USS Benicia (PG-96) on 17 April 1970 | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Benicia (PG-96) |
Namesake | Benicia, California |
Builder | Tacoma Boatbuilding Company |
Laid down | 14 April 1969 |
Launched | 20 December 1969 |
Commissioned | 25 April 1970 |
Decommissioned | 15 October 1971 |
Stricken | 30 August 1996 |
Fate | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Asheville-class gunboat |
Displacement | 240 tons (244 t) |
Length | 164 ft 6 in (50.14 m) |
Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
Draft | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × Cummins VT12-875 diesel; 1,450 hp (1.07 MW); General Electric LM1500 marine gas turbine |
Speed |
|
Range | 1,700 NM (3100 km) |
Complement | 24 crew (4 officers) |
Sensors and processing systems | Weapons control: Mk 63 GFCS. Radar: Sperry AN/SPS-53; I/J-band. Fire control: Western Electric AN/SPG-50; I/J-band. |
Armament |
|
The second USS Benicia (PGM-96/PG-96) was a Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy commissioned in 1970. She later served in the South Korean Navy as Paek Ku 51 (PGM-351).
Benicia was laid down on 14 April 1969 at Tacoma, Washington, by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company after a fire in August 1968 destroyed the incomplete hull laid down on 3 January 1967; launched on 20 December 1969; sponsored by Mrs. William F. Petrovic; and commissioned at Tacoma on 25 April 1970.
After fitting out at Tacoma, Benicia made her first port of call in her namesake city of Benicia, California. She then cruised south, arriving at her home port of San Diego in early May. Designed for offshore patrol and the control of coastal maritime traffic, the patrol gunboat was equipped with a combination diesel and gas turbine (CODOG) engine system. Ordinarily, she would cruise normally on her diesels but, in an emergency, the gas turbine engine provided extremely high bursts of speed, allowing Benicia to maneuver quickly and radically in confined, coastal waters.
Assigned to Coastal Squadron (CosRon) 3, the gunboat's crew conducted type training exercises and shakedown procedures in Benicia that summer. Operating in the waters off San Diego, the crew conducted turbine evaluations, tested the gunboat's variable-pitch propellers, and familiarized themselves with her communication and navigation systems. After completing her final contract trials in September, Benicia began a post-shakedown availability at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in mid-October. During this seven-week repair period, the gunboat was assigned to the administrative command of Coastal Division (CosDiv) 32 at San Diego. Following the availability, Benicia spent the rest of the year in port at San Diego.
Starting on 28 January 1971, Benicia began evaluation of a special surface-to-surface guided-missile system designed for gunboats. Part of a larger study intended to develop anti-missile boat warfare doctrine, this system was designed to increase gunboat firepower and counter the anti-ship missile threat from Soviet-made fast attack boats. Equipped with a single Standard ARM missile launcher on the fantail, Benicia conducted fire control and operational tests in preparation for a live-fire exercise. On 6 March, she became the first American gunboat to successfully fire a guided missile.
With the missile study complete on the 12th, the gunboat began another series of experiments. Called the "Seakindliness and Performance Trials," these were designed to test the endurance sea-keeping ability of gunboats in heavy seas. If the gunboats could operate in the open ocean, they could better protect convoys, conduct surveillance missions, and support conventional amphibious warfare operations. Following these successful exercises, Benicia spent the rest of the summer participating in fleet and amphibious training exercises. These included convoy attack and screening tactics, inshore patrol, and a large-scale, joint Army-Navy special forces exercise.
On 15 August, the gunboat's crew received orders informing them that Benicia was to be leased to the Republic of Korea. The South Korean crew arrived in San Diego in mid-September and several weeks of pre-transfer training took place in that port. Benicia was decommissioned on 15 October 1971, and she was transferred to the South Korean Navy that same day. She served as Paek Ku 51 (PGM-351) until decommissioned and returned to United States Navy in 1991. Benicia's name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 August 1996, and she was scrapped in Korea in 1998.
