.gif)
USS Benewah (APB-35)
Encyclopedia
Benewah was a barracks ship
of the US Navy, notable for her service in the Vietnam War
and as the name ship of her class.
and launched on 6 May 1945, sponsored by Miss Priscilla Underwood. She was commissioned on 19 March 1946 with Lieutenant Commander
John M. Kilcullen, Jr., USNR, in command.
for the crews of aircraft carrier
s going out of commission. That assignment lasted just four months. On 29 July, she herself began deactivation procedures. Benewah was decommissioned on 30 August 1946. The barracks ship remained in reserve at Boston until February 1947 when she was moved to Green Cove Springs, Florida
There, she was placed in service, in reserve, to serve as headquarters ship for Subgroup 3 of the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 10 October 1951, work began on Benewah in preparation for her return to active service; and she was recommissioned on 9 November 1951 with Lieutenant Commander Clifford E. Baxter in command.
Just after commissioning, the barracks ship entered the Gibbs Shipyard at Jacksonville, Florida
for outfitting. From mid-January to mid-February 1952, she conducted shakedown and refresher training out of Norfolk, Virginia
. After she concluded training in mid-February, Benewah moved north to her new home port, Newport, Rhode Island
. The ship departed Newport on 9 March for her first overseas deployment. For the next nine months, she provided logistics support for mobile construction battalions operations in the European area. The ship returned to Newport on 19 December and took up operations along the eastern seaboard. In July 1953, Benewah entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
to be fitted out as a temporary flagship
. On 22 August, she departed Norfolk for Naples, Italy, where she served as flagship for the Commander, Fleet Air, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Late in the summer of 1955, she concluded that assignment and headed back to the United States
.
The ship arrived in Norfolk on 11 September but, later in the month, moved north to New York
. On 30 September, Benewah began her second deactivation overhaul at Staten Island, New York, in the yard of the Brewer Dry Dock Company. The barracks ship was decommissioned sometime in December 1955 and was berthed with the Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. The ship remained inactive until August 1959 when she was placed in service, in reserve. By February 1960, she was at Newport News, Virginia
, serving as living quarters for the precommissioning crews of new ships being built by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company.
for conversion and modernization preparatory to her return to active service. She was recommissioned on 28 January 1967.
Following a week of training at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia, the ship put to sea for the Far East. After stops at Rodman in the Canal Zone
and at Pearl Harbor
, Benewah reached Vietnam
on 22 April. Upon arrival, she became flagship for the Commander, Task Force (TF) 117, the Mobile Riverine Force
operating in the Mekong Delta
. Except for an occasional trip to Japan
for repairs, Benewah spent the next 44 months at various locations in the Mekong Delta. In addition to serving as headquarters, she provided barracks space, medical facilities, stores issue, and a myriad of other services to the sailors and soldiers operating with the Mobile Riverine Force and with the similar formations that succeeded that organization when it was disestablished late in August 1968. The barracks ship frequently suffered enemy fire, and her guns went into action on numerous occasions. In May and early June 1970, Benewah participated in the incursion into Cambodia
n territory to support forces interdicting the Viet Cong supply lines running through that country.
. After a visit to Singapore
between 28 November and 5 December, she arrived at Subic Bay
on 11 December. There, Benewah underwent an inspection by a board of inspection and survey. That board determined that she was unfit for further active naval service. She was decommissioned there on 26 February 1971 and was turned over to the Naval Station, Subic Bay, to serve as station ship. Though decommissioned, Benewah remained on the active list in an in-service status. She was also redesignated a miscellaneous auxiliary, IX-311, two days after her decommissioning on 28 February 1971. She served at Subic Bay until 1 September 1973 on which day her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
. In May 1974, she was transferred to the Republic of the Philippines.
Benewah earned 11 battle stars during the Vietnam War.
Barracks ship
Barracks ship or barracks barge are terms used to indicate a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sailors. A barracks ship may also be used as a "Receiving Unit" for sailors who need temporary residence prior to being...
of the US Navy, notable for her service in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and as the name ship of her class.
