted men |
Armament |
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Armor |
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Aircraft carried |
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USS Bennington (CV/CVA/CVS-20) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946 and from 1952 to 1970. She was sold for scrap in 1994.
Service history
World War II
USS Bennington was named for a
Bennington completed trials, shakedown training, and post-shakedown availability by 14 December when she departed
Operations off Iwo Jima
She arrived in Ulithi lagoon on 8 February and became a unit of Task Group (TG) 58.1. The aircraft carrier remained at Ulithi only two days, departing the atoll with TG 58.1 on the 10th to make air attacks on the Japanese home islands in support of the
The aircraft carrier retired from the vicinity of Honshu on 18 February, fueled the next day, and then steamed toward Iwo Jima to provide close support. She continued that duty from 20 to 22 February before retiring for a fueling rendezvous on the 23rd. The following day, she and her sister carriers set a course back toward Japan. On the 25th, her air group participated in another series of attacks on the Tokyo region of Japan. Retiring on the 26th, Bennington launched aircraft against airfields on
Okinawa campaign
On 14 March, she returned to sea. After several days of training exercises, Bennington and the other carriers of TF 58 steamed toward
That phase of the operation lasted until early on the morning of the initial landings on 1 April. After the assault force went ashore, Bennington and the other fast carriers began dividing their time between strikes on Okinawa and the surrounding islands in direct support of the occupying troops and raids on the Japanese home islands, primarily Kyushu, in distant support of the operation. On 7 April, Bennington aircraft helped stifle the last major action of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The battleship Yamato, escorted by light cruiser Yahagi and eight destroyers, came out of Japan in a desperate attempt to break up the landings at Okinawa. That force, lacking any air cover, was spotted on the 6th by American submarines; and, on the 7th, by American patrol planes. When TF 58 attack groups found the force on the 7th, Yamato, Yahagi, and four of the destroyers were sunk. The four destroyers that escaped also suffered damage but managed to reach the Sasebo Naval Arsenal. Bennington aviators claimed at least two torpedo hits on the battleship at the cost of a single plane from her air group.
The aircraft carrier continued to give support to the Okinawa operation, to provide combat air patrol to intercept enemy air raids, and to attack the airfields that were the points of origin for those raids. On 28 April, Bennington and the rest of TG 58.1 left the vicinity of Okinawa for rest and relaxation at Ulithi. She remained at the fleet anchorage from 30 April to 9 May. On the latter day, she stood out of Ulithi and, after exercises in the area, headed back to Okinawa on the 10th. The aircraft carrier resumed support duty for the Okinawa campaign on 12 May. Again, she divided her time between direct support for the troops fighting on the island and sweeps against the Kyushu airfields. Early in June, Bennington suffered a damaged flight deck when TF 38 (on 27 May the fleet, task forces, and task groups changed designation) steamed through Typhoon Connie. On 9 June, she set a course for Leyte Gulf and repairs. The ship arrived at her destination on the 11th and underwent repairs until the 27th. She cleared the base at San Pedro Bay (Philippines) on 1 July in company with the rest of TF 38.
End of the war
For the remainder of the war, she and the other fast carriers concentrated exclusively upon the
After hostilities ended, Bennington continued operations in the Japanese home islands in support of
Cold War
Bennington remained in reserve for almost four years. On 29 October 1950, she moved to the New York Naval Shipyard to receive her
During the training cruise, an explosion occurred in her number 1 fireroom on 27 April. 11 men were killed. She put into Guantánamo Bay on the 29th, completed repairs in a week, and returned to sea to continue her shakedown training. On 7 May, she concluded training operations and set a course back to New York. After a stop at Norfolk to disembark her air group, the carrier reentered the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 May to begin post-shakedown availability. That summer, she began normal operations with the
1954 catapult explosion and fire
At 0600 on 26 May, Bennington began launching aircraft for the qualifications. Ten minutes later, white "smoke" emanating from Hangar Bay 1 caused Captain
A court of inquiry into the explosion chaired by Quonset Point Commander Fleet Air John Hoskins determined that hazards related to hydraulic catapults were previously known and had not yet "led to serious consequences."[2] The inquiry's conclusions eventually led to the Navy's abandoning hydro-pneumatic catapults in favor of steam-driven launch systems.[4]
Bennington arrived in the New York Naval Shipyard for extensive repairs on 12 June. In addition to repairing the damaged area, the shipyard made major modifications originally scheduled for a later date. She received the
1955–1964
Over the next nine years, the period preceding the United States' full entrance into the
