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USS Bennett (DD-473)
Encyclopedia
USS Bennett (DD-473), a Fletcher-class
destroyer
, was a ship of the U.S. Navy that was named for the naval aviator
Floyd Bennett
(1890–1928), who flew towards the North Pole
with Richard E. Byrd in 1926, but did not make it there.
The Bennett (DD-473) was launched
on 16 April 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard
, sponsored by Mrs. Floyd Bennett, the widow of Aviation Machinist Bennett. She was commissioned
on 9 February 1943 with Commander E. B. Taylor in command.
on 31 May, and she then spent the next two months patroling in the Hawaiian Islands
. After escorting a convoy to Efate
in the New Hebrides
, she acted as a plane guard and patroled out of Efate (27 August through 28 October). Moving to the Solomon Islands
4 November, she patrolled and escorted convoy
s until 5 April 1944. Included in her service in the Solomon Islands
was support of the Cape Torokina
, Bougainville
landings (on 1 November 1943 on the western side of the island) and Green Island (on 15 February 1944) landings, and bombardments of the Japanese base at Kavieng
on New Ireland
, (on 18 February 1944) and Rabaul
, New Britain
(29 February). The Bennett next steames north to take part in the invasions of Saipan
(14 June through 1 July) and of Guam (2nd through 16 August). Returning to the Central Pacific
later in the month she supported the invasion of the Palaus
(Peleliu
) (6 through 25 September), and then she returned to San Francisco for upkeep work, arriving on 25 October 1944.
The Bennett returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 December, and she remained in Hawaiian waters for the next month. Then she steamed west to take part in the invasion of Iwo Jima
(19 February through 5 March 1945), where she was slightly damaged by a dud bomb (1 March). On 1 April she was a unit of the forces taking part in the invasion of Okinawa
. At 08:50, on 7 April, she was hit by an Imperial Japanese Navy
kamikaze plane
, killing three sailors, wounding 18, damaging the forward engine room, and knocking out all of her electrical power. the Bennett was able to make it to the small naval base at Kerama Retto
under her own power, and on the following day she departed for Saipan
under tow of the fleet tugboat . After emergency repairs, she steamed to Puget Sound Navy Yard where she underwent further repairs (May though August 1945). In August she reported to Adak, in the Aleutian Islands, and then she made one voyage to Petropavlovsk
on the Kamchatka Peninsula
, with weather personnel (28 August through 26 September). Returning to San Diego
, she was placed in commission in reserve on 21 December 1945, and out of commission in reserve on 18 April 1946.
Bennett was transferred to Brazil
15 December 1959, where she was renamed Paraíba.
The ship was stricken by the Brazilian Navy
and scrapped in 1978.
for her service in World War II
.
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 a ship of the U.S. Navy that was named for the naval aviator
Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
Floyd Bennett
Floyd Bennett
Floyd Bennett was an American aviator who piloted Richard E. Byrd on his attempt to reach the North Pole in 1926.-Biography:...
(1890–1928), who flew towards the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
with Richard E. Byrd in 1926, but did not make it there.
The Bennett (DD-473) was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 16 April 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston 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...
, sponsored by Mrs. Floyd Bennett, the widow of Aviation Machinist Bennett. She was 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...
on 9 February 1943 with Commander E. B. Taylor in command.
History
The Bennett arrived at Pearl HarborPearl 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 31 May, and she then spent the next two months patroling in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. After escorting a convoy to Efate
Éfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
in the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
, she acted as a plane guard and patroled out of Efate (27 August through 28 October). Moving to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
4 November, she patrolled and escorted convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s until 5 April 1944. Included in her service in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
was support of the Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina
Cape Torokina is a promontory at the north end of Empress Augusta Bay, along the central part of the southeastern coast of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea....
, Bougainville
Bougainville campaign (1944-45)
The Bougainville campaign was fought by the Allies in the South Pacific during World War II to regain control of the island of Bougainville from the Japanese forces who had occupied it in 1942. During their occupation the Japanese constructed naval aircraft bases in the north, east, and south of...
landings (on 1 November 1943 on the western side of the island) and Green Island (on 15 February 1944) landings, and bombardments of the Japanese base at Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
on New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
, (on 18 February 1944) and Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
(29 February). The Bennett next steames north to take part in the invasions of Saipan
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...
(14 June through 1 July) and of Guam (2nd through 16 August). Returning to the Central Pacific
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...
later in the month she supported the invasion of the Palaus
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War...
(Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
) (6 through 25 September), and then she returned to San Francisco for upkeep work, arriving on 25 October 1944.
The Bennett returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 December, and she remained in Hawaiian waters for the next month. Then she steamed west to take part in the invasion of Iwo Jima
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...
(19 February through 5 March 1945), where she was slightly damaged by a dud bomb (1 March). On 1 April she was a unit of the forces taking part in 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...
. At 08:50, on 7 April, she was hit by an Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
kamikaze plane
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....
, killing three sailors, wounding 18, damaging the forward engine room, and knocking out all of her electrical power. the Bennett was able to make it to the small naval base at Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
under her own power, and on the following day she departed for 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...
under tow of the fleet tugboat . After emergency repairs, she steamed to Puget Sound Navy Yard where she underwent further repairs (May though August 1945). In August she reported to Adak, in the Aleutian Islands, and then she made one voyage to Petropavlovsk
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the main city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Population: .-History:It was founded by Danish navigator Vitus Bering, in the service of the Russian Navy...
on the Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
, with weather personnel (28 August through 26 September). Returning to San Diego
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...
, she was placed in commission in reserve on 21 December 1945, and out of commission in reserve on 18 April 1946.
Paraíba
Stricken 1 August 1973.Bennett was transferred to 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...
15 December 1959, where she was renamed Paraíba.
The ship was stricken by the Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...
and scrapped in 1978.
Honors
Bennett received nine battle stars and a Navy Unit CommendationNavy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
for her service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.