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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Benevolence (AH-13)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Delta - Mike NKDM

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

Haven Class Hospital Ship:

Laid down, 26 July 1943, as SS Marine Lion, a Maritime Commission type (Cf-S-B2) hull, under Maritime Commission (MC hull 744) at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, PA.

Launched, 10 July 1944

Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission, 31 July 1944

Converted to a Hospital Ship at Todd-Erie Basin Shipyard, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Commissioned USS Benevolence (AH-13), 12 May 1945, CAPT. Clyde C. Laws in command

During and after World War II USS Benevolence was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater

Decommissioned, 13 September 1947, at San Francisco, CA.

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Mare Island, Vallejo, CA.

Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet in 1950, assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USS Benevolence (T-AH-13)

Final Disposition, sunk by collision with SS Mary Luckenbach, 25 August 1950, off San Francisco's Golden Gate while on sea trails prior to being placed in service with MSTS

MSTS was given the responsibility for crewing two hospital ships being deployed to Korea. While undergoing its initial sea trials, and before its full civilian crew could be embarked, the USS Benevolence (T-AH 13) was rammed and sunk by the SS Mary Luckenbach (ex-Waukesha (AKA-84) off San Francisco on August 25, 1950. Out of a crew of 505, 23 died including the prospective master of the ship, Captain William "Pineapple Bill" Murray.

Specifications:
Displacement 15.400 t.(lim.)
Length 520'
Beam 71' 6"
Draft 24'
Speed 17.5 kts.
Complement

Officers 76

Enlisted 498
Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
Patient Accommodations 800
Armament none
Propulsion

one General Electric geared turbine

two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 745°

double Falk Main Reduction Gears

single propeller, 9,000shp

Size	Image Description	Source
121k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13) anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 13-16 July 1945. USS Solace (AH-5)** is in the background, at left. US National Archives photo # 80-G-354888, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives	US Naval Historical Center
97k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13) seen here moored amid the "Crossroads" target fleet, at Bikini Atoll, 13 July 1946. Ship at far left is USS Saratoga (CV-3)*. Closest ship in right background is either Pensacola* (CA-24) or Salt Lake City (CA-25). US Navy photo K-20264 now in the collections of the US National Archives	US Naval Historical Center
130k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13)** moored in Bikini Atoll lagoon, during Operation "Crossroads", mid-July 1946. Several of the operation target ships are visible in the background. US Navy photo # K-17386 now in the collections of the US National Archives	US Naval Historical Center
81k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13)** at anchor, date and location unknown.	Naval Hospital Corps School Web Site
115k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13)** steaming in San Francisco Bay, in 1945-47 or in mid-1950. US Navy photo # NH 56374, courtesy Donald M McPherson, 1967	US Naval Historical Center
114k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13)** underway in San Francisco Bay, in 1945-47 or in mid-1950. US Navy photo # NH 56375 courtesy Donald M McPherson, 1967	US Naval Historical Center
330k	*USS Benevolence* (AH-13)** at Mare Island near the end of her overhaul at the shipyard, 20 August 1950. Note: Her life boats at seen in the foreground. File name: AH 13 6777-8-50, Navy Photo, 8/20/50	Darryl Baker

View the USS Benevolence (AH-13)
DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Time Magazine Article "Rescue in the Fog" Monday Sep. 04, 1950 (Note - The one inaccuracy in this article which indicates SS Mary Luckenbach sank, which she did not.)

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Last Updated 4 September 2009