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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

AH-13 Benevolence

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 (1) - 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. C4-S-B2
  • 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
  • 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  • Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet in 1950, assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USS Benevolence (T-AH-13)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.
  • Benevolence received one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 15.400 t.(lim.)
    Length 520'
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 24'
    Speed 17.5 kts.
    Complement 574
    Patient Accommodations 800
    Armament none
    Propulsion geared turbine, single screw
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Benevolence 121k Benevolence (AH-13) anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 13-16 July 1945. 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
    Benevolence 97k Benevolence (AH-13) seen here moored amid the "Crossroads" target fleet, at Bikini Atoll, 13 July 1946. Ship at far left is 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
    Benevolence 130k 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
    Benevolence 81k Benevolence (AH-13) at anchor, date and place unknown. Naval Hospital Corps School Web Site
    Benevolence 115k 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
    Benevolence 114k 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
    View the Benevolence (AH-13)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    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.)
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Hospital Ship (AH) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 26 January 2007