Bennington (CVA 20) - Naval Cruise Book

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I 3? 4 COMMANDER HOWARD Exacurlvu OFFICER, W , Q 1 wt' v ' 'i 1 Z Q 'S n r HWS' Q., W A V . i-Z ga la .lU - X 1 Commander Howard M. Avery enfered flight fraining ai' NAS Pensacola and graduafed wiih his Wings in I937, During The Second World War, he served as Execufive Officer of VC-6 and commanded squadrons VC-9 and CV6-9l. Commander Avery fook over Executive Officer duiies of the Benningfon in Sepiember l953. C-'Wx H2 fy! 1-Qjf' J ,' 5, f COMMANDER ROLAND W. SCHUMANN COMMANDER, Am GROUP SEVEN 1 f

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dsx The history of the Bennington is really two stories. The first is of the ship that played an important role in the final years of the PaCillC War, the second that of an almost new ship, redesigned to meet the requirements of the new concepts of air and sea combat. The name is rooted in the history of the nation as well as the tradition of the Navy. At Bennington, Vermont on August 16, 1777, the armies of Vermont militiamen defeated the British forces and helped to secure the Lake Champlain area against further attacks. The Navy in 1891, paid tribute to this victory in the naming of a three masted gunboat. The gunboat Bennington served with the fleet during a 14 year period that saw a rapid expansion of United States power in both the Atlantic and Pacific. It was the Bennigton's Commanding Offi- cer, Captain Edward D. Taussig, who raised the flag over Wake Island and made it a possession of the United States. Some fifty years after the first Bennington was commisioned the second was begun. As part of the Program for a greatly enlarged carrier force, CVA-20 was ordered and its keel laid in Brooklyn, December 15, 1942. The launching took place on February 26, 1944, and the com- missioning five months later. At the completion of six months shakedown in the Atlantic, the Bennington joined the Pacific Heet to take part in what proved to be the final phase of the war. In action against the Japanese fleet the Ben- ningtonis planes destroyed two enemy battle- shipsg one the giant Yamato. Following the destruction of the Japanese fleet, the ship changed its objective to land targets. Its planes made raids On Iwo Jima, Okinawa and eventu- ally the Japanese home land. On V-I Day the Bennington was but one-hundred and fifty miles from Tokyo. With the war's end, the Bennington returned to Norfolk and a five year assignment in the mothball fleet. In 1950, the ship was moved to the Brooklyn Navy Yard where the long con- version program was begun, The carrier, which was ready to rejoin the Heet in November 1952, retained few of its old lines. On November 13th, the recommissioning cer- emony was held. The 6'Order of Commission was read and the watch was set. Daniel Kim- ball, Secretary of the Navy was present to wel- come the ship back into the active fleet. During the following winter months, the Bennington carried out a shake-down training period in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which in- cluded a visit to Haiti. Upon returning to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for a three month stay, the ship became the flagship of Commander Carrier Division TWO. With the yard period completed, the ship en- tered the first phases of an eight month period of virtually uninterrupted sea duty. The three week midshipman training cruise in August which brought the Bennington to Halifax for a short visit, will be remembered longest for the day long tussle with hurricane uBarbara off Norfolk. The ship prepared for Mariner and Mediter- ranean duty in operations out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island in early September. On the 16th of the month, the Bennington departed for its first period of fleet operations and the long cruise which this book records. 1,-. 1 IK. -1 '-I HIILI in t ' t Q 1 x 4 . 'Q . H , ft -n