USS Bennington (PG-4)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Bennington.

USS Bennington
The Bennington, photographed circa 1898 by William H. Rau
History
United States
NameUSS Bennington (PG-4)
NamesakeBennington, Vermont, site of the Battle of Bennington
Awarded15 November 1887[2]
Builder
Cost$490,000[2]
Laid downJune 1888[1]
Launched3 June 1890[1]
Commissioned20 June 1891
Decommissioned5 September 1901
Recommissioned2 March 1903
Decommissioned31 October 1905
Stricken10 September 1910
FateScuttled off Oahu, 1924
General characteristics
Class and typeYorktown-class gunboat
Displacement
  • 1,710 long tons (1,740 t)[3]
  • 1,910 long tons (1,940 t) (fully loaded)
Length
  • 244 ft 5 in (74.50 m) (oa)[3]
  • 230 ft (70 m) (wl)[3]
  • 226 feet (69 m) (lpp)[4]
Beam36 ft (11 m)[3]
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)[3]
Propulsion
Sail planthree-masted schooner rig with a total sail area of 6,300 sq ft (590 m2)[4]
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h)[3]
Endurance4,262 nautical miles @ 10 knots (7,893 km @ 19 km/h)[5]
Complement197 officers and enlisted
Armament
Armor

USS Bennington (Gunboat No. 4/PG-43) was a member of the Yorktown class of steel-hulled, twin-screw gunboats in the United States Navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the first U.S. Navy ship named in honor of the town of Bennington, Vermont, site of the Battle of Bennington in the American Revolutionary War.

The contract to build Bennington was awarded to N. F. Palmer & Co. of Philadelphia in November 1887. Her hull was subcontracted to the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding & Engine Works which laid down Bennington's keel in June 1888. Bennington was launched in June 1890. She was just over 244 feet (74 m) long and 36 feet (11 m) abeam and displaced 1,710 long tons (1,740 t). She was equipped with two steam engines which were supplemented with three schooner-rigged masts. The ship's main battery consisted of six 6-inch (15.2 cm) guns and was augmented by an assortment of smaller caliber guns.

After her June 1891 commissioning, Bennington was attached to the Squadron of Evolution and for its cruise to South America. The gunboat made two Mediterranean tours between 1892 and 1894, after which she was assigned to the duties in the Pacific. She sailed the Pacific coasts of North and Central America and spent time in the Hawaiian Islands to protect American interests there. On her way to support United States Army operations of the Philippine–American War, Bennington claimed Wake Island for the United States. After two years in the Philippines, she returned to the United States and was decommissioned for 18 months of repairs and refitting. After her March 1903 recommissioning, most of the next two years were spent patrolling the Pacific coasts of North and South America.

On 21 July 1905 at San Diego, California, Bennington suffered a boiler explosion, that killed 66 men and injured nearly everyone else on board. Shortly after the explosion, a tug beached the ship to prevent her from sinking. Eleven men were awarded the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" in the aftermath of the explosion. After Bennington was refloated, the damage was deemed too extensive to repair and the ship was decommissioned in September. The ship was sold for scrap in 1910, but instead served as a water barge for the Matson Line at Honolulu from 1912. In 1924, the former Bennington was scuttled off the coast of Oahu.

  1. ^ a b c d Bauer and Roberts, p. 155.
  2. ^ a b Annual reports of the Navy Department, pp. 616–17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Silverstone, p. 67.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NYT-launch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Annual reports of the Navy Department, pp. 614–15.
  6. ^ Annual reports of the Navy Department, p. 547.