Launch
Benewah (APB-35) was laid down on 2 January 1945 by the Boston Navy YardBoston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
and launched on 6 May 1945, sponsored by Miss Priscilla Underwood. She was commissioned on 19 March 1946 with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
John M. Kilcullen, Jr., USNR, in command.
Atlantic Service
Following outfitting, Benewah remained at Boston serving with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet as a barracks shipBarracks ship
Barracks ship or barracks barge are terms used to indicate a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sailors. A barracks ship may also be used as a "Receiving Unit" for sailors who need temporary residence prior to being...
for the crews of aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s going out of commission. That assignment lasted just four months. On 29 July, she herself began deactivation procedures. Benewah was decommissioned on 30 August 1946. The barracks ship remained in reserve at Boston until February 1947 when she was moved to Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....
There, she was placed in service, in reserve, to serve as headquarters ship for Subgroup 3 of the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 10 October 1951, work began on Benewah in preparation for her return to active service; and she was recommissioned on 9 November 1951 with Lieutenant Commander Clifford E. Baxter in command.
Just after commissioning, the barracks ship entered the Gibbs Shipyard at Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
for outfitting. From mid-January to mid-February 1952, she conducted shakedown and refresher training out of Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. After she concluded training in mid-February, Benewah moved north to her new home port, Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. The ship departed Newport on 9 March for her first overseas deployment. For the next nine months, she provided logistics support for mobile construction battalions operations in the European area. The ship returned to Newport on 19 December and took up operations along the eastern seaboard. In July 1953, Benewah entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
to be fitted out as a temporary flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
. On 22 August, she departed Norfolk for Naples, Italy, where she served as flagship for the Commander, Fleet Air, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Late in the summer of 1955, she concluded that assignment and headed back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The ship arrived in Norfolk on 11 September but, later in the month, moved north to 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...
. On 30 September, Benewah began her second deactivation overhaul at Staten Island, New York, in the yard of the Brewer Dry Dock Company. The barracks ship was decommissioned sometime in December 1955 and was berthed with the Green Cove Springs Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. The ship remained inactive until August 1959 when she was placed in service, in reserve. By February 1960, she was at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, serving as living quarters for the precommissioning crews of new ships being built by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company.
Vietnam
In July 1966, Benewah entered the Philadelphia Naval ShipyardPhiladelphia 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 conversion and modernization preparatory to her return to active service. She was recommissioned on 28 January 1967.
Following a week of training at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia, the ship put to sea for the Far East. After stops at Rodman in the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
and 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...
, Benewah reached Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
on 22 April. Upon arrival, she became flagship for the Commander, Task Force (TF) 117, the Mobile Riverine Force
Mobile Riverine Force
In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force , initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later euphemistically the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the Brown Water Navy...
operating in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
. Except for an occasional trip 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...
for repairs, Benewah spent the next 44 months at various locations in the Mekong Delta. In addition to serving as headquarters, she provided barracks space, medical facilities, stores issue, and a myriad of other services to the sailors and soldiers operating with the Mobile Riverine Force and with the similar formations that succeeded that organization when it was disestablished late in August 1968. The barracks ship frequently suffered enemy fire, and her guns went into action on numerous occasions. In May and early June 1970, Benewah participated in the incursion into Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n territory to support forces interdicting the Viet Cong supply lines running through that country.
Philippines
On 26 November 1970, the ship departed Vietnam and headed for the PhilippinesPhilippines
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...
. After a visit to 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...
between 28 November and 5 December, she arrived at Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
on 11 December. There, Benewah underwent an inspection by a board of inspection and survey. That board determined that she was unfit for further active naval service. She was decommissioned there on 26 February 1971 and was turned over to the Naval Station, Subic Bay, to serve as station ship. Though decommissioned, Benewah remained on the active list in an in-service status. She was also redesignated a miscellaneous auxiliary, IX-311, two days after her decommissioning on 28 February 1971. She served at Subic Bay until 1 September 1973 on which day her 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...
. In May 1974, she was transferred to the Republic of the Philippines.
Benewah earned 11 battle stars during the Vietnam War.