On 7 May 1957, while docked in Sydney for Coral Sea Day celebrations, ten University of Sydney students dressed as pirates boarded the aircraft carrier in the early morning hours undetected. While some began soliciting donations from the Navy crew for a local charity, others entered the bridge. The public address system was turned on. "Now hear this!" announced Paul Lennon, a medical student. "The USS Bennington has been captured by Sydney University pirates!"[6][7] Alarms for general quarters, atomic and chemical attacks were sounded, rousing the crew from their bunks.[8] Marines escorted the students off the ship. No charges were filed.[9]
The third deployment of the period, from August 1958 to January 1959 with ATG-4 aboard, came as an emergency assignment occasioned by
Vietnam War and later career
Bennington's final seven years of active service, which included four more assignments with the 7th Fleet, coincided with the period of direct involvement of United States armed forces in the
On 18 May 1966, while cruising off of
On 4 November 1966, Bennington embarked upon her next to last 7th Fleet assignment. Throughout that tour of duty, she served with the larger carriers on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. In addition to providing antisubmarine protection to Task Force 77, she also had the responsibility for tracking and identifying all ships operating in the vicinity of the task force and for providing search and rescue services for downed aviators. The deployment ended on 21 April, and Bennington headed for Australia to participate in the celebration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Allied victory in the Battle of the Coral Sea. The carrier departed Sydney, Australia, on 8 May and, after a stop at Pearl Harbor on the 18th, arrived in San Diego on 23 May 1967.
After almost a year of normal operations along the west coast, she stood out of Long Beach, California, for the final deployment on 30 April 1968. She made a stop at Pearl Harbor from 15 to 20 May and arrived in United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka on 29 May. Her last deployment brought more of the same duty that she had seen on the previous one, antisubmarine protection for TF 77, ship identification work, and search and rescue services. She concluded that tour of duty on 28 October when she departed Yokosuka to return to the United States. Bennington arrived in Long Beach on 9 November and, on the 14th, entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for a five-month yard overhaul. The aircraft carrier resumed active service on 30 April 1969 and conducted normal operations along the California coast for the remainder of the year and into January 1970. On 15 January 1970, Bennington was placed out of commission with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 September 1989. The carrier was finally sold for scrap on 12 January 1994, being subsequently towed across the Pacific for scrapping in India.
Awards
Bennington earned three battle stars for World War II service and five battle stars during the Vietnam conflict.
- Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation(2)
- China Service Medal (Extended)
- American Campaign Medal
- battle stars)
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia and Europe clasps)
- National Defense Service Medal (2)
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2)
- Vietnam Service Medal (4 battle stars)
- Gallantry Cross Medal with Palm)
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Gallery
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Bennington's scoreboard in August 1945
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Bennington at sea in 1953
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F4U-4 Corsair of VF-74making crash landing on Bennington in 1953
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Bennington in Hong Kong, 1957
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US-2C Tracker is launched from Bennington in the 1960s
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Island of Bennington in 1964
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LTV XC-142 on deck of Bennington in 1966
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SH-3A Sea Kings of HS-8on Bennington in late 1968
References
- ^ a b "U.S.S. Bennington CVA-20". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Edwards, Christopher (January 2011). "Fire Down Below!". Naval History Magazine. 25 (1). U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- PMID 14369736. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ Caisse, Leo (29 March 2020). "Disaster in Rhode Island Waters: The USS Bennington". New England Historical Society. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ Naval Aeronautical Organization OPNAV NOTICE 05400 for Fiscal Year 1956 dated 1 August 1955
- ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the originalon 12 February 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Gary May Sydney Australia May 1957 GQ - CREW STORIES - USS BENNINGTON". www.uss-Bennington.org. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "1957 Visit to Sydney - Terry Yung - CREW STORIES - USS BENNINGTON". www.uss-Bennington.org. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "UNITED STATES NAVY VIEW OF UNIVERSITY HOAX - CREW STORIES - USS BENNINGTON". www.uss-Bennington.org. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "EUREKA FLOODS - Christmas 1964 - PHOTO - USS BENNINGTON". USS Bennington. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ Sunday, Terry L., Tri-Service Tiltwing, Airpower, Granada Hills, California, July 1984, Volume 14, Number 4, pages 54–55.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- USS Bennington at NavSource Online: Aircraft Carrier Photo Archive
- USS Bennington, her history and her crew
- Newsreel footage of the 1954 fire aftermath from British Pathe
- USS Bennington from the U.S. Naval History Center