USS Sam Houston (SSBN-609/SSN-609), an Ethan Allen-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after Sam Houston (1793–1863), president of the Republic of Texas. Sam Houston was the US Navy's seventh ballistic missile submarine.
USS Towers (DD-959/DDG-9) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy notable for action in the Vietnam War. The ship was named in honor of Admiral John Henry Towers.
USS Berkeley (DDG-15) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Major General Randolph C. Berkeley, USMC (1875–1960), a Medal of Honor recipient for actions during the U.S. occupation of Veracruz (1914).
USS Paul Revere (APA/LPA-248) was the lead ship of the Paul Revere class of attack transport in the United States Navy. She was named for the early patriot and Founding Father, Paul Revere (1735–1818). She later served in the Spanish Navy as Castilla (L-21).
USS Endicott (DD-495), was a Gleaves-class destroyer of the United States Navy.
USS Gallant (MSO-489), an Aggressive-class minesweeper, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named Gallant. The ship served in the US Navy from 1954 until 1994, when it was sold to Taiwan under the Security Assistance Program and renamed to Yung Ku.
USS Southerland (DD-743), a Gearing-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for William Henry Hudson Southerland, an admiral.
USS Brownsville (PG-118/PF-10), a Tacoma-class patrol frigate, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Brownsville, Texas.
The USS Tucumcari (PGH-2) was a Boeing-built hydrofoil. Named after Tucumcari, New Mexico, it was the basis for the technology used in the subsequent Pegasus-class patrol boats and the Jetfoil ferries. Its unique feature was a waterjet propulsion and a computer-controlled fully submerged foil configuration of one foil at the bow and foils on the port and starboard sides. The Tucumcari was one of two prototype boats contracted by the Navy under project SCB 252 for the purpose of evaluating the latest hydrofoil technology. The second boat was the rival Grumman-built USS Flagstaff (PGH-1).
The Asheville-class gunboats were a class of small warships built for the United States Navy in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The class is named for a city in western North Carolina and the seat of Buncombe County. All Asheville-class gunboats have since been donated to museums, scheduled for scrapping, or transferred to the Greek, Turkish, Colombian and South Korean Navies. The last two Asheville-class gunboats in US service were USS Chehalis and USS Grand Rapids, which were operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center until they were stricken in 2016.
USS Bausell (DD-845) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Marine Corporal Lewis K. Bausell (1924–1944), who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for "conspicuous gallantry" during the Battle of Peleliu.
USS Tacoma (PG-92) was an Asheville-class gunboat of the U.S. Navy and the fourth ship to be named after the city of Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma was the first in a series of revised Asheville-class gunboats. Some sources call these revised boats Tacoma- or PG-92-class, but the U.S. Navy officially designates them as Asheville-class. The keel of Tacoma was laid 24 July 1967 at the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, in her namesake city. She was launched on 13 April 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Arne K. Strom, and was commissioned on 14 July 1969.
USS Widgeon (AMS/MSC-208) was a Bluebird-class minesweeper acquired by the US Navy for clearing coastal minefields.
USS Marathon (PGM-89/PG-89) was an Asheville-class gunboat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of high speed patrolling in shallow waterways.
USS Asheville (PGM-84/PG-84) was an Asheville-class gunboat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of high speed patrolling in shallow waterways. The third ship to be named Asheville by the Navy, the vessel was laid down on 15 April 1964 at Tacoma, Washington, by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company and launched on 1 May 1965, sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Harris. Asheville was commissioned on 6 August 1966.
The fourth USS Surprise and fifth American naval ship of the name was an Asheville-class patrol gunboat that served in the United States Navy from 1969 to 1973.
USS Antelope (PGM-86/PG-86) was an Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy.
The second USS Welch (PGM-93/PG-93) was a Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.
USS Beacon (PGM-99/PG-99) was an Asheville-class gunboat in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. She was transferred to the Hellenic Navy where she serves as PG Hormi.
The PSMM Mk5 multi-purpose patrol boat class gunboat were a class of small military ships built for the United States Navy based on the Asheville class gunboat. The class is called Patrol Ship Multi Mission. The class was used by South Korean, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand Navies.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.The entry can be found here.